Cyber bullying scourge

By William Alexander and John Harvey

CYBER bullying is rampant at Eastern Cape schools with pupils abusing cellphones and social media to torment their peers – some of whom are being treated for depression as a result.
Pupils spoken to this week said cyber bullying had become so ruthless that the faceless bullies are even drawing “inspiration” from violent social media videos like the notorious viral video of a mentally-ill girl being gang-raped in Johannesburg.
Psychologists say the level of cyber bullying at schools is now critical, mainly because there is little defence against it.
The rising concern about escalating abuse of cellphones and social media to terrorise and ridicule other children comes in the wake of a call by the National Association of School Governing Bodies earlier this month to place a blanket ban on cellphones at schools.
While pupils interviewed said such a ban would not be practical as cellphones were now an integral part of everyday life, all believed it was important that education authorities – and parents – were made aware of just how serious cellphone bullying had become.
“Parents don’t have a clue how bad this situation is, because the person being bullied is only known to those invited to a specific Facebook or BBM [BlackBerry Messenger] group” said one 16-year-old girl who attends a top school in Port Elizabeth.
The bullying tactics employed by users of BlackBerry – the most popular smartphone from Grade 6 to matric, pupils said – and Facebook at Eastern Cape schools include:
Posting a picture of someone deemed “ugly” on a profile and opening him or her up to ridicule by way of group comment;
Vilifying a girl who may have wronged another girl or boy by posting their picture and identifying them as a “slut” or “slag”;
Hacking into a peer’s Facebook account and making use of that person’s profile to make disparaging remarks about others, thereby making the victim unpopular;
Boys stalking girls who have refused their advances. They then bully them out of spite by posting derogatory remarks about the girls.
Another 16-year-old said the proliferation of cellphones among schoolchildren had sparked a ruthless “culture of ridicule”.
“Parents don’t know about these things because their kids never tell them about it. That comes from peer pressure” she said.
“I know of guys who read the news on websites and what to most people is a horrific story they see as funny. It’s like they draw inspiration from it and think about how they could do the same to hurt someone.”
While Eastern Cape principals’ reaction to the National Association of School Governing Bodies call has been mixed, most agree cyber bullying is extremely difficult to police.
“I don’t think banning them is an option but they definitely need to be controlled and age-related rules need to apply,” said Woodridge College principal Craig Neave.
“When cells first came out most schools banned them. Now they’ve become part of a person’s identity and a lot of parents rely on cellphones for security for their children.”
Neave said verbal bullying has always been difficult to curtail and “cellphones are just another medium” to do it. “But we need to be educating children on cellphone etiquette. We’ve got to learn to deal with this.”
Although bullying did occur at Walmer High School, policing the theft of cellphones was proving most problematic.
“The pupils fight when their phones are stolen,” said principal Lunga Dyani. “I had to go out and mediate because a young boy had his phone taken at knife-point. There’s even been a case where a boy in Walmer was stabbed to death over a cellphone.”

This is a shortened version of an article that first appeared in the print edition of Weekend Post on Saturday May 12, 2012.

Artists up in arms over music fest

By William Alexander

A SHADOW of controversy has been cast over the upcoming Nelson Mandela Bay Megafest music extravaganza with local artists claiming they have been overlooked by organisers.
The event, which is being organised by private company Zeranza, and will be headlined by international stars Ludacris, Ne-Yo, Shaggy and Protoje, has been set for June 2 at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.
But according to Nelson Mandela Metro Music Association chairman Dumile Manxoyi the number of Eastern Cape artists performing at the festival is well below what it should be.
“It’s disrespectful and it undermines their [local artists’] efforts,” Manxoyi said. “There’s no significant music industry in the Eastern Cape and because of this artists are encouraged to go to Johannesburg.”
He also questioned Zeranza’s lack of experience in organising large festivals, saying the company was “not familiar with the landscape and local artists”.
At the Megafest launch on Tuesday April 17 organisers came under fire from a host of local artists who said they were “sick and tired” of being undervalued.
One member of the audience voiced concern that Megafest would be unable to meet its anticipated target of a 50 000-strong audience as the concert was aimed at a younger audience who could not afford the R150 ticket price.
He also expressed anger that the organisers had secured the services of Lloyd Stanbury, a production manager from Jamaica, rather than someone from the Eastern Cape.
“I want people from the Eastern Cape to make an Eastern Cape festival,” he said.
However, festival head of talent Roysten Cloete said Megafest would have a mini-stage on which the talents of local artists would be showcased.
“We have a list of potential artists from the department of arts and culture because we really wanted to avoid this [reprimands from local artists],” Cloete said.
In the past few years the city has not enjoyed a good track record when it comes to international music concerts and festivals. In 2009 livid fans streamed out of the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium as the main act of the Bay Summer Concert, rapper Busta Rhymes, arrived late and did not even perform.
Later that year the Nelson Mandela Bay International Music Festival which was to showcase artists such as Keri Hilson was cancelled due to lack of funds.

