VN July 2023

Vetnuus | July 2023 2 The Professor walked into a full class, asked the lady sitting in front what her name was, and then asked her to leave his class and never to return. She protested, but he ordered her out of his class. She silently, but confused, gathered her belongings and left. After she left, he asked the class why there were laws and what laws were for. The first student responded that laws are there for social order; the next is that laws protect a person's personal rights; a third so that you can rely on the government. The Professor responded that laws are there for justice. He then asked the class if himordering their fellow student to leave the class was unfair. Without giving them a chance, he replied that, indeed, he was unfair. He asked the class why didn't any of them protest. Why didn't any of them try and stop him?Why didn't they act to stop the injustice? He told them that he had just taught them a lesson that they wouldn't have understood in a thousand hours of lecturing unless they lived it! They didn't say anything because they were not affected themselves. This attitude speaks against them and against life. If you don't help bring about justice, then one day, you too may experience injustice, and there will be nobody to stand up for you. Truth and justice live through us all, and we must fight for them because, in life and work, we often live next to each other but not with each other. We console ourselves that the problems of others are nothing to do with us, none of our business. And we go home glad at night that we were spared, but it is about standing up for each other. Every day an injustice happens in life, relying on someone else to take care. It is our duty to be there for others, to speak up for others if they cannot, even if it goes against everything that others are doing. Justice is one of the most important ideals in our society. It's what we strive for to create a fair and equitable world. Justice is fairness, moral rightness, a scheme or system of law in which every person receives his/her/its due from the system, including all rights, both natural and legal. One of the three common issues raised by our colleagues, when asked about extrinsic factors impacting their mental health is collegial interaction. Often these collegial interactions are injustices toward each other. What are we going to do about it? In the words of Archbishop Desmond Tutu: "If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse, and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality." "Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are as outraged as those who are." - Benjamin Franklin. "Continue to speak out against all forms of injustice to yourselves and others, and you will set a mighty example for your children and for future generations." - Bernice King. Let us, as members of SAVA, not react with bitterness towards injustices in our profession, but let us transform the suffering into a creative force by continuing to speak out against all forms of injustice in our beloved profession. v Kind regards, Paul van der Merwe From the President Dear members, "As my sufferings mounted, I soon realized that there were two ways in which I could respond to my situation - either to react with bitterness or seek to transform the suffering into a creative force. I decided to follow the latter course." - Martin Luther King Jr. 24-Hour, Toll-Free Helpline: 0800 21 21 21