99.9% of people in South Africa are fine. We will get through this one as well. Come hell or high water.

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And what was the point of this Article??

that we should all pack up and join you in Sydney?

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I warned you that the longer you’re away, the weirder SA will appear to have grown until it has “transformed” into such depth of weirdness that going back would be more bizarre than moving to Kazakhstan to be Borat’s love-slave.

It’s working already.

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The short answer is ‘no’

South Africa faces a malignant syndrome peculiar to the developing world
We find ourselves locked into an unstable trajectory of rapidly accelerating and irreversible urbanization, attendant with growing resource scarcity (energy, water)

It is no coincidence that conflict has erupted now, after the cost of a primary energy resource doubled within months, driving those closest to the breadline into an untenable situation.
There is no realistic prospect of energy costs stabilizing (let alone falling) in the foreseeable future, and a reduction in urbanization pressure is not imminent.

This is not something which we can simply “step away from”, and “muddling through, somehow” will not sustain, as you suggest.

PS. You should have applied for that passport already if you expect it by next year!

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Ahhh shame, nothing like a little bit of a happy ending, but be careful about been the crow with the cheese. Maybe you can type something up for South Africa sucks about how crap we all are.

Could you please go and pollute the blogosphere of the Australians, maybe you can write something inspirational about your first Muslim hunt on Bondi Beach or the terrific holiday feeling that you got when going past the refugee camps in the outback where Australia keeps their refugee problem in such fantastic conditions that most beg to go home after a month….

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Shoo, Sarah. I know you are better than this blog. I hate to say it but you are beginning to sound foreign. Unlike the famous ad about the sexiness of foreign-ness, this blog is largely tiresome and silly. Sorry, Sarah. You know I love your work but this…….scrapes the bottom. Foreign in a very bad way!!! Bye.

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Hi Sarah,

I don’t think you need feel guilty in the slightest. I think that everyone inherently does what is best for themselves and what they are able to do.

If you chose to leave then look forward and feel nostalgia, not guilt. Guilt it’s at people while nostalgia reminds you of where you came from and what your choices actually mean. Guilt really is a fruitless emotion that will only aid you in making irrational decisions.

I say live your choices to the fullest, even if those choices lead you away from SA.

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I did not comment on your last blog but feel now that you have overstepped teh mark. Yes we have problems and yes they are serious. You have opted out an dthat is fine. You have your passport and whatever bully for you. Why don’t you do us all a favor and get on with your life and leave us to get on with ours. Your blog comes acorssa s self satisified and whiny. If you feel guilty or homesick about leaving then I suggest you keep it to yourself. We have more important problesm to worry about than your won feelings

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it’s really funny how white people whine and whinge and wonder about how things in the townships are going to affect them when the reality is… they probably won’t. or at the most they will be affected is that they have to hire a new security guard or a new domestic worker or a new tea lady because the one they had was killed or hospitalized or went “back home”.

but one of their *friends* or school mates, especially if over the age of 25? um, no. not really.

let’s deal with some hard truths: while south africa is pretty much the only country in africa where there are generationally poor white people [and, remember, folks, most of the whole economic purpose of apartheid was to stamp out that generational poverty among afrikaans-speaking white males who would go on to become breadwinners for their families], by and large, poor white folk don’t exist in africa [unless you count the azores and the canaries as being part of africa, and really not even then].

so the whole “woe is white middle class me, they are going to come out of the townships and get me” lament that is up and down and all around in the past couple of weeks is getting really tired.

by the way, it’s also the main reason that fifa isn’t exactly too worried about the whole thing — but it’s not “racially sensitive” or “politically correct” for them to say aloud.

the private armies of the rich will protect the people in sandton and bryanston and houghton long before the national army will. the people living there know this. the national army knows this. and, more importantly, the people in the townships know this. why do you think it was joburg cbd that got the brunt of urban destruction and not sandton cbd?

whinge, complain, pontificate. would you like some cheese with your whine?

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I get your point about having options. Everyone in the world wants MORE options…and you establishing a life in any other country, whether it be Oz or somewhere in Africa or the Americas, gives you MORE options.

If I had to “flee” tomorrow… my options would lead me to the UK, because we are part of the Commonwealth, not because of my passport (only SA), or to another SADC country.

Anyone who comments could never deny they would not want MORE options. So don’t take the criticism too harshly.

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Sarah, its not that I object to what you write, but these blogs are for thought leaders, and i don’t feel that these thoughts are leading the way, I have read similar thoughts all over the place. We come to this site for leadership and new ways of thinking. I think you can lead our thoughts.You write intelligently. Just remember that thousands have people have done what you are doing and we have heard it all before.

