Brandon Huntley claims he has “opened people’s eyes” to the problem of crime in South Africa. For those not in the know, Huntley was recently granted refugee status by the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada on the basis that he has given “clear and convincing proof ” that he was a “victim of his race rather than a victim of criminality” and of an “indifference and inability, or unwillingness, of the government and security forces to protect white South Africans from persecution by African South Africans”. It is also interesting to note that the Canadian Immigration and Refugee Board is not a government structure but an independent body, commissioned by the government of Canada to advise on issues of immigration and emigration.
What a load of bull!
I have been mugged three times and had my home broken into. But I do not plan on immigrating to Saudi Arabia because of that! I was born in South Africa and wish that one day I can find a final resting place right here in this beautiful country of my birth.
I am convinced that the board did not take full cognizance of the current South African environment in terms of race and crime. The problem in South Africa is not the incidences of crime, it has more to do with the violent nature of crime in the country. Former deputy president Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka once asked, if a criminal intends stealing your handbag, he will find a way to do so but why does he have to assault you, maim you, or kill you for it?
I am not convinced that all crimes are racially motivated. No, it’s rather crime motivated. I was once assaulted by a white guy but I thought at the time it’s because he seemed to have been homeless, unemployed and in serious need of money, not because he was white and I happen to be black. Nor do I think that black robbers target Constantia because there are white people living there, I think it’s because the people living there are rich.
Let’s not be led (or rather misled) by emotion and forget about the facts. Fact is, most crimes in this country are committed against black people. And maybe that is simply because black people constitute the majority of the South African population. The point is that you don’t hear on the news at 7 about Thobikile Masondo of Kwadwesi being mugged and assaulted while shopping for birthday toys for his four-year-old son in PE. But if it’s Janet du Plooy, business woman of Sandton being thrown out her R1.1 million luxury German car during a hijacking, you could be sure that e-TV would immediately dispense a team to cover it.
This sentiment was echoed by the South African Institute of Race Relations’ Frans Cronje, as well as the South African Human Rights Commission.
[Now I know that some people would now want to rubbish the SAHRC comments, conveniently forgetting the praises they heaped upon the Section 9 institution recently after findings against some high-level players.]
Fact is that it was never proven that crime is race-driven generally. But let’s say that there’s some truth to Huntley’s assertion. Then why don’t we hear an outcry of racism when white farmers kill farm workers? Why don’t we hear an outpour of emotion when a young black child is assaulted by bigger, older whites? Why don’t we not petition Icasa to investigate that in the past year much more reporting was done on crimes against whites than crimes against blacks? One can easily say that this would send an image of South African crime being perpetrated by blacks up to 98% and whites generally being innocent victims persecuted simply because of the colour of their skin.
If Huntley wanted out, why didn’t he use more legitimate reasons? And, calling themselves a democracy and subscribing to the notion of social and natural justice, why did the Canadian government not ask our government (with whom they claim to have excellent relations) to comment on the claims before the board reached a decision? I mean, it is only natural to hear both sides of the story before one reaches a conclusion.
I think our government should revoke Huntley’s citizenship and refuse to ever grant him entry into our country. I don’t necessarily support former safety and security minister Charles Nqakula’s call for “whingers and moaners to leave the country” but while we are building a better society, do we really need people whose only intention is to hurt our new order?
For those who are interested, you can check this out for the July 1 2009 budget speech by Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa to Parliament, as well as the speech by Deputy Minister Fikile Mbalula where you can find what is planned to revamp the police service.
All in all, I am quite excited about the way this country is going, especially with our new government. And if that means we will lose more Huntley’s, well, good riddance.
http://www.thoughtleader.co.za/readerblog/2009/09/03/white-washed/
Good blog but you contradict yourself; firstly correctly advising that the board is independant from the Canadian Govt and then ask the Canadian Govt to intercede, this just does not happen in a democracy.
Also the board makes decisions on what is presented to it not on the whole condition of a country being assessed, that is how refugees are treated/assessed worlwide.
Brent
How do you know most crimes are not racially motivated? Only half of the 2 million criminal cases a year end up in court. Only 10.3% of these 1 million cases end up in conviction. Has any scientific study been done on the motivation of these convicted people? More importantly, has any study been done on the motivation of the 95% of the cases never ending in court or being acquited? Without any proof the viewpoint of Brandon Huntley (racially motivated)is just as valid as yours (not racially motivated).
