Poverty jostles alongside wealth in Shanghai.
On one street corner I can buy a delicious takeaway omelette, a jidanbin (jidan: egg, bin: cake) with a choice of spices for about three RMB. I can add a sausage and it become four and a half RMB. Literally twenty steps away I can walk into a typical, Western-style coffee shop, The Coffee Bean&Tea Leaf, and an average cup of coffee will be about twenty five RMB. If I have a breakfast along with the coffee, I won’t be looking at less than fifty RMB for a meal probably less nutritious and not as tasty as the jidanbin. The only difference is that I scoff the jidanbin sitting in a bus shelter or sitting on a low wall while I watch the passersby, instead of the comfort of the blandly tasteful setting of a coffee shop.
A stone’s throw away from our small, one-bedroom apartment on the 22nd floor is one of the most luxurious hotels one could imagine, the Swiss Hotel. An evening buffet comes at the (relatively) reasonable price of nearly three hundred RMB, far beyond the average Shanghai worker’s means. Another stone’s throw back, just outside our apartment, Wang Hao runs a little shop no larger than a glorified telephone booth. Attached to it is another glorified, relatively private shack, also not much larger than a phone booth which is his dwelling. See the photo below, which I hope comes through. He does not have a care in the world, as far as I can see, as do many like him.
That conclusion I have often come to with regard to poor Chinese. The vast majority, by Western or Johannesburg northern-suburbs standards, have extremely little. Yet they are not disgruntled, and often seem so happy. I do not wish to romanticise poverty as I have said before in these blogs, it is just a conclusion I keep coming to as I interact with the Chinese. Or they are indifferent, even serene, about the little they have.
This is because the quest for more and more material things just does not promote happiness; they drain us of it.
Carl Niehaus’s recent confessions on the Mail & Guardian of fraud and the jaw-dropping fortunes he owes most singularly proves my common sense point. To quote from the very Bible that his faith uses, “For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs” (1 Timothy 6:10).
I do not judge Carl Niehaus. I do shake my head, gobsmacked by how someone can need so much money to live, as well as support his former wife’s obscene spending habits. I find myself feeling such compassion for him. Why?
Well, to be honest, he came clean. It’s the people who do not come clean that I do not respect. I think I speak for most, if not all readers.
Carl Niehaus owned up; he is human. I am not a saint either. Though I have never committed fraud, I have had to lie sometimes to get by. For example, as said before in this blog, the Chinese cannot grasp that a person from South Africa can be a native English speaker. So, with regard to the new school I am about to start working at in the new semester, yet again they think I come from England. They cannot discern accents; I could say I come from Australia, America, or any of the English-speaking countries.
Once I failed to get a teaching post because the school directors said they did not want their children being exposed to an Irish accent. Oh yeah? I was dumbfounded. I have a standard northern Jo’burg accent and some can tell I lived for a number of years in Cape Town. But Irish? I suddenly realised I had emailed the school a copy of my Irish passport, which I am currently living on, to show my valid work visa. They just think I have an Irish accent, they simply cannot tell. So no more sending copies of my passports — my work agencies happily comply with the lie — I come from England.
So it’s not for me to judge.
But I think I speak for many of us when I say we just want to see our leaders come clean, show responsibility and step down if they have committed fraud.
And the problem with these political icons and struggle heroes of ours? They’re just as human as us and we forget that they must struggle with their status. We should not be the first to cast stones when they show they are really ordinary people who have had greatness thrust upon them.
My major concern is the role of Rhema Church in all of this. I am immensely suspicious of prosperity religion. I have “been there” and many, many years ago attended Rhema church in Randburg for a while. Rhema members are encouraged to part with at least 10% of their earnings because the Bible instructs them to. This is endorsed with the biblical promise that whatever you give, the more you will receive: “give and it shall be given” (Luke 6:38 ).