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Hi,
I have certain ideas as to why you would feel guilty. i think the issue turns on race. you are white, per your picture. there has been, i think, a significant spike in white emigration since 1994. The reasons are numerous. They could be for example, affirmative action - though fruition of that happened about 1999. A reason that i find really convincing is that fear that black people can’t govern or lead a country otherwise, say in business for example. In this conception of blackness, the end result is a formation of a banana republic - like the DRC, or Zimbabwe right now, or Nigeria, or Gabon etc. In these republics there is rampant corruption and abuse of all sorts of human rights. Here is the critical point: in this conception of south africa’s future the cause of this descent into is not cause say by a legacy of apartheid which left the majority uneducated and poor, or global capitalism which is not pro-poor, or any other such socio-economic reasoning, but on the racist conception that black people are animals. they aren’t ‘fit to govern’.
Without doing any surveys whatsoever, i would conclude that this is the strongest reason by white south africans leave.
I say then that you feel guilty because your motives to move are racist. With the little information that i have, i would impute this mind set on you. And the second thing i would attribute to you is opportunism - as in during apartheid it was fine, now post apartheid it is not fine so i am leaving. Shouldn’t it have been the other way around? Shouldn’t have a grand proportion of white people fled the country and the egregious human rights abuses during apartheid and not after it? I find it disgusting that white emigration spiked after the international law crime of apartheid was officially dismantled in SA. It sounds as if these people were all accomplices to the crime. Not as perpetrators of course (only a minority were i guess), but as beneficiaries, to follow Mamdani’s conceptualization. And when this benefit was perceived to have ceased (it hasn’t white people still have great priviledge in SA), they bounced on a mass scale. As such i would also attribute such a sick opportunism to your mindset.
There is another factor. Crime - now this is scary. If you or any other persons leaves the country on this ground it is justifiable. cause it s bad here. But crime must be understood contextually. In my view, the appropriate context is the violence of apartheid and the inequalities it formed that fuel crime. This is the only way to explain the violent nature of SA crime. crime here is an act of venting frustration and anger, and getting a sense of social retribution. Another factor in the cause of crime is the stupidity of the ANC policy - specifically the abandoning of RDP. They were idiots. I say no more.
As stated above crime is partly a consequence of apartheid, and to this extent - since you were a beneficiary of apartheid and still have privilege in SA now because of apartheid - you have responsibility. I would say then, that you probably feel guilty for abandoning this responsibility.
The flaw in the above is that they are all in generalities. however the blog you submitted was a question, and you didn’t inform the reader any deeper specifics of yourself so that they may respond with stronger insights. With these limitations, i would say my response was adequate.
In light of the above i conclude thus: YES, YOU SHOULD FEEL GUILTY (OR WRONG)TO FEEL RELIEVED THAT YOU LEFT SOUTH AFRICA.

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@Ali,
Right now, 10% of people in SA are imigrants, and they all feel threatened (some more, some less). From the other 90%, a great percentage understand that all this damages life in SA. Not only Social life, but Economic life is being hit. And that, even if indirectly, gets the great majority of your previous 90%. So, it’s not as clear that SA is coming fine out of all this.
And when things in SA economy are bad, things in other SADC also worsen.
Therefore, you see that 20 dead foreigners is not as meaningless as it seems.

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You should write an article about the uniquely South African emigrant guilt-trip that gets laid on you.

All around the world people move and return, but I’m sure only SA makes it’s own feel such traitors about doing so. Cuba and North Korea, perhaps. Maybe it’s another aspect of the national xenophobia.

Lots of luck to those who stick with it, but the rational response to a society like SA is to flee. You shouldn’t have to justify relief.

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Should you feel relieved? Do we care? Do you feel relieved? Does it matter? Not particularly.

People lived through the days of apartheid, of bombings and shootings and police and army screeching through the townships in those big armoured trucks. I’d guess that many of us were enjoying our childhoods then and not particularly aware of what was going on. Probably people here have children who are not aware of what’s going on (not mine, unfortunately, who have been questioning me for days but undoubtedly don’t understand the reality of it on the ground. Me neither, I’m not there.)

If it was that bad for you here, you wouldn’t be feeling relief. You’d be suffering from post-traumatic stress and having sleepless nights.

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This blog officially earns you a FAIL, Sarah.

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To the point -

No it is not wrong that you should feel relieved about not being in SA right now - especially if you cannot sleep at night wondering about uninvited guests.

In the last 12 months SA has managed to hit the CNN, BBC etc news headlines for all the wrong reasons.

Mostly crime, the police chief, HIV, Zimbabwe and now racism and mob violence.

Too much to simply relegate to the growing pains of a young democracy unfortunately.

Real patriots would be attacking those issues openly and not trying to hide them under the carpet under the guise of “unpatriotic”.

By the way - before you apply for the other passport make sure you tell home affairs through your local consulate otherwise they will take away your South African one.

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Sarah,

Granted, S.A has its problem’s, lots of them. What we need is positive energy (collectively) in order overcome them. I can’t see how your sob-story has added to that. You write very well but please, please, please offer constructive viewpoints or nothing at all.

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“We come to this site for leadership and new ways of thinking.”

I’ve always wondered why people visited Thought Leader when Ronald Suresh Roberts was still blogging.

Thank for clearing it up po.

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I agree with many of my thought leaders. We leave in interesting times indeed and we have serious problems in the country and the continent, let alone the world. In this country most rich, privileged people did not cast gloom and doom pre democracy, simply because they felt that this was their country and they are making the best of it.

Now the blacks are running the country and which were democratically elected, forgave the perpetrators and still left the economy in whites hands.

Sarah is glad that she left. I’m not sure whether I should say congrats or good reddens , but all I know is that this is my country and I will help in any small way that I can to assist people of this country and most importantly assist my immediate community in resolving what ever issues that might arise. I will continue to pay my taxes even if it goes to some corrupt gov official , simple because I know that the are way to resolve problems and most importantly that people of this country will unite and fight what ever negative elements in our mist.

There is however big plus in all these problems that we have faced and that are the hearts of South Africans. The way the responded in helping those in need, makes want to make this country work.

I’m might not be a middle class or rich but I’m rich with my country men.

