Submitted by Jessica Scott
Reading some of the responses on Sarah Britten’s blog titled “Is it wrong to feel relieved that I left South Africa?“, I was shocked by the vehemence of some of the responses.
It is not surprising that the subject of emigration evokes heated debate among those who want to leave and those who are determined to stay, but what does surprise me is the terminology used.
The word “racist”, for instance, is thrown around a lot. This term has been used so loosely in our society for so many different reasons and in such varying contexts that it is beginning to bear little resemblance to its meaning of “somebody who hates others who are not of his or her own race”.
Any white, would-be emigrants are accused of leaving because they cannot hack it in this new rainbow nation where those peoples of colour are no longer deprived of their dignity and human rights. I would suggest that there are many more racists, both black and white (oh, and coloured, Indian and Chinese too — I apologise for leaving anyone one out, how “racist” of me!), still in South Africa than those who have left, and that this is not the primary motivation for the majority of emigrants.
However, the word that is almost always implied, but rarely ever uttered, is “traitor”. Synonyms such as turncoat, defector and deserter spring to mind. Anyone with the slightest hint of emigrant tendencies is viewed as a coward and a cop-out, someone who is betraying his or her country by running away instead of staying and helping to make it a better place.
Being one with emigrant tendencies myself, it is this term that most offends me. My question to South Africans who use such accusatory words is: At what cost? I, like I am sure many of you, have friends who have been raped, I have had family members hijacked, I have been robbed on many occasions, and I just thank God that I am one of the lucky few who has not had a loved one murdered.
I am not advocating emigration. It is a personal choice. The decision to leave one’s family and friends behind, as well as a lifestyle, culture and country, all of which is familiar and much loved, for another land that can only ever be foreign is a heart-breaking one to make. But, when one’s peace of mind and very life is at stake (which, in no dramatic terms, it could very well be), the decision to leave does not sound so unreasonable, “racist” and “treasonous” to me.
So, before you enter into a heated debate about emigration and begin accusing friends and colleagues of bigotry and insurrection, consider our Constitution’s mandate to “establish a society based on democratic values” and to ensure that all citizens “have the right to life” and “to be free from all forms of violence”. Then and ask yourself who in this country is treasonous (definition: “an act of betrayal or disloyalty”).
Jessica Scott is a communications manager at a financial advisory business in Durban, with aspirations of becoming a writer. She graduated with a BA in English, history and media from UCT, and is currently in the process of studying further. She is passionate about South Africa, the environment and politics; in her spare time she enjoys reading, horse-riding and watching good films
The reason hat traitorous and treason are thrown around so lot is that Racist black SA are picking up on Mugabe’s hate speech.
Where refusing to do anyhing the Zanu party tells you to, including allowing your children to starve, is “Traitorous”.
Let alone vote agaisnt Mugabe, or Mbeki and the ANC.
Traitors and treason belong to the concept of a united nation. Are we in South Africa a united nation or just a mismatch of people trying to live together? – at present I tend to go with the latter as no one really identifies first and forost as a South African. Normally we are Zulu, Xhosa, Afrikaner fist and then South African. Whereas a Frenchman, for example, has his country and tribal / language / cultural identity in synonymous terms. To get to where the French are we will have to redraw the political map of africa and only then will we have nations like France, Germany and England.
Racial attacks are just used when the attacking / calling person has no real counter argument. On TL racial attacks are normally the default cop out response.
The term racist is often applied to someone
whose opinion differs from popular mainstream
usage of the word.
To be truly racist you must believe that your
race,group or clan is somehow superior to others
because is possess superior attributes.
So it is possible to be ‘racist’ in your own
race,if an Englishman believes that they are
superior to the Scots because they possess
superior attributes, are let us say superior
intellectual,are stronger and generally a better
breed they are by pure definition racist and
practise racism although they share the same
skin colour.
So by definition Black groups can be racist as
has been recently be shown.So racism has less to do
with skin colour but more with perceived superior
attributes that separates one group from another.
Now if you based on the aforegoing, you have a way
of behaving or thinking that treats people
of some other races differently as you treat your own, you are by definition racist.