This is a shortened version of an article that first appeared in the print edition of Weekend Post on Saturday April 21, 2012.

‘Force of nature’ to lead ArtEC

Theresa Hardman (left) and Sue Hoppe

By William Alexander

AFTER three years of heading Port Elizabeth’s artEC and helping to transform this nonprofit organisation into the flourishing gallery and art centre it is today, chairwoman Sue Hoppe has handed over the reins to someone she believes is fully up to the task.
ArtEC’s new chairwoman, elected to the position following the end of Hoppe’s three-year term of office, is Theresa Hardman, well known in the city and province as both an architecture guru and art lover.
“Theresa’s a force of nature – she’s wonderful,” Hoppe said after artEC’s AGM on Monday March 12. “We’ve built a strong foundation for artEC and Theresa really shares that vision.”
Hardman had “passion” for the organisation and was keen to see it grow, said Hoppe, who will now have more time to resume her own art career.
Hardman, who has resigned as senior lecturer in the architecture department at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, said she felt “honoured” to lead artEC. “I’d like to build on what was started.”
Brimming with bold, new ideas, she is keen to introduce more workshops and activities at the gallery and expand its community involvement and township teaching. When asked how she thought she’d fare, Hardman chuckled: “I’m going to try to be fabulous. I’m passionate about creative arts generally. I have taught dance and also love charcoal drawing and painting with ink.
“I’m thrilled and excited to be leading artEC. I see a lot of potential in the place.”
ArtEC is at 36 Bird Street, Central, or on (041)585-3641.

This is a shortened version of an article that first appeared in the print edition of Weekend Post on Saturday March 17, 2012.

Feast of classical music sure to strike right note

By William Alexander

HAVING kicked off their concert programme for the year with a thrilling performance by Cape Town’s Mamre Singers at the end of last month, the Port Elizabeth Music Society’s next concert is on Monday March 19, followed by six other not-to-be- missed classical events over the course of the year.
As in previous years, Music Society president Erika Bothma has made sure an array of different genres, instruments and artists – many international – that will suit all musical proclivities are represented.
The operatic Mamre Concert on February 25 received a brilliant reception and Bothma said the group’s performance was a first for the society.
Regarding the up-and-coming concert by world-renowned, award-winning pianist Alexander Lubyantsev, Bothma said “people always love pianists and are really looking forward to this one”.
Thanks to Bothma’s efforts, the Port Elizabeth society is firmly in the league of music societies in the larger metros.
There is also healthy representation of South African musicians, among them Tinus Botha who will partner Ramm on piano and South African-born pianist Mark Nixon, while the Eastern Cape Children’s Choir conducted by Lionel van Zyl is another highlight to come.
Each performance will be held at 7.30pm in the south campus auditorium of the NMMU, except for the Children’s Choir performance which will take place at the Dutch Reformed Church in Summerstrand. Tickets for all the concerts cost R65 for adults, R50 for pensioners, R20 for students and R15 for scholars, while Music Society members pay even less.
The complete list of upcoming concerts is as follows: Alexander Lubyantsev on March 19, Alexander Ramm and Tinus Botha on May 16, the Bushakevitz duo on June 6, Mark Nixon on August 23, Wolfgang Schmidt accompanied by Bryan Wallack on September 17, the Eastern Cape Children’s Choir on October 18 and Inon Barnatan on November 29.
For more information about the PE Music Society or its concerts for this year, call Theresa Cunliffe at (041)504-2250 or Erika Bothma at (041)504-2974 during office hours.