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Sarah, as an individual, you don’t need to burden yourself. But as part of a collective, of course you will and should be burdened with feelings of guilt. It all depends on how far you push yourself along the line of our materialist culture where even countries become locked in the domain of personal pick-and-choose. I think this consumptive individualism would make you poorer as a human being, so if you’d like to keep your connectedness alive, your connectedness to the primary country and people that shaped you, and in so doing remain a fuller human being, the best way to deal with guilt is probably to take action and do something constructive for the object of that guilt, namely SA, wherever you are. I cannot suggest exactly what, other than to perhaps present us with more thoughtful and informative, even creative writings. Send us practical lessons from the Australians for problems over here, if any of worth can be found! Otherwise, grab your opportunity over there full-on with the heartfelt intention of returning to SA and to plough experience back, and don’t feel that you need to report to us until your experiences reached some kind of maturity. otherwise (2), shun personal gain and just come back. otherwise (3), close your South African life-chapter, with all the pain it takes and focus fully on your new homeland. These three options, i think, contains more integrity than the supposed Nirvana of endless options open to the atomic individual with money or scarce skills in his or her pocket. Remember that world conditions are such that the material cookie of safe havens like Australia may also crumble in the medium term. There are valuable human and survival skills to be gained on the more jumpy rides offered in middle countries, especially if it is your own.
Best wishes. Francois

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I cannt beleive what i am reading here from your story.What are you going to do then if Australia come to this point of S.A. now ? Are you going to to look for another passport,may be in Neuzeland, or so? because you cannot solve a problem despite all the skills you have, than running away. I really cannt understand ,what are you trying to tell us.
Thank you anyway for your opinion and for your belief in foreignism.I wonder where will you endup landing ? because birds spend most of their time on the sky during the day, but they definetly come down on the ground over night for their bedding.
Nice hearing from you.
Sara

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God forbid that anyone should leave South Africa and write about feelings of relief.
Sies.
Keep it up, I like the fact that you offer insights into the reality of leaving of SA. Its not easy, its hard to leave. Why that isn’t worthy of sharing I don’t know.

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Po, i am not sure this is not thought-leading. I think the way that people feel when they leave (South) Africa can be particularly thought-leading, and the concept of guilt associated with ‘opting out’ is very curious.

I am studying in the UK at the moment, and feel much pressure to come home, go back, make a difference, and considerable guilt (although this is lessening) when I feel that life might take me elsewhere… The fact that leaving a South Africa is seen as ‘copping out’or ‘fleeing’and something that you should feel guilty about definitely leads my thoughts.

I feel if Sarah’s article had been ‘Is it wrong to be proud to have stayed’ and talked about how proud she was to stay in SA, despite the fact that her friend was mugged or despite her husband’s career opportunities elsewhere or despite being part of a nation with problems x, y and z etc etc, this blog would have a 5 star rating.

This is a personal blog, with a personal conception and personal feelings. They may not be popular, nd certainy aren’t applicable to all, but need to be allowed to provoke thought, one-the-less.

Someone else’s life choice needn’t reflect poorly on our own. Sarah’s choice being right, doesn’t mean staying is wrong.

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No, silly sarah, it’s not wrong for you to feel relieved. You can feel whatever you like. What is wrong is that you expect anyone else to care or be interested in whether you feel relieved or not. Go back and read what Ali and Mundundo and me (not me, me above)and John said (amongst others). They say everything I’d like to say and more.
Oh, there is one more thing. I am white and I have not had one white friend of mine discuss with me in the last week or month or year what ‘options’ they have, any more than my black friends have. Any more, in fact, that Brits or Americans (black or white) do when they have race riots. Either this is your country or it isn’t. Either you feel you belong or you don’t. If I ever happen to leave South Africa for a job elsewhere (teaching English in Vietnam, for example) I am certainly not going to write anguished letters about it because it will have nothing to do with how I feel about my country. Now, about those aborigines ………..

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Hi Sarah..If you remember correctly, I was one of those that wished you safe journey and all the very best in your new adventure in Oz. Still think - good for you…but really, do you now have to subject us to your “emotional questions and reassurances” you ask yourself. Seriously, now - do us and importantly, yourself a favour - and close the book, take on the Oz identity - get on with your life - and for God’s sake..dont turn into a “Irritating Ex-SA Whenwe”. Let the SA’s that have chosen to be part of the solution here - get on with their lives. Finish and Klaar

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i have to take leadership from this?

your views are reactionary to the extreme and the fact that you’ve posted this insipid blog tells me you really don’t “care” about south africa, about people or humanity in the world.

all you care about is what you “have” - Your passport, Your home, Your husband. and you are writing here to try and get what those who sleep the sleep of the guilty yearn for, permission. permission to keep the blinkers on, to remain ignorant, permission to do nothing.

there is so much that you, like all of us, wherever we find our place in the world, at any given time, can do to be a force of light in the world. and only when you DO, will your guilt be assuaged. right now you are darkness. it is best you stay away.

ps: should you be given the continued space to write on this site, i suggest your next post beg for the generosity of people out there, when you humble yourself enough to ASK what it is you can do! and should you get no response, still, you should be thankful.

otherwise, i agree with the sentiment above, you are contaminating the air. stop it.

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Dear Diary
Today I got out of bed, had a kangaroo burger and eggs for breakfast and watched the next Chinese family move into my neighbourhood…how long before the ‘locals’ of Australia freak you out as well? By the way, maybe you should move to another blogging site, this is tiresome to the extreme…

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Look white woman, i only read your headings but not the content because i know that at first, you are trying to find justification for your chicken flight, so now you have the perfect justifucation. Just admit you don’t want to live under black rule and get over yourself. Sheesh, it’s not the like the majority in this country really cares about your departure.

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Sarah
Don’t let these sour mouths upset you, most of
them are deep down jealous that they are not
as well educated as you are and were not offered
the same job opportunity .

