In the month that I’ve lived in South Africa, I’ve noticed one thing that affects everyone here regardless of race, gender, social status, or nationality. That one thing that unites not only every South African citizen, but occurs everywhere, is crime. One usually thinks of something that unites people as good things like religion, food, sports, beer, and so on. However, crime is something that really seems to have taken a toll on the South African community in general and has almost become a way of life.

In a country where it has been reported that there are upwards of 50 murders a day and just under 3 million total criminal offenses committed each year (http://www.nationmaster.com/country/sf-south-africa/cri-crime), it is no wonder that this is a nation that has bought into a lifestyle of fear. A country that was portrayed during the 2010 World Cup as a promising nation full of prosperity and growth is fighting an uphill battle against an untamed beast. South Africa is consistently in the top-tier of nations worldwide when it comes to violent crimes, muggings, drug offenses, sex crimes, and murders. Looking back on it, it’s amazing that FIFA even managed to transform this place into an ideal tourist destination for the short time the games lasted. While especially the city of Cape Town has benefited from improvements in infrastructure, from the sounds of it, crime is still at an all time high.

It is extremely common to meet someone here who either knows someone personally who has been mugged or they themselves have been mugged (and sometimes more than once). I myself was a witness to the most well-executed (albeit the only) train theft I have ever seen. You’d think the planning, time, patience, and teamwork it takes two guys to steal a man’s briefcase would be better spent somewhere else. Yes, crime does affect all of us at home in the states in some capacity. Here, you can see and feel the fear that people have when it comes to crime. There are gates with live wire and barbed wire keeping burglars out everywhere you go and people are always keeping a tight clutch onto their belongings. It begins to get exhausting after a while not being able to let your guard down and just enjoy walking down the street in broad daylight.

The cause of all the crime here is definitely in the eye of the beholder. Some claim it is a consequence from ending Apartheid, some place blame on race, reverse racism, drugs, alcohol abuse, and lack of education. Personally, I think most crime worldwide is due to lack of education, but regardless of the root of the problem, it seems like the South African authorities are doing almost nothing to stop nor hinder it. It’s no wonder that people live in fear here when you’ve got a country that notoriously under-reports crime and very little is done about crime when you do report it. It is almost more convenient to count your losses after your camera is stolen (which has happened to our group) than to even go and report it. There is very little police presence and an even smaller amount of enforcement. Until the leaders of this country see crime as a legitimate problem, the people of this nation will still be living in fear, and rightfully so.