Ed’s note: this post was contributed by someone who emailed me out of the blue to show support for SA and SA Rocks! Fantastic, things like this make my week, nevermind just my day.
Thanks go out to Zee for her contribution and willingness to have a positive opinion about SA.
There is no doubt that our fourteen year old country has far to go.
But deep within my heart I have no doubt that South Africa will be the centre of all success to come.
To all those who continue to be negative about this beautiful country of ours I have just this to say.
You are not an average South African. Driving your car to work (you have a job, albeit you think you deserve more money for the work you do) after having something to eat (you have food in your cabinets), after having a warm shower ( you have utilities ) in your very own home ( a brick layered foundation that protects you and provides you with solace).
The average South African earns less than R2000 a month, lives in a tin shanty, has three kids to educate, and has to travel in unsafe, unroadworthy taxis. And if lucky had a slice of bread as breakfast this morning. This average South African had a cold bucket bath by candlelight, who probably had to walk to get to a communal water hole, awoke at 4 in the morning, so that they could take 3 taxis; to get work on time by 8.This average South African will get home by 7 tonight, will prepare maize meal and two pieces of meat for supper as this is all they can afford to get them through to their next pay check.
So I am so very sorry, that the pothole in your road that caused your car’s suspension to bend, has not been mended, or you had to go to work after having showered in cold water, because of Eskom’s load shedding issue, and the petrol price has risen due to the US Recession. And you only had 150 hours of electricity this week compared to your usual 168.We are so very sorry that those who can afford to buy things on interest have abused that power because they didn’t know how to budget, hence the rise in interest. We are so very sorry that our Politician’s are human and corruptible; I guess there is no corruption in any other country hey? Look up Enron please, and the government involvement in the biggest financial fraud committed in the world.
Get with the programme people, you live in this country, we all seem to dislike the arrogance of the Americans. But what stands out is their solidarity and pride they have for their country. This country has fed you, educated you and gave you the freedom to be who ever you wanted to be.You have a job, a home, all the basic utilities. The average South African has 1 out of the 3 mentioned.
For those who have left this country, hold all your comments, you no longer have a right to tarnish the reputation of this country. You chose to leave and not make a difference in this country.
Realize that with every 8 tourists that enter SA, one job is created for a South African.
We beat out all first world countries to host the 2010 cup. So by chance that we fail in this quest, you cannot run away from your heritage, you are South African ,the world will laugh at you, yes you, not just the 2010 committee, because you are South African.
Stop complaining do something about it.
So make this country work, be positive, be friendly, let go of your hate and your complaints and be grateful of this country you live in. You’ll be surprised at the doors that open in your favor.
Here are facts I’m guessing you never knew about this country.
WHAT YOU NEVER KNEW ABOUT SOUTH AFRICAN HERITAGE!
1. FROM CHINESE TO FRENCH – EVERYONE IN THE WORLD IS SOUTH AFRICAN: All the worlds people are “twice South African” because it was here that mans descendants and modern man both evolved
2. THE FIRST EVIDENCE OF LIFE ON EARTH — YES — FROM SA: In eastern South Africa, scientists have found traces of blue-green algae dating back 3 500 million years. This is some of the earliest evidence of life on Earth.
3. METEORS HIT PRETORIA 220 000 YEARS AGO!: 220 000 years ago a meteorite struck South Africa, forming the Tswaing Crater northwest of Pretoria. This is one of the most accessible and best-preserved meteorite impact craters in the world.
4. IF ALIENS LANDED THEY WOULD BE THE PROPERTY OF THE STATE! According to the National Heritage Resources Act, all meteorites are considered protected property of the nation and there are rules regarding what can be done with them. Interestingly, because a meteorite is defined as “any naturally-occurring object of extraterrestrial origin”, this means that if an alien landed in SA he/she/it would become the property of the State. Should an alien arrive and find that SA did not suit its disposition, it would not need a passport to leave but it would have to acquire an export permit from the South African Heritage Resources Agency (SAHRA).
5. SA HAS THE WORLD’S OLDEST REMAINS: The oldest remains of modern humans were found in Klasies River Cave in the Eastern Cape. They are well over 100 000 years old.
6. SOUTH AFRICA HAS OVER 2000 SHIPWRECKS: There are more than 2 000 shipwrecks, dating back at least 500 years, off the SA coast and more than one, including the Waratah, simply vanished without a trace.
7. TRANCE WAS HERE OVER 25 000 YEARS AGO: Trance is nothing new to South Africa. In fact, bushman cave paintings in the Drakensburg are thought to be the work of Shamans operating in a ‘trance’ state. Some of these are up to 25 000 years old.