But Rhema handing over in excess of R700 000 to Carl Niehaus? I wonder if the leaders of Rhema in Randburg were happy with his confession and making public that loan. It immediately brings into question how socially responsible Rhema church is with its money. Surely, a sum of money of that size should be going into uplifting society, be it hospitals, education programmes for the poor and so forth, not lining one man’s pocket? It promotes the global crisis instead of contributing to overcoming that crisis.
My recent (common sense ) blog on censorship seems most timeous. The cans of worms are being opened.
Niehaus, in his interview with the Mail & Guardian, said “I never said no [to Linda]. I thought this is the way you keep love — you buy it. I should have been firm and said: ‘No more. We can’t live like this.’ I didn’t and I fell into the devastation of debt”.
I find his idea of buying love appallingly naïve. I have so much to grateful for. My wife, the Chook, needs so little to make her happy and we don’t have much, though the bank account is really fattening nicely. I can assure you if it had been otherwise, she would have left me long ago. We have had our fair share of financial woes in our globetrotting, not just wondering where the next meal was coming from, but where was the next country we could live in coming from, ha ha, I kid you not!
But my positive thoughts, even my prayers (yes, I still somehow believe in that and food tastes better after offering up a small prayer of thanks) go out to Carl Niehaus. Mr Niehaus, may the God of your understanding strengthen and comfort you in these times. But, more importantly, heed His instruction. Ask yourself, what do I learn from this?
There is so much wisdom in the scriptures and genuine joy in living a godly life. None of us are in the position to place ourselves in judgemental positions – for all goodness comes from God. I live with the poorest of the poor, and often observe them sharing to the last cent. But for a wealthy person it seems even difficult to share just 2% of their riches. The prosperity messages as preached by so many ministers is not biblical and has caused many christians to slip and fall…
Very nice article Rod. You compassion and understanding shines through. Enjoy Shanghai!
Strugglistas hate struggling.
Correction! Niehaus reveled in this obscene spending himself. By the way he lied to his wife (or he forgot to tell her that he lied) about his sister’s fictitious death (which he orchestrated)! Oho! another thing, he did not come clean; he was forced (by circumstances) to come clean. Had he not been caught out he probably would have continued with his deceit. He should shoulder most of the blame along with a litany of accomplices. Granted he suffered a great deal in his life; but crime does not compensate for that, does it? He now wants to divert attention to himself by cynically insinuating that he did all these for his wife? He seems to believe in his own spin. Well he left the first one didn’t he? and hooked-up with a corporate high-flyer of note and they both delved into an obscene conspicuous consumption spree. As for Rhema, it continues to court controversy now and again. It would do better to clean up its image.
Sitting in a doctor’s waiting room the other day I picked up one of those thick, glossy magazines, House and Home, or Home and Garden or something. Leafing through it, it suddenly struck me how empty the quest for luxury is. All those exotic homes we’re presumably supposed to aspire to. I was left thinking how meaningless it is to long for such a perfect, expensive environment.
All these people doing everything in their power to gain as much money as they can by whatever means, fair or foul, – so that they can afford the luxury vehicles, jewelry, clothing and furniture they consider essential.
How utterly boring.
every now and then you come across a piece that speaks a truth that needs no embellishment or addition.This is such.
Well put Sir and here’s hoping Mr Niehaus heeds the lesson.
Religion, quite properly, will provide its answer here.
But another vital thing to ponder in this (if not to be ‘learnt’ from it) is that private and public morality must in the end run by different standards of judgement and sanction.
At a personal level it is hard not to sympathise with Niehaus for the disaster he has made of his career and life.
And it is charitable and decent for the ANC, his ‘family’, to stand by him at this time (if, indeed, they continue to as the sorry story runs its course).
But, after agreeing that, where have we got to?What does it imply about the country’s public life? about our chances of attracting people of probity as our representatives? about our hopes of promoting clean government and justice for all – when, time and again and with apparent impunity, the ruling elite close ranks and cover for each other against the interest of the rest of us?