Relax dear chap. Huntley went through a due process in a first world country and got the result he wanted. Hundreds of people per day cross the borders into SA and melt into the landscape, get jobs, fake ID’s and become SA citizens as easy as you like. All Huntley has done is highlight the difference between a first and a third world country. SA aspires to be first world but it’s nowhere near it as this incident shows.
You were making a lot of sense till this bit.
And, calling themselves a democracy and subscribing to the notion of social and natural justice, why did the Canadian government not ask our government (with whom they claim to have excellent relations) to comment on the claims before the board reached a decision?
Simple answer: because it’s an individual decision and they’re not in the habit of slowing an already slow process even further by asking some bureaucrat to ask some other bureaucrat to ask a foreign government minister for every individual application.
When there were ‘no problems’ in Zimbabwe, did the officials of Home Affairs get on the big red telephone to Harare every time they issued an individual a refugee permit?
You’re missing so many points here. Brandon Huntley isn’t representative of anyone, he seems to be an underachieving chancer who failed to make anything of himself here and will probably not make much of himself there either. If they want him, I’d say they can keep him. Do you want another complaining, non-self-sustaining whitey here? Why protesting so much? He knew he wasn’t qualified to immigrate anywhere and took his chances.
And the Canadians are renowned for this kind of thing. They’ve pissed of the US similarly by taking guys who don’t want to go off to Vietnam or Iraq (Vietnam we understand but volunteer soldiers? eish).
Well, how many laws discriminate against you on the basis of the color of your skin? As a non-white, it must be easy for you to forget about the laws that discriminate against us, and easy to forget about the pain and hardships that legalised discrimination can cause.
Frankly not all white people are rich, in fact most of us are struggling to get by these days, and
realistically, any person under the age of 40 had very little benefit from apartheid. Discriminatory laws like apartheid or BEE only benefit an elite group of people.
Brandon Huntley definitely had a case for asylum. Can you not respect the due process of another sovereign state? Does the whole world have to adapt to suite your value system to make everything OK in your eyes?
Sharef, you have never been tied to a chair in your own house and racially abused while the perpetrators burn your cheeks with an iron in order to ensure the pin number you gave them for the credit card they stole was correct. All you have to do as a journalist, is read the 1000′s of crimes like these that are carefully catalogued in newspaper records and are clearly racist.
It is so simple. During the apartheid years when blacks were discriminated against, its was normal and correct in terms of human rights that other countries would grant them asylum. So why is it any different now that whites are discriminated against in exactly the same way but with different names and the reverse cannot apply in your eyes? We used to have “job reservation”, rightly much hated by all right thinking people. Now its called “affirmative action” and right thinking people are duped into thinking its fine??
There may well be a skewed number of execs in top companies that are still white. A top achiever in his 30′s in 1994 is no where near retirement yet, but this fact will not help be get jobs for my children who left school with top matrics and cannot get a jobs. When we they learn survival through entrepreneurship, those fat politicians will say they are still white and must now give their businesses to other people in terms of BEE.
Oh, and this suggestion? Classic.
I think our government should revoke Huntley’s citizenship and refuse to ever grant him entry into our country.
Dude, do you EVER think before you put finger to keyboard?
1. Under what legislation? Must we make some? Or are you perhaps equating bitching about conditions to something like treason? Can I be imprisoned for life for complaining that my local councillor is an idiot (he isn’t, for the record)? Is this Burma?
2. Do you know what it means for a person to be stateless? You’re not supposed to create stateless people, you know. All people are entitled to things like a name and a nationality. You’re breaching one of his most fundamental human rights by removing his SA citizenship. He holds no other citizenship (unless the Canadians have been double-duped here). If we do as you suggest and the Canadians at any time revoke his refugee status (something they’re completely permitted to do), this guy is left completely without anywhere to live. What must he do, kill himself? Suspend himself in a balloon above international waters?
Suggestions on the back of a postcard please. At least then I’ll know the expected procedure for when I run off to some chilly land, pursued by a pack of hunting dogs, for saying my local council are a bunch of moron-twits.