By the way I did not hear you say you were never
going to come back.I dont blame any female
for leaving having read the ordeal Rene Burger went
through and learning that Egoli actress Tamarin
du Toit had to beg for her life after she pulled
by her hair from her car by another bunch of
thugs.

How the hell can we pretend that we have a normal
society if a female is raped every twenty six
seconds and a murder committed every 30 minutes?

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Bit of a whine girl, in fact rather pathetic really. What you really need to underline is that the majority of ‘middle class’ pale skins, wanted SA to emerge into a western European lifestyle in sunny Africa. On realisation that this was not going to happen, those that can, took flight. I personally wish em all the very best. Life’s a journey not a destination, those that are critical of the ‘escapee’s’ - especially the pale ones - just ask em to explain why did their ancestors run from Europe initially. Migration of all sorts is as old as homo sapiens!!! Patriotism is a dated concept, over romanticised, exploited throughout the centuries by politicians. Rarely used for positive good.

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Sarah

You have done the right thing so stop agonising.

You will only invite insult if you labour the point.

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Sarah, Zappa had a song with something like “home is where the heart is”.
After all, where’s your heart?

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We are going to get through this. I know stuff looks bad, hell, I was hurt by what happened but I will not let these hooligans make me a prisoner.

Just like the crime, its only a fraction of the people who are messed up in the head. There are millions of South Africans who are loving, generous and forgiving. Thats the South Africa i know and this will not tear us down.

If people want to move to Aus thats fine, spare a thought for the Aboriginals though, a lot of Perth based expats tend to forget dat Aus also has its fair share of probs…they may not be burning people down under but I chose to stay and help build my country..and I will die trying..

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Sarah – I should be saying “Ag, shame”, but you have no reason to feel guilty for wanting the best for your children. Our little family has also decided to up and off, specifically to the muddy pastures of the UK. The best analogy that I can use is that of an ended marriage where both partners are still living under the same roof – we just want to get out! However, our infamous Home Affairs has caused our plans to be delayed – no surprise there! We are going, we are taking our skills, our children’s potential skills, our money and whatever else is ours out of the country, along with the other 75% of white South Africans who are leaving. Sadly, the ones left behind are ignorant and just plain stupid! I wouldn’t pay any attention to comments from people who can’t even spell! Unfortunately, this does give a clear indication of what this beautiful country has become – dark and primitive!

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Bryony,
You bring sense to this whole drama. South Africans are a painful bunch at times. You will always get some bitchy comment from some jealous female (mostly white)if it is a woman who is writing and similar for men. Jenny Cruis-Williams on 702 has bitchy biddies who send snotty smses for no reason other than to let the world know that they find Jeni annoying. I think it is ultimately rooted in jealousy and our (mostly Whites again)inability to share in another person’s success, achievements or life experiences. We (the nation) always have to have more than the next guy. It must be a sign of materialism gone wrong. Your observation, “Sarah’s choice being right, doesn’t mean staying is wrong” is spot on in my opinion.

I also think Francois Le Roux’s response is a mature one worthy of the title: “Thought Leader”. His post contains many sentiments I share.

I do think Sarah’s piece is a bit too personal, but then her blogs seem to stimulate wothwhile debate. I like to see this sort of approach as provacatively personal, almost as though she represents the thought process of every South African in a foreign land. So, for those who don’t “get it”, imagine YOURSELF in the shoes of the author for a few minutes.

There are also of course the usual posts in response which add absolutely nothing in the way of intelligent ideas. I wish their authors would spare us, the interested readers, the agony of having to read their snotty put downs and boring revisionist reasoning of how all Africa’s problems are to be blamed on the White man. I for one have enough anger to suppress just dealing with everyday things, let alone having to get upset at seeing a good person being undeservedly insulted.

One has to wonder where South Africa is heading when die-hard Liberals start packing for greener pastures…

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Bryony

I too am in the UK and feel exactly the same pressures and thoughts as you about home. I have been feeling them ever since I left. 5 years now. Still looking for job back home!

So I guess on a personal level this is not thought leading for me now. This is old old news. I feel I want a new and proactive spin on emigration if it is to be thought-leading.

just my personal wish though. i am certainly not criticisng Sarah’s choices by any means! Just tired of the same old stories.

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I agree with Francois le Roux posting in this blog. I endorse it because whereas mine was an inquiry and eventually an attack on your (that is sarah britten’s) social self, Francois’s is richer as it accounts your individual self too. I forgot to consider that. excuse me. Furthermore his opinion is constructive as it proposes ideas that can help you use your presence there in australia to advance SA and consequently to mitigate your guilt. Therefore i would like to adopt Fracois’s opinion as own, on top of and modifying what i said if his submission contradicts mine.

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p.s I think Sarah definitely can rise to the challenge and give us a new take on emigration. I look to her to make me see something new.

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As Kofi Annan once said in Time Magazine….’Africa, the hopeless continent’.
I am from the UK and could return, but I would get such a poor rate of exchange due to the way the financial world views South Africa (power cuts, corruption and burning human beings), that after working my butt off for most of my life, I wouldn’t be able to afford the same lifestyle. Unfortunately for me, I also happen to love this country and it depresses the ’sh*t’ out of me to think about returning home. However, I have come to think that it is time to go. Something to do with the concerned phone calls and emails I have received over the past couple of days and the fact that I am entrenched in a High Court

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I find some of these replies hilarious in the eff-you sour grapes attitude of some posters.