So in the strictest definition and meaning of the word the current government is as racist as the previous one, because it treats not all groups equally although it may claim it has to do so to rectify the results of previous racial practices, but that does it not in my opinion render it less racist.
So I could easily argue that you can not have
a one ‘racial policy’ that fits all as so many try
to sell on these blogs,but that we are different,
have many overlapping aspirations but that does
not make us the same.
WE need a policy in which each group will develop
to it’s full potential without having to sacrify
those attributes that set them apart from the
the others and this would include its traditions
culture language etc.
This is in my opinion the challenge facing us.
Of course another of the good things about Australia is the fact that the A.B.C. (Australian Broadcasting Corporation that is) has an excellent show called 4 Corners – and of late there was an expose of Jackie Selebi bribing his way to the chief of Interpol and his compliance in the importing of drugs – and of course the odd murder or so of people who got in the way.
Looks like the world knows more of the corruption in South Africa than anyone in South Africa does – but now that it has been told – my part will never make that pages here anyway…….
I agree totally with you. The majority of people leaving this country for better pastures are doing so because the crime and violence in South Africa has reached the equivalent of a full blown war zone. Never mind the reverse racism practised under the guise of BEE etc. Two wrongs have never made a right….except in this country of course where the majority of the ruling elite have been convicted of some or other crime and I’m only referring to crimes commited after the 1994 elections. Shall we even bother to mention ESKOM or the xenophobic anarchy? As a once very patriotic south african I’m tired of being labelled a racist merely for being white. The pity is that the people doing the accusing can’t see the cart before the horse, nor the inherent racism in their own actions. Good luck SA, we are going to need it.
There is no way i would stay here if i knew i could be as succesful in business and have as great a standard of living in a country without the violent crime we live amoungst. If not for my own sake, my daughters life would be much safer and better elsewhere. You have to be an idiot to believe you would stay in SA if you could duplicate your life in a safer country.
Emigrating is TREACHEROUS. Anyone leaving is destroying our country and messing up the great social experiment that is South Africa. How could you even consider it! Consider the following
- How can a government provide redistribution by tacitly promoting theft through lack of policing if the victim runs away?
- How can BEE work if the businesses that are forced to give a share of their wealth away to undeserving “stakeholders” close down?
- When there are catastrophes, who will step-up-to-the-plate if the 21% of non Bantu who provided 75% of the emergency assistance now live in Australia?
- As the Afrikaaner farmer’s land is redistributed to incompetent but politically connected people, who will grow our food?
When it comes to Emmigration, consider the newly qualified Indian Doctor. I refer to those still able to study in South Africa because skin colour rather than competence now rules. (OK my black brothers – please explain how a studious son of a hard working Indian green-grocer deserves to be punished for Aparthate? You’ll have to explain it in real simple terms…). I am told by a doctor that well over 40% of South African Indian doctors emigrate within 10 years of qualifying.
This young man, on completion of his studies has cost his parents somewhere between a million rand (in the case of the green-grocer) and tens of millions. The state has also had to contribute to his schooling, healthcare and university education. I would guess this to be between one and two million rand. So if he leaves on graduation, we are giving his chosen country a gift of between two and tens of millions of rand. We’ll call this South Africa’s hidden foreign aid to the West. (Oh boy, they need this skills transfer so badly – we don’t)
But doctors have the habit of working and paying their taxes. By the time our Charou is forty, his contribution to the state coffers in taxes, excise and VAT will be somewhere between quarter of a million rand and several million rand a year.
They also contribute to their communities – what value do we place on this?
And all the while, they are providing badly needed medical services. Something we have a grave shortage of in South Africa.
I hereby advocate that each Indian doctor as he qualifies, is arrested by the police, transported to the emergency room of some remote hospital and shackled to the reception desk. He will serve the rest of his career at this post!
Alternatively, we can respect these great people, encourage them to study in South Africa and try to make staying in South Africa more attractive than emigrating. This will be difficult because South African Indian doctors are so highly regarded elsewhere but many of them are fiercely patriotic and if we met them half way, they would gladly stay.
In the long term in world economics, almost every immigrant arriving in a country is an asset and almost every emigrant leaving the country is a loss. We must find ways of making it much more attractive for our qualified young people to stay. To do otherwise is macro-economic suicide.