” I THINK OUR GOVERNMENT SHOULD REVOKE HUNTLEY’S
CITIZENSHIP AND REFUSE TO EVER GRANT HIM ENTRY INTO
OUR COUNTRY ”
Shareef , somehow I think Huntley gladly would be in total agreement with you.
The Canadian ruling really has touched nerve with SAfricans.
I don’t know if Huntley’s claims were 100% correct ..and I suspect that the Canadians don’t know either.
I suspect they are working on the balance of probabilities….and with that in mind Huntley’s claims may well be true.
White people in SA ARE targeted by skin color. It IS a racist country …where racism is government supported.
Where else in the world are jobs advertised for black skinned people only ?
Where else in the world could top ruling party honchos get away with mouthing such filth as “one settler one bullet” or “kill the farmer kill the boer” ????
And have we quickly forgotten all of the racist murders just months ago which were perpetrated on “foreigners” ….just because they happen to come from other lands.
Get your heads out of the sand South Africans.
You live in denial.
How often do the media have an orgy because a white farmer killed a black worker? Every 3 or 4 years? The incidence of white perpetrators and black victims is statistically insignificant.
When my dad and I were attacked by a gang trying to get my dad’s car in central JHB every black bystander was laughing his/her head off. Until I wiped those grins off their faces.
A black motorist got into an altercation with white teenagers at our local mall – other white shoppers broke it up quickly and made those kids understand while they were not necesarily in the wrong that kind of behaviour was going to get them a good hiding in the very near future if they did not cool it quickly. Our first reaction was not ‘black like me’!
Face the fact that most non-white South Africans would have only been too happy to see the last whites leave if it weren’t for taxes that were still being milked from whites. For whatever reason, pretty soon that won’t be the case anymore. I for one will be leaving SA soon and I know a dozen other whites that have already left. Enjoy what is left of a once great African country. Not! The main stream media has become so good at making up rubbish for news that they can’t tell fact from fiction.
The fact that crime is underreported is not linked to race, but to inefficiency and lack of concern on the part of the police, government and authors like yourself.
The fact that you think, but pretend that you dont, that the moaners should get out means you’re advocating for a number of skilled south africans to leave the country rather than being a part of the solution. Your article and its sentiments are not going to change the way things are, but encourage everyone to acquiesce and just get on with it.
I refuse to be part of the complacency descending from above. I’d rather solve the issue.
@ Louis
Crime is not primarily racially motivated as is clear from the fact that most crimes in 2007/8 (accoring to stats SA), were committed against black people and have always been in this country. Most crimes are economically motivated, and also relate to the health of society and its aspirations as a whole. Ofcourse the type of crime is significantly more extreme against whites because they are the targets of professional criminals, they generally have more security, therfore greater violence and damage in enetring high secure zones,and ofcourse they posess a vastly disproportionate amount of wealth, which naturally makes them targets. The percepetion that whites suffer greater than other races due to crime is perpetuated by sesationalist reporting that values white lives/ dignity over that of people of colour. Also white people are the biggest commercial and financial criminals in South Africa in crimes perpetuated against poor people of colour in the main. But we do need more statistics and studies of these things because in teh end we are all affected by injury to another so crime is a problem,,,
lets not make it a white problem, because it is everyones problem…
an interesting stat: white criminals far outnumber their expected demographic contribution? true?
@ Nolene, not sure what you are trying to say, but I read that blog, and many others on the same subject. Different people, all entitled to differing opinions, dont you think?
@ Brent. Dont know what you’re talking about either. The Board has to make decisions, but the Canadian Supreme Court could still intervene. But I would have thought that they would hear both sides before making a one-sided decision. And if you check today’s news, you would see that the Canadian government did indeed petition the Supremem Court there to overturn the decision of the Board.
@ Louis. Check the reports from our courts acrross the country. We could only speak to the issues that made it to court. Very, very, very few cases are found to be motivated by anything but the desire to commit a crime. Even white judges and magistrates agree to that (for that, please check the chronicles of the Magistrate’s Commission and the JSC)
@Moegamat Shareef Blankenberg
“The Board has to make decisions, but the Canadian Supreme Court could still intervene. But I would have thought that they would hear both sides before making a one-sided decision. And if you check today’s news, you would see that the Canadian government did indeed petition the Supremem Court there to overturn the decision of the Board…..”
