Sanso
If you ever visit South Africa, take the trip to Soweto in an armoured vehicle. It is a tourist highlight now and you go with an armed guard.
It's certainly an eye-opener and possibly won't be what you expect. You will see plenty of loiterers, criminal-like looking people, sick people, poor people, squallor, filth and cardboard shacks, plenty of young teenage glue sniffers, and then, you will be taken to another area of Soweto where Winnie Mandela owns a few properties, the size and grandeur that i could never hope to own, and you will be in awe that they could actually be neighbours - it is the neighbourhood of the rich and famous of the activist years and holds a lot of history.
Do go listen to some African township jazz in a chabine and feel and hear the South African culture, and also sadness of the years of apartheid and how it has evolved. Speak to some locals of the area if you can, see the film Catch a Fire (for example).
I wasnt born in South Africa, i was born in Zambia and we emigrated to South Africa in 1975. Black people were required to have passes to enter our residential areas and we werent allowed to sit on each others bus stops or use each others ablution facilities. When you see the signs "Nie-Blankes" (non whites) on South African films, its not an exaggeration. In fact, I went to a private school in South Africa until we moved to the coast and my school was multi-racial. I brought a friend home for the weekend. My neighbours had a fit, she wasnt allowed to go on the same bus as me to go ice-skating together and yet, her father was 10 times as rich of all of us put together
We left South Africa in 1977 and went to Iran, where after a couple of years, the Ayatollah Khomeni asked us to leave (not so politely, in fact, his government took all our money and possessions.)
We returned to South Africa in 1980 and started again. Anti-apartheid activists were in full swing and heaven help you if you were caught. We watched the changes happen over time. I left South Africa in 1991, and returned just before the first democratic elections in 1994.
Speak to the people in Soweto about the elections if you can. I know lots of people who were intimidated into voting for certain political parties. There houses were burnt down if they were suspected of supporting anyone from "our side of the fence".
What your politician said may be outrageous indeed. But there is a small amount of truth. Did you know that South Africa is going to lose 25% of its work force in the next 5 years due to the spreading of HIV? And many of those people refuse treatment, and say that the witch doctor will provide a cure. Did you know that witch doctors have told HIV carriers that if they have sex with a virgin they will be cleansed of their HIV (hence all the rapings of young children and teenagers).
On the other hand, Black Empowerment is huge now. Black South Africans between the age of 25 and 40 are running banks, enterprises, and are driving towards success, now that they have the opportunity. There are many successfull individuals, and many of those were given spaces in companies years back when companies were forced to employ certain percentages of the ethnic population. many people grabbed that opportunity with both hands and are successful business people today.
There are though, many who are my age and upwards are the unfortunate product of the society I grew up in, and admittedly are unemployed or even unemployable. A lot of them lived in townships where you were constantly persecuted, women were raped, people were murdered, drug usage was heavy as was crime as there was no way to find employment and earn money other than to take it.
The "unemployable youth", seem to be involved in all these crime rings, (car hijacks, burglaries and rapings). There are not enough jobs to go around, what will they do with these people, and what will these people do with their lives? Its not like Europe where you can have rehab, job centres, training centres. A lot of these people are not interested, it's easy to belong to the crime rings and hijack people at gun point.. Just read the South African newspapers on a daily basis, you will get the feel. (new24.com e.g.). And there are millions of them.
I still remain positive about South Africa's future, as long as international pressure keeps up and the youth of SA keep fighting for their education and equality (and by that I mean all South Africans) and also use their brains to implement laws that work for everyone and not just for the majority. Also getting rid of Robert Mugabe as a neighbour would be a good step. (Sorry, did I just say that, I beg your pardon). rofl And perhaps a new president who believes that AIDS is actually caused by HIV, and is not some sickness derived from poverty :head but that it is actually sexually transmitted or though the usage of drugs :heads (jeez where did they find him??) rofl Talk to Miles's wife (Dr. Fish) if you can. she is a doctor in an emergency ward and she can tell you a horror story or two.
South Africa has one of the most complicated and intricate histories I know. there are many sides to its story and many many different view points. The corruption stories could go on for hours...
Visit it, dive it, drink it. See Cape Town and the garden route, see the safari, visit Zululand. It's fabulous. And there are plenty of Germans too
rofl
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0S8476b3QQ]YouTube - Township Jive-Ladysmith Black Mambazo[/ame]
What do they say you can take a horse to the water but you cant force it to drink...