8. THE SAYING “WOMEN AND CHILDREN FIRST” COMES FROM SA: The practice of “women and children first” originated off the coast of Hermanus when the British ship, the Birkenhead, sank in 1852. Of the approximately 600 people on board, all 200 women and children survived. Unfortunately, almost 400 men went down with the ship.
9. SOME THINGS NEVER CHANGE: Detailed documentation from travelers and researchers in the Cape in the 1600s shows that more than 350 years later the traditional “maatjieshut” residence of Namaqualand is still being built in precisely the same manner and proportions as those of the KhoeKhoe people of the past.
10. SOUTH AFRICA THINKS AHEAD OF THE WORLD: South Africa is one of the first countries in the world to formally protect places associated with “Living Heritage” that is based on stories passed down from generation to generation by for e.g. Grandmothers telling children stories about the places in which they live. One of the first projects in South Africa that looked at how we can protect such sites took place in Dukuza (formerly Stanger) in KwaZulu-Natal. The town was the site of King Shaka’s royal residence and interviews with old people in the community revealed an amazing store of information passed down over nearly 180 years concerning things like from which spring the royal water was drawn, where the King swam, under which trees particular events and councils occurred.
11. THREE MILLION!: South Africa’s history and pre-history goes back more than three million years.
12. KAROO BOASTS THE BEST DINOSAUR FOSSILS: The Karoo region is home to some of the best fossils of early dinosaurs.
Zee Harduth
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Popularity: 4% [?]
April 15th, 2008 at 10:17 am
Wow, damn nice! I am proudly South African, even though I am sometimes critical – but I still do not want to be elsewhere.
April 15th, 2008 at 11:14 am
Wow Nic, awesome post. So much info that I didn’t know. Would love permission to publish that second part of Zee’s letter on WineCountry for my international audience.
April 15th, 2008 at 1:14 pm
I am also proudly South African.
I have lived in 3 countries other than SA, and all I can say to everyone leaving is that you should not be so critical as we will welcome you back in a few years!
April 15th, 2008 at 2:33 pm
This article, although positive (and we all like positive, because nobody likes negative
) is flippant and ignorant. Written by somebody who is sheltered and protected from all that is bad and wrong with this country. Wake up already (but have a nice, rosey (sic) day, driving your car to work, after having something to eat, after having a warm shower, in your very own home (which, I might add, is a basic necessity and right in most countries).
April 15th, 2008 at 3:14 pm
To Malix- so what have you done lately to help the average south african except whine as you do?
April 15th, 2008 at 3:38 pm
Proudly South African?
Ummm….That slogan is reserved for the super rich and blue chip companies that ‘proudly screw’ normal South Africans. Try to join them and see how much you must pay!!!Just another typical example of how patriotism is undermined in South Africa, and where the small one man business has no chance!
By the way Nic, I wanted to ask about adding a link to my forum Wake Up South Africa and your advertising page is “gone”! Please contact me.
April 15th, 2008 at 4:17 pm
Hmmm seems as though this article drew some varied responses. Didn’t really expect that!
Mallix, I see your point and get where you coming from but Yasmin has a point, it’s easy to sit on this blog (speaking of myself here) and talk about change. But it’s much more challenging to stop challenging people and take action.
And who’s to say that one person’s view is flippant because they have a more privelaged background? Does that make it less true? I think not, I just think it makes a different kind of truth from a different perspective really.
Chuck – The advertise page is up and working and the contact me page is there too, drop me a mail (and I’ll do the same) and we can talk!
April 15th, 2008 at 6:13 pm
Great post Nic – and of course thanks to Zee for writing it.
@ Chuck – I have grown from a small business, to a slightly bigger business, over the last 13 years, and have been a member of PSA since 2004. Yes we have to pay for the logo, and I can’t tell you that it really brings me work just because I am a member – but I am very proud to be associated with the organisation, and to stand and admit it. So have to disagree about the small man having no chance.
By the way – check out An Angry Africans post – I am Proudly South African (2001) http://angryafrican.net/2008/02/10/i-am-proudly-south-african-2001/ he launched PSA.
April 16th, 2008 at 4:17 am
Hey Nic,
Great post man (thanks Rouvanne for the mentioned!).
One of the things we did when we set up Proudly SA was to identify all the things people didn’t know about SA. Things like Pratley Putty being the first glue in space to hold the NASA pieces together! I led the team at NEDLAC who set it up. And I have the first and only cap made with the original Proudly SA logo. I got it when the agencies came to pitch the creative ideas and made one cap and a business card with my name on it. Still got it! It was great fun – and once done we handed it over to Martin Feinstein when we employed him.