The Canadian Government did no such rash action –
“With regard to the Brandon Huntley case, the government is seeking leave to challenge the IRB decision before the Federal Court,” said a spokeswoman for Canada’s federal citizenship and immigration department.
The Federal Court will take about a month to decide whether to hear the case and if it agrees to do so, it will hold a hearing roughly three months after that, said a spokesperson.
If the court did examine the case, it would stick to the evidence presented to the initial panel and would not be able to consider additional material.”
Obviously you are so bemired into the ANC way of action, that you just can not understand, how a functional democracy really work. Believe me, after any sort of investigation on the PRESENTED EVIDENCE – the decision will not be changed or altered in any way – and the hoary rabid cries of “RACIST DECISIONS” will do your country no good.
yhcrana and Moegamat
Thanks for answering.
The problem, however, is still the same. No conclusions can be made without proof. Without proper studies, any claim can be made and we will debate this forever, but nobody will have an answer.
The only way for us to try and solve the crime problem is to know what the it’s origins are. There is probably a very long list, but we will have to start somewhere by defining the most important ones.
As I do not indend to leave the country, I hope this is done very soon.
Shareef,
Sorry but this is Thoughtless Leader. I think you bring up white farmers killing workers because its so well trumpeted by the press and the SABC in particular. In reality far, far more farmers are killed than kill their workers.
You are just doing your Radio Rwanda bit to stir up hatred for whites – Hutu vs Tutsi style. Its truly sick. Your excuse – one white guy that get refugee staus in Canada. That’s even sicker.
Shareef,
On this issue, I tend to agree with you – for whatever reason, the local media do seem to report on certain crimes much more than others, and the socio-economic status of the victim seems to play a part in the “newsworthyness” of the incident.
This is an international phenomenon – a train crash in Germany in which 4 people are killed will receive far more airtime than a ferryload of 400 Bangladeshis that end up in Davy Jones locker when their overloadeed ferry sinks.
It seems that the loss of “first world” lives is more newsworthy than “third world” lives, and SA is in many respect a mixture of the first and third world.
A similar phenomenon seems to exist with governance – British MP’s caught fiddling their expense claims is major news in Europe for weeks – the Italian prime Minister’s sexual indiscretions becomes front page news, yet major corruption scandals in African and Asian countries hardly rate a mention – cold there be an inherent or subliminal “what do you expect from them?” attitude in play?
Judging by the responses from readers, most whites seem to regard Mr Hartley’s granting of refugee status in Canada as a bad joke – he seems to be viewed as a loser opportunist, who together with his lawyer pulled the wool over some well meaning people’s eyes.
What your post has done is to touch on a very sensitive matter that affects all South Africans of all races – violent crime levels.
http://www.sabcnews.com/portal/site/SABCNews/menuitem.5c4f8fe7ee929f602ea12ea1674daeb9/?vgnextoid=7f1d84ddb6483210VgnVCM10000077d4ea9bRCRD&vgnextfmt=default&channelPath=home
“”Political analyst and entrepreneur, Moeletsi Mbeki says the nationalist have now re-taken South Africa’s ruling ANC party. Faced with problems they are now turning white citizens of the country into scapegoats.
Speaking last night during the Yusuf Dadoo lecture at the University of Johannesburg, Mbeki said this was a terrifying experience which is beginning to emerge in the country. Mbeki lamented the reversal of Daddo’s achievements by the emergence of racialism and Malema’s statement about whites not turning up at the airport to welcome South African women’s 800m world champion Caster Semenya.
Mbeki says the nationalist of the ANC are blaming whites for their own failures. He described it as hair-raising: “If we are going to turn the white citizen of SA into scapegoats for problems that we have with our economy with delivery to the poor people of this country – we are going to turn the white population into the scapegoat. That is how the genocide in Rwanda started.”
But the ANC stalwart, Ahmed Kathrada refuted Mbeki’s sentiments. “We must not go by what a few individuals have reported or to have said. We must listen to the authoritative voice of the ANC and that was the president…he emphasised that the ANC policy of non- racialism remains unchanged,” Kathrada.