Last year, I got accused by a South African of having joined the “chicken run”. He then went on to make a presentation to a diverse crowd, where he said something along the following:

“Some people protest peacefully, but in South Africa we burn down schools and throw stones. That’s simply our idiom”

And I listened to that garbage being spouted by this aggressive patriotic little so-and-so, and I was grateful that I no longer have to put up with the likes of him, whose thin skins cannot bear anyone else making a decision that is practically difficult in the extreme and that is not intended as a personal reflection on their detractors’ own petty egos.

Emigration is a personal and intense thing. This blog is as valid as any other ThoughtLeader blog.

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AAG - what boring drivel you spout.
Take yourself over to a place where all these ‘whites’ run off to. See how many other South Africans who can afford to be there are also there.
Then try explain the horrendous violent crime in the DRC, where to my knowledge there was no apartheid.
Maybe throw in a quick line about how raping a 90 year old black woman comes under the heading of ’social retribution’.

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@ Sarah

You have every right to do and think as you like. You are clearly a thoughtful and reflective person, enjoy the experience.

@ Augustin

Pah! If 100% of all toyota cars broke down within 1 year of sale, would you buy a toyota?

If and when a black government proves it is not going to keep up the 100% failure rate of black African governments then you can make this argument. The signs are really that good are they.

The world associates black africans with incompetence and corruption. It is black African governments that should hang their heads in shame at this, not the world that is making the observation!

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matter that is costing me ten times it would in the UK due to the BEE Acting Judge having no experience and being unable to curtail the proceedings.

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@Gerrie Hugo: LOL! Good one.

@Bongs “I’m might not be a middle class or rich but I’m rich with my country men” An excellent quote, but read within the context of the past 2 weeks, I cant help feeling that some our countrymen don’t deserve to be our countrymen.

@Sarah: Keep up the posts. Its only normal to ask the questions you are asking when separated from family and friends - for whatever reason. If they don’t like it why are they reading it?

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don’t ask me about your feelings; if you can have them or not. If you feel that way, so be it. Enjoy the feeling while it lasts.

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So very sad that people still see it all through a racist prism; it matters not that this ruling tribe, the Xhosa are not much more than the last, the afrikaaner; what does matter is that this lot arrived with hope and expectation and have proved to be just as venal, just as corrupt and sadly a good deal less competent than their predecessors; and it is that which is the saddest of all - to be raped competently is terrible to be raped so incompetently implies that there is not even hope. Travel through Africa and it becomes clear; the dregs of the African gene pool were blown south whilst the royal, competent tribes stayed in west Africa and the corollary of this is increasingly coming home to roost

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Whilst I have been disgusted and alarmed by the current spate of violence, I am afraid Sarah’s latest submission adds nothing to the debate, is devoid of any thought provoking contribution and reveals her to be what she tried to run away from in her last submission: An african who is an afro-pessimist.

The truth is, South Africa today faces problems that are not insumountable, it cant be compared to Zimbabwe or Sudan. The country needs level headed citizens that can keep government on its toes and contribute meaningfully to the problems facing it. Leaving the country is no sin Sarah, infact it is possible for a person to help in his or her country’s growth whilst outside…what is a sin however is acting like you have just stepped out of hell and make all left behind feel like they are on the path to destruction…leave the empty talk to Rathbone and Kevin Pietersen, be a true Thought leader!
and the fact that it is far from the

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I find it interesting that some of the bloggers here would be so hard on Sarah for being honest about how she feels. If we were really honest with ourselves, many expats do feel some guilt for leaving home in search fro greener pastures/ safer environment. And it is not because they regret the choices they made, but feel a strong bond with who they really are, SOUTH AFRICANS! I do not care where you go, there is no place like South Africa, but the negatives seem to outweigh the positives of late and that’s why some feel safe right where they are. And they would write and say anything to prove that bowing out was the best choice for their families.

You can diss Sarah all you want and before you call me a coconut, let me say this:Many of us black folks have left our original places of birth for a better life in the cities and have forgotten to improve the little villages/communities/towships, where we enjoyed our youth. At some point we feel we cannot go back there because these communities do not match our standards or status. It is even embarrasing for those in power to fail dismally in this category- esp. President Mbeki, who’s village is beyond despair.

So, before you start pointing fingers and judge the thought leader on this blog, think about the choices you made, because there were no opportunities where you came from and you moved on to another area of convenience and still did not give anything back to your community, and still have the nerve to even utter judgemental comments of how undeveloped, unsafe or backwards the communities where you used to live.
We do it all the time.. all of us are guilty of the same. And if we all had an opportunity to venture out into the world beyond the Indian or the Atlantic Ocean and found stability or satisfaction somewhere(or within the country), we would also have the same questions or even feel nostalgic about what used to be.
Stop judging, for you will be judged for the same things also. Let’s discuss the positive and negatives about the good old SA, without getting too personal. And if you feel this blog is way below your intellectual ability to think, then add something constructive/positive. You can never give a constructive comment about something you never experienced.

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I feel you Brian. I could have not said it better myself.

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@ Francois le Roux …”I think this consumptive individualism would make you poorer as a human being”

You’re doing it wrong then.

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Stevie Wander
a journey without a destination is no journey
but an aimless wander to nowhere and if you
don’t know where you’re going it does not matter
any road will take you there.

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I left in 85 , it gives me no happiness at all to see the pain my beautiful land is going through , I have a family in Oz and I as a individual would always consider returning to SA , but not my kids - the threat to them is too real.
Every human being has a basic right to safety first - the government seems oblivuous to that .
Make SA sdafe and we will generally all loom at returning if accepted back

gary

sydney oz since 85

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God, some South Africans are just astonishingly parochial and narrow-minded.