Those were the days. We knew nothing. But managed to somehow pull it off. If you ever come Boston way let me know. I’ll cut you a DVD with the original creative pitches as well as every single document we ever used while we worked on it.
Thanks for bringing back some memories and glad people are still supporting it even when some complain. Nothing is perfect. It’s what we make of it that matters. And thanks for that.
April 16th, 2008 at 9:49 am
@Angry African – Ye I think that the approach of educating South Africans about their own great nation is an imperative one. People are quick to judge the country and it’s happenings based on popular media opinion, which is not always free and fair and justifiable.
So you no longer live in SA??
April 16th, 2008 at 10:08 am
Sorry to burst you bubble, but I am far from privileged and sheltered. I have been attacked twice in my lifetime. I have had my throat slit when I was 13 over a necklace and assaulted in my complex 2 weeks ago. I wrote this article to create awareness on a larger scale. Just because you don’t see change happening for you, does not mean it’s not happening for the masses. Yes, we have problem but we can overcome them. This country is not bad and wrong; we have more going for us than against us. Would you prefer to live in Iraq maybe? Where wearing a helmet to school or work is a necessity.
Google some sites, mentor a young boy from the townships, show him that there is another life then the one he may be exposed to. That’s a start.
April 16th, 2008 at 2:36 pm
Zee, you have so many answers….how do we overcome crime? Please supply realistic answers and no “pie-in-the-sky.”
April 16th, 2008 at 2:46 pm
ST I get what you are asking but that is really not a simple “post a comment on a blog and solve the world” sort of question.
It’s a hefty, weighted, deep and complex question that requires analyses of various factors that can all affect the outcome.
Some of these points to think on:
- Corruption in government
- Public perception of the police force
- The police force and corruption
- Proper salaries for teachers and police officers
- Education from youth to the elderly needs to be improved
- A sense of community needs to be established
- People taking responsibility for their property, neighbourhoods, neighbours, friends, family and themselves
- People respecting the laws in place (like traffic laws)
If we can start, START, with these points and then progress then I think we’d be doing a good job.
April 16th, 2008 at 4:06 pm
Nic et al, I agree wholehartedly with Zee about doing something to make a difference – and of course about the awesome country we live in! Mallix, one small thing you can do that won’t cost you time or money is just change your attitude a little – think before you hit the “submit” button and don’t make such sweeping assumptions. Some of us, despite having been exposed to the negative side of life in SA, choose to take action and be a part of the solution rather than throw our hands up and sit back and complain.
April 16th, 2008 at 6:40 pm
Interesting that there are many comments on this post…. and only one on Million Man March against crime post! Will anyone be putting their feet where their mouths are so quick to go?
April 16th, 2008 at 10:32 pm
I think that Feisty Fairy has a great point. I am going to be blogging about it tomorrow I think.
April 20th, 2008 at 11:13 am
Aiyaah, Jeeslijk, Eish . . . . . .
being a non white and non black
shipped family and myself out
across the oceans in 1996;
but have returned for many visits,
alone and with family
visiting friends and family;
happy to say that i have not been
personally mugged!
Sadly need more than my own fingers and toes
to count the people i have personally known
who have died in robberies , shootings and muggings/
Shocked at the COL esclations,
the nonchalance by the Haves of the Have nots,
amazed at the size of houses of the above avergae
and the first tine owners in poorly designed and situated RDP
‘future slums of the country”
I atill proudly include South AFrican as part of the Roots,
do wine tastings, talking proudly of SA
but have to squirm when The SA President tells world leaders to be patient with Mugabe’s blatant violation of of democraccy and the democratic vote process ;-(. Cook bobotie, mgudu & marog, maak biltong, suip Kaase pinotage, reel wyntoere na ons eie kaapse wynroete;
meet up with the SA rainbow klub lede, attend oficial days, share the ups and down, get uptight over smart columnist of the M& G’s Thought Leaders who tell me understanding the Black mind is reserved for Blacks.
SA has os much potential, but after a decade plus, despite the progress, the load shedding and other backlogs and new ‘potholes and leaaking fidicuary water pipes; Quo Vadis
the happy go lucky attitude of the successful haves and super entrepreneurs is understandable, but there follows many buts.
guess being on the other side of the ocean with safety nets, allows me to be critical, but to be part of the homecoming team, of have departed and set up a niche abroad.
guess i am also lucky that i do not have the worry of friends and family who fight about the PDI classification and job reservation under BBEEE.
but, I am still proudly SAFrican, proud of my roots and Nuweland, and will visit in the future and do my little bit to alleviate the plight of the disadvantaged, but the iceberg , enormous and invisible below the surface. nkosi sikelel afrika