The lecture was attended by a diverse group of people.”"
Dear FishEagle, vic, dimwit jen (sorry sweetipie) Brandon Huntley and the Others,
Get real! Although you will never admit it, you are exposed by Blankenberg’s blog, whether by our reading of it or your response to it.
I am a dimwit,
an idiot too;
hate to be so cruel,
but real is real.
‘Why don’t we not petition Icasa to investigate that in the past year much more reporting was done on crimes against whites than crimes against blacks?’
Choosing between SA and Saudi Arabia? What a difficult choice! We respect you for your bravery. …
Crime is crime whether committed against white or black? Well just explain the raping and killing of whites during robberies. Yes, it must be accepted that a large percentage of crimes are committed against blacks. There is however no indication that these crimes are accompanied with the same degree of hate and aggression than those committed against whites.
Please don’t try to pretend that crime in South Africa is not rampant. We have more murders in SA in a year than any other country (except one) and that includes Iraq.
In regard to the question of crimes committed farmers against their workers. Please, refrain from being insulting. White farmers are murdered, raped and brutalised at a scaring rate.
Finally it is clear that you do not know the legal process of applying for refugee status in Canada or any other country for that matter. Neither do you understand the International law in regard to citizenship.
Most of the people claiming asylum from Mugabe had never been victims of political harrasment. Aside of the people of Matabeleland it was economic peril that compelled them to leave post 1999 Zimbabwe for places as near as Botswana to far off places such as Mongolia, China, Indonesia.Before the advent of the visa regime some black people sold houses to go to the UK, Canada, Australia, New Zealand. South Africa was the undesired option of most who could not go overseas. Then to obtain a stay most claimed political asylum which led to villification at home by the Mugabe regime which meant that their safety could not be guaranteed if they were deported further strengthening their case.
I have earlier given the case of the Zimbabwean woman of Indian descent which more or less is mirrored by the Canadian case.
People leave home because there are circumstances that compel them to leave be it alienation or economic violence. The majority of non skilled immigrants from African countries in SA are not from war conflicts but have felt compelled to leave. Most have pleaded political harrasment but how true has that been?
The prospect of one having to leave their land is a reality which black South Africans are beginning to grasp. If that critcal skills visa or ancestry visa eludes you what’s your case when “patriotism” neither guarantees food nor solves your problem. Lucky enough the West provides lawyers who know what will pass muster with the authorities.
Don’t you love the way the stats are twisted by bloggers and journalists to make their points? Especially the ‘whats he moaning about, most of the crime victims are black’. No-one refutes that, not even Mr Huntley. After all, there are many more blacks than whites in the country. What is conveniently forgotten is that blacks also form the biggest group of perpetrators of violent crime. Looking at interracial violent crime: they are light years ahead. Thats the one that counts, the one that causes people to leave their country. That together with the fact that the police are incapable of stopping crime or putting those responsible in jail. Pathetic how Shareef tries to point a finger at white farmers, considering how that group has been systematically massacred by their thousands in recent years.
Lastly, if I had been through what Mr Huntley had, ie attacked 7 times, stabbed twice, I would have left ages ago no matter what colour I was.
great article shareef,
Cape Town, where Brandon ‘fled’ is mostly run by white people at senior levels and it voted in the DA,a white led party.Im not complaining,this is just the truth, it has a much lower crime rate than the rest of the country and the murder rate of white people there is probably half the rest of the country.
Speaking of the murder rate,38 out of 100 000 people are murdered in South Africa each year. Of these, 1 in 33 murders happen to white people.Poor Brandon,against these odds he never had a chance eh?
Huntley has to blame the fact that he’s unemployed on affirmative action policies in South Africa that supposedly stopped him from getting a job,despite the fact that 4% of white south africans are unemployed, compared to 27% of black south africans.
No it couldn’t be anything to do with him being educated to the level of a carnival attendent and sprinkler salesman(his previous jobs),No!Prospective employers were just all racist!Hmm.
In the middle of a global recession I’m sure Canada is desperate for more people to compete for entry level jobs,especially people who aren’t canadians.Canada is welcome to the unemployed carnival attendant,who was too uneducated and unqualified to be in the country on a genuine work permit.Now he has access to canadian welfare,long may he prosper and use it pay for his imported boerewors
Brandon Huntley did not claim “all crimes are racially motivated” in S.A.