Rod… if you can play games with the law the I can do so with the english language and confess to “flabbergastation” when I read…
“Well, to be honest, he came clean. It’s the people who do not come clean that I do not respect. I think I speak for most, if not all readers.”
If he has confessed to fraud then he has broken the law and should face criminal charges, his day in court and suitable punishment in the form of time in prison. Next time that an employee of a big corporate commits fraud should we all just be happy with a simple confession and apology and no criminal sanction.
No wonder we have such a problem with crime and I would wager that I am one of the “most, if not all readers” who would like to see criminals being treated like criminals. This includes those who aid and abet them.
There is only one problem with your comment about “coming clean” (I agree that it was refreshing to hear something other than outright denials). This is that Mr Niehaus only came clean once he was confronted.
It seems that religion provides the right answers to people who have a righteous outlook in the first place, and utterly fails those who do not. This begs the question as to how useful it is in correcting behaviour.
I will not pray for Carl Niehaus. He betrayed us all in his abuse of the public trust – abusing funds in a country in which people literally die for the lack of them.
Furthermore, in my own opinion, my fellow citizens who are black will have their suspicions strengthened when white people howl for the heads of corrupt black politicians but are sympathetic to another parasitic civil servant because we can relate to his life and outlook more easily.
In a society desperate for development through committed leadership, he has admitted to treachery in that cause. He must pay. Pray rather for those who suffer as a result of the corruption.
H, Rod,
Your points about Rhema are well taken. There may yet be more to that story than has surfaced in the media.
I, too, found Niehaus’ confession of loving his wife too much (that is what his admission of trying to ‘buy’ her love amounts to) disingenuously naive. I fear I am not as kind as you are, Rod, and I can’t help wondering if that comment was a passive-aggressive manœuvre to shift a large share of the blame onto ‘Linda’. (Lots of head shaking over ‘what women want’, ‘hen-pecking’ wives, ‘Grace Mugabe clones’, etc.)
Religion is such a delicate and at the same time contentious issue in public life that the mere mention of it can silence any criticism of the ‘penitent’. Owning up to his actions is better than trying to tough it out or openly shift the responsibility on to others. But there are subtle ways to deflect full responsibility and to mitigate one’s guilt in the eyes of the world. Appeals to religious fellowship is one of them. Remember Jimmy Swaggart’s tearful apology and re-entry into the ranks of the justified? How about Jim and Tammy-Faye Baker whose hands were so deep in the till they had to be prised out with the ‘jaws of wealth’?
Mr. Niehaus may not have swindled his funds but he used his ANC connection (political religion) to persuade his ‘comrades’ to ‘lend’ him money. To sustain a life of ducking and diving for such a long period of time there must have been a certain amount of ‘denial’ involved, a lot of lying and covering up, and some damaged friendships. Not to mentiion the extent to which ‘Linda’ may have been a ‘trophy’ wife and proof of Niehaus’ bona fides’ within the ANC.
Judging Mr.Niehaus is for the courts and his God to do, but such follies as he committed can also help to spotlight the larger problems within the government and the ANC where things like fraud and corruption are overlooked in the interest of the ‘party’.
Alan – “Furthermore, in my own opinion, my fellow citizens who are black will have their suspicions strengthened when white people howl for the heads of corrupt black politicians”. Misunderstanding.Skewing. Carl Niehaus confessed, sure, under duress. Winnie Mandela literally and figuratively has gotten away with murder. JZ never has his day in court though he says he wants to, but when the possibility looms he or his colleagues do all in their power to prevent him from having his day in court.We are not “howling for heads”, we are asking leaders to come clean.
And, I am afraid to say, your post contributed the usual, lazy, irresponsible polarisation between blacks and whites.
“Come clean” regardless of skin or detergent or toothpaste or shoe colour, say I. Justice and fair use of the law for ALL, say I.Responsibility and mature behaviour from all our leaders regardless of the colour of your eyes, hair colour or the colour of your car, say I.
