I always try to be positive in my columns, but I’m finding it really difficult this week.

  I had to interview the Jansen van Vuuren family this week, after the death of their son, Jason, last Friday.

  I spoke to Val (Jason’s mom) more specifically.

  As she held my hand tight, I sat and watched a woman, who we all know as friendly and loud, happy, spontaneous and bubbly, break down by the minute, as she sobbed about her child that was gunned down like a dog in Midrand, in an attempt by hi-jackers to hijack his BMW.

  Her child who, although I did not personally know him, made a huge impact on the lives of so many people (judging by the beautiful messages left for him on Facebook). 

  A man with a genius mind, a successful businessman and application development director for the IT company, Avanade, at the age of just 34, a soft, gentle, giving human who always helped out where he could, a good leader and clearly a very good friend, even to family members. 

  She cried as she said, “Why Cerisie, why did this have to happen? He didn’t deserve it. We will never see him marry and start his own family.  His little niece/nephew will never get to meet their uncle. Why?”

  What do you say to someone when something this tragic happens and they are broken?  How in the world do you even remotely contribute to any form of comfort with words when someone is this shattered?

  “I will pray for you and God will carry you through this Val,” was my only, feeble attempt at saying anything that could make her feel better, because quite honestly, I don’t have words.

  “Where was God when this happened to my son, it was not His will,” she said.  At that point I just got angry.

  Not angry at Val, or anyone who asks this question, but so bitterly angry at the bastards who caused this thought to even arise by doing what they did.

  Val is no ordinary person.  She is known in Carletonville as someone who is constantly fighting for a better life for people.  She is always first to complain about poor service delivery throughout government departments.  She is the one people run to, and I am talking about blacks, whites, Indians, coloureds, rich people, poor people and, believe it or not, DA supporters, ANC supporters, SACP supporters and even VF supporters, young and old.

  They know that when they, or someone they know, has been ill-treated at the hospital, don’t have running water, have been done an injustice by the SAPS, have been wrongly treated by a traffic official or whatever the case might be, and it is reported to Val, that she will go out of her way, irrespective of whether they vote for her party or not, to help rectify the problem.

  A while ago, Val had a project running for homeless whites at the dam in Krugersdorp – collecting and taking through loads and loads of food and clothing.  I remember her telling me about a little blonde girl who was poverty-stricken, with tears in her compassionate eyes, as she was reaching out even to people outside of her hometown.

  Yet, despite all her efforts to better the living standards of people in South Africa, the same morons for whom she fights, went and shot her son.  Those same unemployed, ‘poor’ individuals who she takes pity on, gunned down her son in cold blood and caused so much unnecessary pain in the lives of a close-knit family.

  Over and over and over again, as I interview family members of people who have been murdered, I listen to them say, “They must bring the death-penalty back.”

  I will not elaborate on whether I personally agree with the death-penalty or not, but this is what the people want.  Sometimes I think it’s something they want in order to prevent murders from taking place by having potential-murderers realise where they’re heading, more than it is to get revenge on and punish the murderers.

  Question is; how far must the slaying of humans and the theft of lives go, before our government wakes the hell up and does something about this?

  Will they continue protecting murderers and rapists while their crimes are ripping families and individuals alike apart?

  And then I get quiet and realise that – our government seldom listens to the requests of the people of SA and that again, this request will fall on deaf ears.

  So the only thing left for us to do, is to enjoy every second we get to spend with those we love.  We need to have all people we love, know that they are loved by us.  We need to learn to forgive more quickly, to be slower to break-down with our words, to spend quality time with those we love, for in the blink of an eye, it may all be over, and we may not even have said a proper good-bye.