Thursday, 6 August 2026

Clinical psychologist Dr Dumi Mashiko said firstborn children are often treated as co-parents, carrying adult responsibility too young, which can lead to burnout, perfectionism, resentment and difficulty asking for help.

Listeners’ stories described years of sacrificing school, money and even their own plans to support siblings and nieces and nephews, with several saying they moved out or chose not to have children because of the pressure.

Human trafficking was described as increasingly digital and local: recruiters can be relatives, friends, teachers or pastors, and victims are often lured by job ads, dating apps or social-media grooming rather than obvious kidnappings.

An international relations analyst said the Morocco-Spain flashpoint is really a land and sovereignty dispute over Spanish-controlled enclaves in North Africa, with colonial hangovers, migration rumours and no easy external arbitration route.

The final open-line segment turned to South Africa’s political and social fractures, especially corruption, political killings and how a national dialogue should start from ward level if it is to mean anything.