Siobhan – agreed. Rhema needs a lot more scrutiny in its role.
n the late eighties Rhema had nothing or very little to do with oppressed blacks. I know, I went to services. They had whites spellbound in the prosperity cult thinking.
If the market changes, they change their strategy and positioning. Nothing to do with spirituality.
Churches and Jesus were and are there for the poor, the downtrodden. I have thoroughly read the New testament. Giving in excess of seven hundred thousand without public knowledge to Niehaus??
Thanks for responding to comments – especially criticism. It makes for a much more enthralling blog. While I don’t expect you to conduct a debate in these comments, I want to respond anyway.
“Carl Niehaus confessed, sure, under duress. Winnie Mandela literally and figuratively has gotten away with murder.”
The key words for me here are ‘gotten away with.’ Niehaus confessed. JZ and Winnie didn’t. The difference is the possibility of escape. Niehaus had none. He was living in a house of cards. All it took was a source, a phone call from the press, and it was all over bar the consequences. Resistance was futile. Not so for Winnie and JZ. Tears or no tears. He confessed because he was cornered.
If we are not howling for heads but asking leaders to come clean, are you saying that you’d be happy for leaders to stay in power over us as long as they admit their abuses of power? Because otherwise it sounds like we are howling for their heads. I’m not interested in their personal struggles with morality. This is a democracy in which these people are meant to guide the country in the best interests of its citizens. If they, for whatever reason, renege on that responsibility or, worse still, abuse it, they must be chucked out and replaced with people who will work for us as citizens.
As for my lazy, irresponsible polarisation: I doubt you would deny that South Africa is rife with racism, ethnic loyalties, and suspicion between ethnic groups. I may be mistaken, but I think that it is important to be aware of the perception issues around these things rather than ignore them until they come back to bite us with a general conception that whites are racist, unpatriotic, and anti-development, and can therefore be discounted in public debates.
I said, “in my own opinion” because I can obviously not expect all white people to share my sensitivity to how we portray ourselves – we are not a unified group with one mind, nor are any other South African ethnic groups. But, for myself, I feel that the perception of whites as condemning corruption in other races while ignoring it among ourselves is not completely without basis.
I feel that those whites who abhor corruption must demonstrate even-handedness. I hear your argument that Neihaus’s confession entitles him to some forgiveness, or sympathy. But as I stated above, I don’t buy it. And, although I do not accuse you of being unsympathetic to, say, Zuma if he came clean about all the grotesque abuses of public trust that it seems very likely he’s committed, I remain sensitive that Niehaus’s betrayal often seems to have been reported in a tone of sympathy – which I doubt would be the case with a Zuma confession.
Alan – very well put. Thank you. If there is an escape route to avoid serious punishment, most of us would take it. That is surely the human condition, a corollary of the instinct for survival, agreed or disagreed?
It looks like Niehaus was in an absolute corner.
I still have sympathy for Niehaus, as I do for all addicts, be they alcoholics or drug addicts. It is a terrible place to be. I know of a man who simply cannot stop drinking 24/7, will do anything he can to get hold of booze and he will die.
Niehaus is going through punishment now and faces severe punishment for fraud, he has already had a good taste of jail.
Winnie and Zuma. Let’s assume (emphasis on assume) both are guilty of all the various things frim Stompie’s death to Zuma’s arms deal. If they had admitted their culpability right off I would have been impressed. The fact that in the case of JZ it never gets resolved is what makes people like me angry and distrustful.We despair of leadership like this. Zuma boasts, let me have our day in court, and now that the high court has overruled the previous decision and say he must go to court, his attorneys are doing everything in their power to prevent that from happening!
For all you say about how rife racism is in SA (it is), and is so on many more levels than just black/white, I still think playing the race card does not help.
If Niehaus had been black or Indian I would have responded in the same way in this blog.