I just need to ask this one question to all that say they would rather leave somewhere else than RSA.
Where were they 14 years ago?
Did they just decide now to leave? Or they always wanted to since they were young?
My take in all of this is that yes our country is going to tatas at the moment but I refuse to have this self centered mentality , me me me me!!
The majority of black people in this country sacrificed and died for this country. They did not run away from all the problems they were facing while some spoiled white people were protected and enjoyed good life in the country .Only now they do not see it good for them.
We have been through tougher times than the current ones. We did not pack and leave. This notion that we did not have a choose is redundant, people of Zim and else where still left their countries without a cent or means, but the will.
Even though the fruits of democracy that we fought for are not really realized now, but my kids have better prospects than I did, My kids can grow up without feeling inadequate or without being called monkeys.
Yes I want a better life for my family, but they are not the only ones that need me. My community needs.
One word sums up the biggest problem in South Africa – intolerance.
I didn’t realise how bad this was until I left for England.
It is even evident in the way people drive in South Africa (just see how many people will decelerate on a highway to let you change lanes if your indicator is on, or will stop to let you in from a side street)
Every human being has a basic right to safety first – the government in SA seems oblivuous to that .- safety is a right , not a privilige SA
Make SA safe and many expats will generally all look at returning if accepted.
gary
sydney oz since 85
Jessica Scott …….with aspirations of becoming a writer……. She is passionate about South Africa…………in her spare time she enjoys reading, horse-riding….
I share the horse riding with you. I have seen horses throwing off a bad rider. I have not met any racist horses. Maybe there is a lesson here.
Jessica
“traitor…..betraying his or her country…..it is this term that most offends me the most”
Just ignore people who say such things. If your “friends” say such things to you, its time you found other friends.
Spending much mental energy pondering why people say such things, is about as useful as debating how many angels can fit on the head of a pin (apparently a matter of life and death in the 1200′s when St. Thomas Aquinas grappled with this question and others, now seemingly trivial).
A few of the key challenges South Africans (govt, NGOs, civil society, corporations, business leaders, economists, teachers, individuals….) need to address if we are to get out of the current downward spiral include:
unemployment reduction
poverty reduction
inequality reduction (not the same as poverty reduction)
reducing corruption
combating/reducing violent crime
escalating fuel prices
inefficient to non existent public transport
Now these are challenges worth thinking about.
Now I don’t know how a person with a BA in English and media can make a major impact, but here’s an idea. How about designing some really effective posters and maybe even comic strips that can help reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS?. Something you could do in your “spare” time, if you have time to spare.
Estimates for the numbers of people in SA dying from HIV/AIDS ranges from 1000 per day to 2000 per day. A time bomb with a fuse already lit, in my opinion, is the impact of the 1 million plus AIDS orphans in SA when they become young adults. Many of them are cared for, but many have to survive by themselves.
Some Nigerians say many of the ruthless criminals in their country are orphans who survived the Biafran War, and were forced to fend for themselves, and live by their wits. I don’t know if this is true, but it sounds plausible.
I am out of SA for just over a week (business trip)and can see clearly how badly crime affects ALL of us. In Singapore, Bangkok, Melbourne, Brisbane people walk about all over all day and night in safety and have a good time interacting with each other as they go about their business of having fun. We of all colours mostly just hunker up in our homes at night.
Another difference is the public debate, ours in SA is is spiteful, hateful, hurtful and full of vengeance – it is leading us down the path to destruction, so before anyone puts pen to paper think: will this be part of the solution or part of the problem?
Brent
The responses to Sarah Britten’s piece were varied but most were quite vehement. Yours was no exception.
Its not treachery or betrayal that worries me – its the searing absence, the gap that is left when people leave. Any perusal of the paperwork at the Home Affairs dept will show that its really the most productive sector of society leaving. Say nothing of the fact that it is usually only the productive sector that is able to leave. What are you taking away and what do you leave behind? TN, a friend, commented that the queue at the passport counter was for the first time in his life, longer than the one for ID’s. Anyone who knows the life and times of the Home Affairs Dept will know what an incredible turn of events that is.