This is a shortened version of an article that first appeared in the print edition of Weekend Post on Saturday March 10, 2012. 

Corporates cause fatal pain to pharmacies

CL Middleton is no more.

By William Alexander

INDEPENDENT pharmacies across the Eastern Cape are battling to keep their heads above water as crippling competition from large retailers and “unfavourable” government policies continue to take their toll.
In the past few years several pharmacies in Nelson Mandela Bay have had to close their doors as a result of large retailers – including DisChem, Clicks and Checkers which now provide dispensary services – having “bigger buying power”. This has left many of the small, independent pharmacies unable to compete with lower prices.
Eddie Ellis’s CL Middleton Pharmacy in Walmer, Port Elizabeth, has been one of the more recent casualties, having closed down in December after first opening in 1942.
“I can use the term ‘one man pharmacy’. Your buying power isn’t big enough to compete with the bigger guys. Because you are paying higher prices, you can’t be as competitive,” Ellis said. “It will be very difficult to survive as an independent pharmacy.”

 John Forbes, of John Forbes Pharmacy, said it would be “naive to say it’s not affecting me”, adding: “My numbers definitely aren’t progressing as they were.”

But Dis-Chem director Kevin Sterling said the impact on independents was not as dramatic in recent years. “I think that’s really stopped now. That happened when the government changed the rules on the dispensary fees.”
Although many pharmacies had been shut down around the country since 2004, Sterling said “there have been more pharmacies opening up than have closed”. But he could not say whether these were corporate pharmacies.
“I’m not here to close anyone down. I’m here to trade,” he said, adding DisChem had 65 pharmacies around South Africa.

This is a shortened version of an article that first appeared in the print edition of Weekend Post on Saturday February 11, 2012.

Military edge to anti-poaching war

By William Alexander

A NO-NONSENSE veteran of the Iraq War is teaching military combat techniques to South African game rangers in the hope of giving them the edge in the ongoing fight against rhino poaching. And according to Andrew Muir, chief executive of the Wilderness Foundation and the deputy chairman of the Eastern Cape Parks and Tourism Agency, Australian Damien Mander’s uncompromising techniques are just what the doctor ordered.
Mander, who has toured Iraq 12 times, helped train Iraq’s police force and acted as project manager for the Iraq special police training academy in Baghdad. He is the founder of the International Anti-Poaching Foundation (IAPF), which aims to prevent animals being needlessly slaughtered for their horns, tusks or meat.
The initiative, which has its headquarters in Zimbabwe but is increasingly assisting other African nations, is “designed to counteract the bloodshed through assertive action and specialist training”.
“Education is a key component in winning this war. The only way to have direct action is through well-structured anti-poaching operations on the ground.
“Combat training for rangers is not being ignored. It is happening in a lot of different areas, just not enough. What is an issue is its availability and that is why IAPF believes in the free delivery of this training,” Mander told Weekend Post this week.
Mander puts his wildlife rangers through intensive training, modelled on the same skills set US Special Forces are taught. He instructs them on the use of patrolling techniques, methods of search and arrest and navigation.
He has no qualms about arming them with heavy artillery, including armed helicopters, tranquilliser guns and even AK47 assault rifles.
Asked how he conducted his combat training, Mander said: “Our training has varying levels from basic unarmed community rangers through to instructor training and mentoring unit commanders.”
On a recent visit to South Africa that included game reserves in the Eastern Cape, Mander noticed local wildlife rangers were severely lacking in training – putting them at a distinct disadvantage against highly organised poachers.   Muir, who has worked closely with Mander in the past few years, is a big supporter of the former soldier and his anti-poaching methods.  “Damien has done excellent things for anti-poaching and although he is yet to receive accreditation for his training methods, it will be excellent when he does,” he said. “But it must be remembered that while combat training is necessary there are many other methods of stopping poaching that are just as important.”
However, while his operation does not give any quarter in the field, Mander does not believe in shooting poachers, preferring a non-violent approach that sees the perpetrators arrested. Mander has even rehabilitated ex-poachers after they have been released from prison and taken them on as wildlife rangers.

This is a shortened version of an article that first appeared in the print edition of Weekend Post on Saturday February 4, 2012.