Brandon Huntley did not deny that ‘most crimes in S.A. are committed against black people’.
Brandon Huntley did not claim “that crime is race driven generally” in S.A.
Brandon Huntley’s “only intention” is to escape racially motivated crimes against himself in S.A. His “only intention” is not “to hurt our new order”.
Your “good riddance” proves everybody is happy with Canada’s decision. So why all your complaining?
Your (three times) “Why don’t we” indicates not is all well in “our new order”.
All in all, it is your article that is “a load of bull”.
There’s no doubt that SA suffers from unequal distribution of wealth, with a substantial percentage of our population living below the poverty line. Not surprisingly, the majority of poor South Africans are Black. So, my guess would be, that if there’s any truth to the matter that white people are the targets of black crime, its not because of the colour of your skin. Its cos you’re likely to have what most people dont. And this is one of the unfortunate legacies of apartheid. Dont get me wrong, I have no intention of justifying crime, especially the violent kind. But, until wealth is equally distributed amongst ALL South Africans, crime will continue to flourish. And given the tightly twisted knot that is race and wealth, you can see how this story ends.
@ Jen:
” The fact that you think, but pretend that you dont, that the moaners should get out means you’re advocating for a number of skilled south africans to leave the country rather than being a part of the solution. Your article and its sentiments are not going to change the way things are, but encourage everyone to acquiesce and just get on with it.
I refuse to be part of the complacency descending from above. I’d rather solve the issue. ”
Where do South African get this idea from that European “settlers” can be “part of the solution”
Where is this “solution” coming from ??
Are you expecting a miracle from God ??
You will (unfortunately) have a long wait.
Do the right thing Jen …….get a visa and put distance between yourself , your loved ones …and those who may do you harm.
And another point for anyone moaning about south africans’ criticising Huntley:
‘The case might well have passed unnoticed had not Kaplan, or his client, decided to let the world know about it. Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Board, home of the tribunal that heard the matter, renders more than 40 000 decisions a year. The proceeding was closed to the public. There is as yet no mention of it on the board’s website, no press release was issued and IRB officials have studiously declined comment citing privacy concerns’
Huntley chose to open himself up to public scrutiny when he decided to ‘expose!’South Africa,and whether he and his supporters like it, he also opened himself up for criticism.I read somewhere that the govt. obviously do not want Huntley ‘returned’ to SA.
But the goverment can’t just ignore such a publicised international diplomatic issue,they need to ask for a explanation as to how Huntley was allowed to avoid the usual immigration process and be categorised as a refugee,
based on accounts unsupported by police reports, his opinion and a few press cuttings,and potentially start a bizarre precedent,
instead of gaining citizenship because of proving his skills and potential contribution to his adopted country like everyone else who emigrates has to.
Why has Moegamat Shareef Blankenber changed his original profile on Thought Leader?
His original profile revealed him to be a secretary for the ANC caucus in parliament. He has an axe to grind.
His present profile on TL is the sort of drivel that he writes in his posts.
I have no doubt that many South Africans welcome the judgement. Why? Because we can now all have a mechanism of applying for assylm in a user friendly country. It cannot be denied that more women/children are raped in South Africa, than any other country in the world. It cannot be denied that ordinary people in Cape Town are too scared to allow their sons and daughters to travel on the trains alone. The school chaos, rapes, murders, muggings in the inner cities, the homeless refugees from the Rest of Africa …are a major cause for concern.
We live, augueably in a war zone. How can any sane normal person wishing to have a better life continue to live in this god forsaken country….
Who knows our family may be the next to apply for assylm as well…
I am white and I am afraid.
I am not afraid because I am white. I am not afraid because others are black or Indian or coloured. I am afraid because I am the survivor of crime in South Africa. I am afraid because I anticipate that I will have to survive more crime before my life is over. I am afraid because my life has been and is governed by reckless politicians, patriarchy among the leadership, racist and unequal apartheid policies, and fear of diversity.