There is also the stark realisation that there are elements of society which are sick. Unhealthy, decaying, in ruin. Some of us are committed to ameliorating this in whatever way we can. By volunteerism, political participation, involvement in the bodies that will bring about real change. Activism is at work to bring about revelation and revolution. Not all who stay are doing this and perhaps South Africa would be a better country if it were so. Others choose to leave. And if their hearts so desire it, they really should.
When I say people should leave – I don’t mean it in a bad way. And I don’t think a lot of people do. These are not the careless statements of the disingenuous and the needlessly disgruntled. Nor is it so much bitterness or a lack of sensitivity..just a touch of realism. A dry and acrid realism but realism nonetheless.
Its just the same as when you start applying for a new job when you are currently in another position. You start criticizing your employers or your work ethic suffers, you abuse workplace resources – the things begin to crumble. It is best when you find a job as soon as possible so as to let the next available person, toting the right credentials, in. Leave as soon as you can because when you stay, usually your criticism will go far beyond the point where it is effective. If unchecked, it may even be toxic to fellow workers. This is not to say that they are wrong in looking for work..it may be that their needs are not met, they need stimulation and a different environment within which they can operate. But they are still leaving. And they leave permanently. I shall venture so fair as to say its a luxury to then comment from the UK or Australia where the emigrated are far removed from the work of nationbuilding.
I’d like to challenge those that get this far in reading and display invariably more patience than others – to stay and see what is on offer here. How we can work together across the colour spectrum to bridge gaps and to gain greater understanding? The potential for building what we want is so great and yet we shirk our collective responsibilty at each and every juncture. It requires that we be tireless and enthusiastic not just when things are pretty but when they are hard. If we do, we could find ourselves exposed to penetrating insights regarding the nature of change in ourselves as well as the country. Greasy attitudes and outdated mindsets have no place here. Even the euphoria surrounding 1994 needs to grow into a more solid sense of ownership, belonging and responsibility. We’re more than rugby matches, a National Braai Day and a multitude of public holidays. The challenge is to go beyond the psychic scars and to get at the truth. About ourselves and the people around us. Its about fighting for what we have always believed to be ours.
Futility and folly follow us wherever we will let it. We’re constantly being told who we are. Our mirrors include but are not limited to a slippery economy, xenophobia, corruption, crime and racism. Its time for the awakening of consciousness and arming ourselves with a national identity that reflects who we are from the inside out, not from the outside in. We’re at the coalface and we need intrinsic change. Its hard to do that when one is applying for emigration. The urgency becomes as if you needed to find a toilet. You need to go. Everything loses its lustre. The magic is gone. When you’re emigrating, you’re leaving. As some suspect and others know, when you’re on the outside you’re really as good as gone. And what good does that do?
@Ziggy, a lot of people don’t make a decision to just leave SA for good – almost everybody I speak to comes to the UK for a year or two with no expectations either way. They come to experience living in a different culture, for the opportunity to travel and live in a big exciting city.
Most of them then look at what they would sacrifice by going back to South Africa after a few years, and see no incentives other than to be close to their families again.
If South Africa as a nation needs my generation to return, something more than a notion of “a duty to nation-build” needs to be offered.
@Craig
Thanks for that response. I’m very familiar with the South Africans that do the work gig for two or so years – for as long as that visa will hold out..and then discover that they are happier there anyway. I have several friends in the UK at the moment – practically the whole of my matric class is there..and I know most aren’t coming back. I think its a pity. I can say with much pride that a lot of them are going to turn into industry leaders and I wish that they were doing this at home rather than overseas. As I said, in the above post – people have unmet needs and desires. Crime, corruption etcetera are always notwithstanding. No amount of cajoling will hold them back from emigrating. This, too, a pity.
I read with much interest (and a little amusement); ” If South Africa as a nation needs my generation to return, something more than a notion of “a duty to nation-build” needs to be offered.”
As a matter of genuine curiousity – what kind of incentive are you describing here?
Bless your (A)soul.
Ziggy I have to say, your post was one of the most eloquent and powerfully expressed I have seen on this website.
Please, please do spend some more time and write a longer piece and submit it to the Reader Blog. You writing is simply brilliant and deserves a wider audience.