Any expat reading many of the responses to this post will be relieved no longer to live among such people.

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Look after yourself sweetie, no one else is going to. - Hang in there.
This is about your life; not Thabo’s life, or Bob’s life: but your life! - Pity it’s come down to that, but you didn’t bring it down. Don’t feel bad - move on and feel good.
“Embrace the future, fuck the past.” - My hippie friend, also known as Tony.

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Well, I’m relieved that I left. Even more so after reading the replies here.

“Middle class pale skins”… good grief. Rainbow Nation, eh? You can keep it.

How, exactly, does a “middle class pale skin” stay and help? Join that specific advice-giver’s political party and toyi-toyi when instructed?

My favourite set of pompous blowhards is the group that claims “we are all responsible”.

Murder, rape, theft? It’s your fault! You! Reading this! The perpetrators are not, in fact, specific criminals, they’re all the terrified innocents too scared (or “apathetic” in doublespeak) to “do something about it”.

What that “something” is, I don’t know, but again I suspect it involves voting “correctly” and paying more tax to the people saying it.

So feel relieved, Sarah, that you’ve managed escape the politics of fat, entrenched handwringers that are too milquetoast to even criticise, let alone prosecute, the bigots and criminals in their own electorate.

Feel relieved that you’ve escaped a country run by a party so obviously corrupt and incompetent that still, somehow, manages to outsmart and outmanoeuvre their finger-pointing opposition.

Mostly, feel relieved that you’re no longer in a country where simply expressing your opinion about actual reality is a political act by a “middle class pale skin”.

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@ JMunro ……. you said

“Sadly, the ones left behind are ignorant and just plain stupid!”

Is this the best you can manage?

Does it occur to you that there are many of us who would leave if we could but are constrained by age, passport, finances, etc.

You show yourself up in the worst possible light by gloating over your more fortunate position.

I wager that you will cling to every bit of bad news from SA and revel in our misfortunes to convince yourself that you have done the right thing.

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Liewe Saartjie. I really enjoyed reading this blog. Some serious acid piss people around. People angry for reasons they don’t know why or for pure undiluted jealousy. I ask one thing from you: Either embrace Ozz with all it troubles and magic or return to ZA warts and all. Don’t waste time lamenting on what / where / when and why.

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Ad amused reader:
an example is botswana so your 100% toyota analogy fails. It is actually 99.46% failure rate with that one consideration. but we can also consider namibia and mauritius, that would depress your statistic even further. secondly, there is a problem of knowledge, we were taught european history in school, of the relovutions, the ‘great wars’ etc. we actually don’t know much about this continent. even the news, i would state, dont have that much content on the continent. So me and you actually don’t know much. its no wonder its called a ‘dark continent’.
Anyway it was a bad analogy, i would not compare countries, homes, family, land etc. to a motor vehicle.
As a white south african, i am ashmaed of you. infact i would beg you to leave the country. So please leave the country and emigrate. Bye!

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@ Gary

How can you expect others to make it safe for you and your family while you sit in the comfort of oz? I have children and am committed to staying here and making it better for them. Are they at less risk than your children would be?

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@ Augustin

Beg away, i’ll decide what is best for me, your opinion is of no consequence in that regard.

Wow, so if i accept that Botswana is an example (and there are 2 schools of thought in that regard), and the failure rates is only 99.46%, then i should have renewed confidence in black African rule. LOL

African history is pretty well recorded, Africans are just very selective in what they wish to take from it. You are a classic example, everything is the fault of someone or something else. That IS african modern history.

No accountability, no performance, no self respect, no matter!!!

Sarah is welcome to have gone. I am going to stay, because i can make it in spite of the inept and incompetent government.

I will continue to pay a significant amount in tax, create work for South Africans of all colours, and enjoy my life to the best of my ability. I will do the best i can, to help those less fortunate than me, and help up anyone, whatever their colour, who is willing to take my hand.

Meanwhile, the government IS crap, and people with your attitude continue to undermine the only hope poor South African have, the fact that they are responsible for their own destiny, that they have the ability and power to shape it for just the way they want for themselves.

They are just to busy listening to the likes of you telling them that they are entitled to this that and the other.

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You know Sarah I am actually getting a little tired of reading your articles.

You are sounding more and more like most South Africans that pack up and leave - they look for every little excuse under the sun to justify their reasons for leaving.

The current wave of unrest in SA is just that - “a wave”. It will not be here for long. Some good will come from it.

Please dont forget for a minute about the riots that flash up in the streets of central Paris on a regular basis, that the US is at war, that garbage us piling up in the streets of Naples in Italy and that you have moved to one of the most controlled and regulated societies on the planet.

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Isn’t this tantamount to calling your ex boyfriends mother to tell her you’re glad you left her son because now you’re in a happier relationship? Except ofcourse - you just have to pop back into their lives to fetch an old sweater or your teddybears.

Or moving out of a supposedly bad neighbourhood to a better one..but having the time to come back to the old ‘hood to report that you’re better off. Why do it?

The paint may be peeling on our picket fences. And the gate’s hinges are rusty or falling off. The grass is definitely greener next door. But its home. And we’re working on making it right. I don’t this these kinds of blogs are helpful.

