Reflections on the current state of affairs

For me as a writer of narrative non-fiction no work is beneath or above me.

Because of my literary inclinations I find any kind of work I find myself doing at any given time full of  great lessons and experiences which I can later on use in my writings. I had since discovered that work, any kind of work gives my writing some sort of shape, form and life of its own.

I'm always at my happiest whenever I am reflecting on my real life experiences and that of other people around me.

Even though the outbreak of the vicious Corona virus is a global crisis affecting all of humanity negatively, I as a hopeful and observant person that I am feels that it is my responsibility to document the sentiments of those living and working around me.

From when it all started most of my colleagues and I spent six days a week at work in Four Way KwikSpar trying our best to make an honest living for ourselves. A majority of us had heard about Covid19 on the radio and television but since it was still  in the Asian and European countries most of us felt that it was too far from us to have a direct impact on anyone of us. Little did my colleagues and I know that the world is interconnected and that whatever happens in other countries have direct impact on our own. This we had to learn the hard way.  As people anywhere in South Africa talked about Corona virus as something far away from them and while others even made jokes about it on social media and in real life the first few cases of it were reported in the country.

When the government announced that there are fellow South Africans living in China where the virus was at its thickest at the time that had to be repatriated back to the country people began to feel frantic and worried. In the midst of all the confusion, fake news and unfounded opinions about Covid19 took form.

The South African government felt the need to clear the air for the public and provide it with relevant and reliable information. Like any other country affected by the Covid19 outbreak South Africa suffered a devastating effect to its economy due to the national lockdown that was put in place to curb the spread of the virus. Businesses closed their doors and people lost their jobs. Worried, fearful and clean many South Africans stayed in doors their jobs many of them were put to a sudden temporary stop and others were lost unfortunately for good along with their lives.

All had not been lost it seemed because for many South African parents the national lockdown meant spending time with their children and getting to know them better on a different level. It gave some people time to reflect and think about their lives and where they see themselves in the future. It gave artists like myself some time to work on their various projects in solitude. However, I myself have been very busy at work trying my best to serve the community by ensuring there is enough food for it to buy in this global pandemic causing everybody to stay indoors and avoid crowds at all costs.

Before it all I was just a stubborn broke writer trying to earn a constant salary while I do what am really passionate about which is to write. I knew that keeping a regular job meant having limited time to write as I'd spend all of it at work. However, this was a sacrifice I was will willing to make as I was of the belief that I could write later on after hours.

Little did I know that I would soon change from a supermarket worker to an 'essential service worker in a space of about two and a half months. After that radical change of my job tittle I felt almost like a soldier in battle except the enemy my colleagues and I are fighting is an invisible one, that of the Covid19 pandemic. Our weapon of choice is food and other essential things we have to ensure are available for the public during these testing times.

 

                                        Panama Papers Scandal

The papers show how Mossack Fonseca company has helped its clients launder money, dodge sanctions and evade tax. The company is a secretive Panamanian law firm which is used as a tax haven for some of the influential people who do not want to pay tax. Mossack Fonseca Company

Panama papers is the biggest leak in history, belittling the data released by the world's famous "Wikileaks Organization" in 2010, which held the spot of the biggest leak in history by then.

For me personally this is the biggest scandal in history of the world, the reason why I consider it the biggest in history is because in it more influential people are exposed, this people are not only from a certain country or a certain continent but from all around the world and from various industries of professional work, people whose names one could not expect to find in such scandalous papers of people who are either avoiding to pay tax or whom have more than enough money but are using the tax haven to hide or launder illegitimate money they make. This papers have been a real eye-opener for people who were idolizing some celebrities and political icons whom they thought were honest hardworking individuals.   

Who is in the papers  ?

The papers consists of 12 former and current heads of states, including dictators accused of looting their own countries. More than 60 relatives and associates of heads of states and other politicians and celebrities are also implicated in the leak .Panama Papers list of people
A suspected billion-dollar money laundering ring involving close associates of Russia's president Vladimir Putin.
Also mentioned are the brother-in-law of China's president Xi Jinping, Ukraine's president Petro Poroshenko, Argentina President Mauricio Macri, the late father of UK prime minister David Cameron, three of the four children of Pakistan's prime minister Nawaz Sharif and last but not least the nephew of a South African president. All the names mentioned in these papers are big and influential names, this fact leaves one asking unending questions such as whether or not the money of associates or relatives of these influential people theirs or of those who are influential, it is possible that these influential people used the names of their associates or their relatives just so that they could not be easily found out if this whole scandal backfires, but as it is known nothing stays hidden forever.

Although there are legitimate ways of using tax havens, most of what has been going on is about hiding the true owners of money, the origin of the money and avoiding paying tax on the money.
Some of the major allegations are around the creation of shell companies, that have the outward appearance of being legitimate businesses, but are just empty shells. They do nothing but manage money, while hiding who owns it.

Who leaked the papers? 

One might wonder who actually leaked these papers, the 11.5 million documents were obtained by the German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung sueddeutsche Article and shared with the international consortium of investigative journalists (ICIJ), which then worked with journalists from 107 media organization in 76 countries to analyse the documents over a year.

This really proves beyond any reasonable doubt that the journalists indeed are the watchdogs of the society, if it weren't for them probably the general public would still be in the dark of this global corruption, Most people would still regard these corrupt people as honest hardworking people that they actually aren't! Even if some of them are really honest hardworking people their names being in the scandalous papers of all times have already ruined their reputation, a typical example of a person who lost credibility and probably some of the fans is Leonel Messi who's regarded as the best footballer in the world he has lost the tittle to his old time rival Cristiano Ronaldo whose reputation is still intact.

Even though this knowledge is new in the public domain this does not mean the scandal is also new it has been going on for quiet sometime now, according to the papers the information on the documents dates back to 1977, and goes up to December 2015. Emails make up the largest type of document leaked including images of contracts and passports of perpetrators.