So wrote Jennifer Thorpe http://www.thoughtleader.co.za/readerblog/2009/09/03/white-washed/
and you say “I think OUR government should revoke Huntley’s citizenship and refuse to ever grant HIM entry into OUR country….” SO – when he perceives it to be a “me” and “them” then he has every right to be racially targeted – and of course why should the Canadian Government ask the South African Government spokesman Julius Malema about racist comments?
http://southafrica-pig.blogspot.com/2009/08/german-woman-in-horror-killing.html
and
http://southafrica-pig.blogspot.com/2009/08/elderly-berea-woman-survives-nightmare.html
and
http://southafrica-pig.blogspot.com/2009/08/more-than-million-unsolved-crimes-in-sa.html
and
http://iluvsa.blogspot.com/2008/11/you-whites-must-fuck-off.html
Things you do not read in mainstream media in South Africa – but read over in Canada – so much for the “Rainbow Nation” protecting everybody – yes?
Salaam Shareef!
Your article is thought-provoking indeed…perhaps not for the reasons necessary though.
Much of the article focuses on what is wrong with us as South Africans – and so most replies have followed the same route. Pity.
As esteemed South Africans, ie those of us with access to this extent, should be SOLUTION-CRAFTERS. It should not be a choice, it should be compulsory! How can WE still be adding to the rhetoric of crime, injustice and the like? These are KNOWNS. The solutions are the UNKNOWNS – for most of us anyway.
So let’s move on.
In previous replies I have left no doubt about my opinion that most politicians are ‘notorious gangsters’…that is their lot…and I do not expect that they will change this by themselves.
What will change our status quo is that EVERY South African takes PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY for EVERY injustice perpetrated in this country. Once we get there, we’ll discover there is no one to point a finger at, except ourselves!
In this light I want to say to Lameez A & others: crime is NOT a function of race and wealth; it is a dysfunction of human dignity. Every human has the potential to do crime…and not to. Until all South Africans CHOOSE TO ACT WITH DIGNITY, we’ll always making excuses and giving politicos platforms to spew their rhetoric.
Until every one of us takes full responsibility for our actions, the problem will always be someone or something else!
So let me go further: I’ve put a stake in the ground…a challenge to all South Africans: CHOOSE TO ACT WITH DIGNITY. In doing so each one of us has to take responsibility for our every action! That’s my positive suggestion for our national mantra: I CHOOSE TO ACT WITH DIGNITY!
I would be delighted to engage in the crafted solutions of yours and ALL those who replied to this article. Perhaps as a small group we can effect more of the necessary change this country of ours needs so desperately.
I await your response, my dear Shareef.
Zaza wrote:
“Speaking of the murder rate,38 out of 100 000 people are murdered in South Africa each year. Of these, 1 in 33 murders happen to white people.Poor Brandon,against these odds he never had a chance eh?”
Antony Altbeker stated on TV news that the rate at which white South Africans are victims of homicide is 2/3 that at which black South Africans are.
A (highly flawed) study on intimate femicide published by the MRC found that the rate of intimate femicide among white women is about 2,8/100 000.
I use the intimate femicide rate because in normal societies this should be the most common form of murder?
Zaza, please tell us who murders the other 25/100 000 white South Africans?
I have an innocent question: what if by some miracle, suddenly all whites would disappear from SA?
Good riddance, you say, lime you did in Huntley’s case?
hahaha!
“What a load of bull” you say?
Do we live in the same country? What do you call it if a black person needs 60% average to get accepted to medical school and a white person needs 80% average to get accepted?
I also love this country, and I’m very patriotic, but your logic is just flawed. This Brandon Huntley incident just highlighted the difference between a civilized country and an African country. What he described to them horrified them so much that they gave him “refugee status”. Has THAT registered with you? “Refugee protection” from a country who is not at war?
Has it registered with you that we are so desensitized to the violence, that we forget sometimes how people who are not exposed to it might react to it – with horror.
“where you can find what is planned to revamp the police service”
Bla-bla-yada-yada…
I’m not sure who you think you are to trivialise someone else’s reasons for wanting to leave this increasingly chaotic country. If the new order is being built by people like you, I’ll be looking for a new home soon. You do nothing but condemn and criticise and seek to pass the blame on to a convenient scapegoat instead of acknowledging that whites have been the victims of some truly horrific crime and that maybe, they have a legitimate concern.