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to all the amused and perplexed respondents who cannot seem to understand the irate responses to sarah’s blog…

firstly - we’ve heard this all before and maybe we’re just gatvol! sarah is sharing nothing new, intelligent or insightful that offers (for me at least) any substance, insight or leadership. instead she has us all talking about her precious feelings of guilt! please!

i am not envious of her “haves”, nor am i a bitter white person or a twisted black person! come on people - those are really lame lash-backs.

here’s the real problem with sarah’s blog. she has a space (thought leader) that many people in this country (and outside of it) with exceptional, visionary, positive and proactive thoughts - do not have. ANYONE who is in south africa today, knows we really need it at this time!

bottom line sarah: you have said nothing that gives me any confidence in myself, in my people, in our long and hard (and continued struggles!) and in the present and future of what we are creating. your thoughts are not leading my struggles. not in south africa. not in 2008.

this is not meant as a personal affront - but you’ve put yourself out there, so deal with the consequences.

selfish, individualistic and pensive, privileged guilt can really be written up for fair lady magazine.

unless you are all saying this is exactly what “thought leader” is about.

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Sarah , its probably not wrong to feel the way you do but perhaps a lot of people cant deal with blatant honesty from you , so I admire the conviction of saying how you feel , right or wrong its ‘ your truth and honesty ‘ that should be applauded

gary - sydney

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Of course you feel relieved, given that we are in the state we are it is a sane feeling. I suppose in a way you must feel that you have escaped the asylum. The only question now of course is how you are going to come to terms with the murder rate in Sydney and then there is the little matter of how the aboriginals feel about you invading their country?

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My fellow South Africans; we just have no problem. We just need to implement the policies that saw the poor white problem disappear. But we must just not create a poor white community as we do so.

From what I read, we have not erradicated the poor African problem while some few whites are becoming poor; a few black people are becoming very rich; a slightly higher proportion of whites are still getting richer.

If we wish a d want to live in peace in South Africa we need to face this head on.

No amount of deferring the problem, by creating a pseudo African middle class and hope it will stop the tsunami.

The poor outnumber us and they will swallow all of us.

at the moment the problem may look to be directed to foreigners.

The next group to suffer will be we middle lass and super rich Africans. We will soon not be able to drive around in those 4×4’s.

Then the whites and indians.

we do not need this revolution. It happened in all the countries of the world. why can we not learn.

Even in Australia, the Aboriginal people are slowly claiming back that which belongs to them.

Let the spirit of Christianity or any religion for that matter save us. I can predict that in ten years time from today, the same will happen, but the victims will be different.

So are you guys willing to join in making a truly democratic South Africa.

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@ bumble.
So you also read Thought Leader for the pioneering wisdom of Ronald Suresh Roberts.

@ Sarah,
All of the irate responses to your post remind me of a song by Minutemen circa 1984. It was called “The Roar of the Masses Could Be Farts.”

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How insulting to be lectured by someone who doesn’t know how to use capital letters. Is that supposed to be cute somehow? I think it is disrespectful of other readers. Seems like that sort of bumbling forth causes more dumbing down than Sarah’s need to put some of her personal feelings out there. Sarah, it looks like you are going to have to do tricks like a circus monkey for this crowd’s amusement. Doesn’t look like you are going to be allowed to use your own mind here.

Nzuzo, thank you for offering me a glimmer of hope w.r.t. Africa. Please don’t take it as patronising, but your ideas, when compared to some of the pale folk here, are proof that one’s skin colour doesn’t necessarily determine intelligent thought. Sadly, I suspect you will be seen as a coconut by most AA folk who don’t share your sentiments. I pray that people like you will take over Africa’s leadership and introduce some intelligence in stead of just drawing the race card at every opportunity. Then again, with your genuine brains and skill, you would probably enjoy a better life anywhere else in the world without having to put up with all the nonsense that is called politics in South Africa. My point has been all along that educated Black South Africans share many sentiments of the “Whining Whites” who emigrate. Why is this so hard to grasp?

How does one stop corruption and greed in Africa and South Africa? Yes, we all know from experience that skin colour isn’t a determining factor in these matters either. How DO YOU improve the lives of the poor when everyone is busy looting the economy - government, corporations and robberbarons alike! The masses WILL eventually stage a revolution, but there will be leaders again and the cycle will undoubtedly repeat itself. It always does.

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Angela, I feel that every government has 1x basic right to its people , to keep them and their children safe from murder and rape and horrendous crime .I dont believe the govermnent owes anyone a living but the above are a must in any land .- too much violence and the loss of good people should not be an ‘ acceptable ‘ casualty of ‘ change ‘

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Hi Sarah,
i’ve only recently discovered blogging, and have become fascinated by yours! i find you humorous and insightful, but what i love the most is the way in which you seem to succinctly say alot of what i am feeling.

i’ve been lucky enough to travel quite extensively (to England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Spain, Italy, France, Austria, Germany, Mauritius, and the Czech Republic) and it never fails to amaze me how proudly South African i feel when i’m away from home.

The frightful weather in England, the arrogance and rudeness of the French, and that disconcerting, foreign feeling one gets from just being in an alien city never cease to inspire infinite pride and affection in my home country, and sense of relief for the familiar upon returning home– which, however, is always short-lived.

South Africa’s problems are well-known and need not be repeated here; but what does deserve mentioning is the effect it has on me– and, i’m sure, on many others as well. i find myself reeling on a daily basis from despair and hoplessness to anger and resent towards the criminals and leaders (in many cases, these terms are interchangable) who are destroying lives and bleeding this country dry of its well-educated and decent citizens who are chased abroad to find the peaceful lifestyles and work opportunities which are not available here.

while i have never been to Australia, i feel distinctly patriotic towards this foriegn country every time i turn on the news or leave the house– and i am very jealous that you’ve managed to “get a foot out the door”. if i could marshall the courage and bring myself to leave my family, i would leave tomorrow. but i do know that as soon as i immigrate to Australia that familiar patriotic feeling will begin to rise and i will start planning my next trip ‘home’– never mind the fact that the place i once knew as home exist only in my memory and immagination.

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Ineptitude in government isn’t just the domain of ‘black african’ governments. Take a look at Eastern Europe. Proverty exists everywhere. It is the main enemy. The enrichment of the few at the expense of others is a crime. Individuals who indulge in corruption for personal gain commit crimes against all. Fight poverty and ignorance and maybe then we’ll have a half decent society for all to live in. People emigrate because they can’t deal with these problems and don’t like to have to face them on a daily basis. It’s so much easier to look away and even easier when viewed from another continent. Don’t worry about it,just send a cheque.

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I think I’m going to include a chapter of insults directed at me in the next South African Insult book. It’s only fair and besides, I’d hate to waste all of this wonderful material.

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Sarah , I repeat , its not wrong to feel the way you do but perhaps a lot of people cant deal with blatant honesty , so I admire the conviction of saying how you feel , right or wrong its ‘ your truth and honesty ‘ that should be applauded, enjoy your life in Sydney , life is short , keep up the honesty , its refreshing to see .
I will always be a SA as its in my blood , I will always support SA as I am sure you will , whether from within SA or from abroad
enjoy your Oz adventure

gary - sydney

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I left SA for the UK in 1999, for none of the usual reasons (i.e. none of crime, AA or politics played any role in my decision); I simply felt like a life change.

That said, I have not the slightest flicker of a faint desire ever to return there to live. SA has become ever more a parochial, self-obsessed, disintegrating shithole with little to no hope of ever coming right.

27 April 1994 was one of the highpoints in my life, when I allowed myself to believe that SA had left the dark oppressive days behind and was finally taking the high road. That hope has been ground into the dust by the corrupt, nepotistic, incompetent, race-obsessed, ideologically paralysed shower of shit that lead the country.

It’s ok to visit SA on holiday but whenever I leave for the UK I feel like I am coming home. The simple truth is that the UK is a far more civilised, cultured and pleasant place than SA. I even prefer the weather here.

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To answer your question, Sarah, you are quite right to feel relieved. Just as those who were able to get onto a lifeboat after Titanic hit the iceberg were quite right to feel relieved.

Those who believe that SA will come right are just shifting the deckchairs on a doomed ship, in my view.

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Sarah, please don’t let a handful of dunderheads put you off blogging on Thought Leader.

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Sarah you are quite right to feel relieved. The country has serious problems that may get far far worse without ever getting better.

The world has become a very small place and skills are easily transferable. Places that are not fit for people to live in safety and raise families will experience a brain drain.

That is how it should be.

To those who have decided to make Australia home , good luck to you it is a wonderful country.

To those who have decide to stay in SA , good luck to you too. You will need it.

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What intrigues me about all the expats who are so adamant that we are all going to hell in a handbasket and how glad they are to be wherever and how they don’t feel South African at all us why they are still posting on these blogss. Surely you should be on teh website of teh Sydney Herald or teh Toronbto STar or whatever. You have made a choice that was right for you. Now let go and become a Canadian or Aussie or whatever. Go and watch ice hockey or Aussie Rules. Cheer when Aussie wib the cricket. EMbrace where you are. But don’r keep sniffing around SA. We are all trying to move on in our own ways. We don’t need dogs in the manger saying I told you so all the time. That is the problem with SA expats. They want to see blood in the streets and disaster becuase then it justifies what they did. You cannot have it both ways. You are like teh souties of old. One foot in Africa and one in wherever with your doohdah dangiling in tyhe ocean.

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[…] 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 […]

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It’s ok to visit SA on holiday but whenever I leave for the UK I feel like I am coming home. The simple truth is that the UK is a far more civilised, cultured and pleasant place than SA. I even prefer the weather here.
Why keep posting on an SA blog then? If you have been happy in the UK for 10 years why keep on stewing baout SA. It will be like a festering boil inside you.
You are now a pom not a South African. The fact that you keep postying suggests that you are not entirely truthfuil in your assertion taht you have ne desire to return at all.

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Oh, the irony of Seffrikans lamenting the fact that a Seffrikan would feel at home anywhere else.

Maybe it’s because Seffrikans label foreigners as the culprits of crime and chase them back home that we can’t understand how someone could feel relieved to be in another country?

Ultimately, you only need to answer to yourself. If you feel relieved when you see the xenophobia attacks, the Eskom blunders and the foot-in-mouth disease all our politicians suffer from, it is not wrong.

Part of having freedom is deciding where you want to live and what kind of life you want. Nobody has the right to resent you for acclimatising yourself to bluegum trees and losing rugby teams.

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Good for you - I wish it was me!

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I like being from Africa. Even if I am white and have an British passport. It makes me fairly unique. there is only about 5 million of us on a continent of 922 million.

I like living in Europe because that’s where my parents once came from. And it’s fun.

I like going back to South Africa because that’s where I’m from. And it’s fun. I like to hang out in the Transkei, to visit my home town of Durban. I like to see the people and blue skies. They are fun too.

I will never be ashamed of my white-ness or my african-ness. I will never be ashamed that I have chosen to live in Europe for the moment. I will never hang my head when I am back in South Africa.

And I will never heed the opinions of people who say I should do.

Sarah, stop with the white guilt. Enjoy Australia. Enjoy where you come from. Celebrate who you are.

And write about something that actually matters. Like the difference between a wombat and a dassie. Or the virtues of the indian ocean over the pacific ocean. The taste of kabeljouw vs barramundi. Or why a cafe latte in Sydney is infinitely better than a cafe latte in Johannesburg.

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