SA Rocks

I just saw on Twitter that wezzo posted the following tweet: “UK TV star Victoria Smurfit shot at on ‘Kill a Tourist Day’ in South Africa” Seriosuly DailyMail?

I am as appalled and shocked by this article as he is. In fact I’ll go so far as to say that I am about to go UK Postal on this useless, lazy, sensationalist journalist.

The story reads as follows:

The glamorous actress, who has starred in ITV police drama Trial & Retribution and the BBC’s Ballykissangel, was injured by flying glass when the vehicle’s windows were shattered.
She felt a bullet whizz past her as it tore through the cab – ‘tangibly blowing the air’. It hit the passenger window ‘barely half an inch’ from the head of her sister-in-law, Charlie.
Writing in today’s Irish Mail on Sunday, the 35-year-old actress says she was told by South African police the attack was likely to have been a gang initiation ceremony dubbed ‘Kill a Tourist Day’.

“The glamorous actress”, hmmm, I wonder whose side the author wants the reader to be on? Did the C-grade actress really feel the bullet “tangibly blowing the air”? What a load of rubbish and paparazzi style journalism.

I wonder if Mr James Tapper trekked down to our gorgeous shores where the wind blows gently on your cheeks and the waves break just perfectly allowing for a cool spray to dust your hair (see anyone can do this shit)? I doubt that Tapper even bothered to call the police officer who was involved. And let’s be honest here, we have a C-grade actress who was in a violent incident of sorts and being a premadona probably expected the Chief of Police to drop everything and come to her rescue. Please, you come from a country where children run riot with knives, drugs, guns and more; where elderly, no, everybody is scared to use public transport in case there is a chav, hoodie or other sort of gang that will rob, rape or murder them. Why doesn’t Mr Tapper take a look at his own country before casting sensational headlines on ours?

And finally, why on Earth does everything that happens in SA have to have a massive influence on the outcome of the World Cup? Don’t be absurd.

That’s it, make your own mind up. Yes there is violence in SA and yes, it happened to involve a British actress who needed some press to bump up her career as it’s on the down and low, but why write a story filled with such an overblown agenda?

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1241996/Ballykissangel-star-Victoria-Smurfit-shot-Kill-Tourist-Day-South-Africa.html#ixzz0cNzktqXN

UPDATE:

This from The Times:

But Cape Town central police station Superintendent Randall Stoffels said: “The shot fired was not specifically for the occupants of that vehicle and it was definitely not gang-related.”

When detectives interviewed her last Monday, there were no visible injuries, Stoffels added.

Smurfit opened a case of attempted murder, but this was later changed to the illegal discharge of a firearm in a municipal area.

“The occupants in the taxi just heard a loud bang and the left side window shattered. We believe someone [fired] into the air but the bullet went through the window and lodged into a panel of the van. No one was injured,” said Stoffels.

He said the projectile and the panel were sent for ballistic testing and that no arrests had been made yet.

Popularity: 7% [?]

Ed’s note: This post is a contribution from Adam Currie who currently lives in the UK and cast his vote yesterday in the 2009 SA Elections.

Well the time had come….

Sitting on mud island, an entire time zone and continent away does not set exactly set the tone for making oneself feel “Seffrican”. But none the less after months of facebook reminder bombardments, news website updates and at least 3 phone calls to a confused and clueless South Africa House, the election was upon us…well abroad anyways.

I must admit that after hearing of the random Afrikaner teacher preaching his democratic rights, and even more random Freedom Front filing court orders to the nation’s highest courts, I never quite did believe that there would be a positive result. But there we were… lined up outside South African House Trafalgar Square with 1 x green ID, 1 x passport and 7000 x other Saffa’s ready to, for lack of a better cliché, make our mark.

Calls from mates mid afternoon with tales of horror story delays of 2 hours plus, I trekked up the Northern Line expecting the worst and asking myself is it all worth it? I joined the queue and prepared for a scrum of sweaty bodies on London’s hottest day of the year (20 degrees baby!). But wait…what was this? People lined up patiently…an orderly line with the only shouting being that of the South Africa Times vendor yelling out for anyone wanting free copies.

I wish I could tell you that stories of nostalgia, visions of apartheid uprisings or even passing Madiba’s statue on the way to the embassy inspired me to place my vote…but I can’t. All through my life I have been bombarded with messages dictating that we are the “lucky” generation, and that this vote is a privilege. However I think not. I consider it not a privilege but a right and feel that the real stalwarts of the struggle would be proud of that mindset. If Sisulu and Tambo thought that a white boy standing next to his black brother in a vote for the nation’s leadership, and thinking nothing of it, I reckon they would turn to each other and give each other a good pat on the back…struggle won.

Of course we should remember and respect what was done leading up to a democracy, however at the same time we must put them where they belong…in thoughts, prayers and history books. In that queue we stood, black, white, coloured…and, occasionally, some lost Spanish tourist thinking it was the queue for the gallery. We stood alongside each other in jovial spirits chuffed at the fact we were allowed to make a difference- no matter how small- to the land that we love and for 90 percent of people there- the land that we WILL return. People often claim that expats should not be allowed to vote in that they have ‘turned their backs’ on the country. Well the procession outside SA House begged to differ as thousands lined the streets to cast their vote for a country they truly hold dear and I have no doubt will experience a brain flood (note the way I reversed brain drain there…sharp wasn’t it?) within the coming years.

The process was smooth as the line shifted inside with African flashbacks of Home Affairs beginning to make me tremble…but to no avail. The vibe was organised and efficient and within minutes I stood, purple marker scarred hand and ready to (insert cheesy political party signboard slogan here). I stepped up to the booth…had a giggle at some of the parties listed (come on….some are hilarious- I mean surely no one actually votes KISS) and marked my X. The entire build up was over…political debates from the finest minds in the land and months of campaigning for those brief few seconds had culminated in a sweet victory for me…the Seffrican abroad.

This is what election should be about. People lining up and savouring the spirit of the occasion, check political agendas at the door, walking in and placing their trust in a party that will cater for the masses. I often am amazed when Saffa’s bad mouth home. You get the occasional punter preaching how South Africa will descend into chaos and that classic “tsk tsk…we will go the way of Zim” remark…however these are clearly the okes that could not function a fax machine to apply for their vote, as everyone there CARED. Usually you only get that sort of vibe come Springbok games down the pub, however there it was…election queue and all.

When my British colleagues say that I should be grateful I got to cast my vote, my response is ‘why’? Why should I feel grateful that I am doing something that every South Africa should does have the right to do? The beauty of democracy and the one that I have grown up in makes me believe that this process is sacred yes, but also my right. So I say congrats to the freedom fighters of yesteryear, a massive thanks to the people at the voting station for a successful day…. and to note to all political leaders for next times overseas votes- boerie roll stand outside the embassy can guarantee you a majority!

Popularity: 6% [?]

After all the bitching about the expat vote, the bitching about the process, and the conspiracy theories, I thought I’d tell you a little about my experience today here in London. As soon as the Constitutional Court decision came through, I sent off my & hubby’s application to vote abroad. I got an e-mail confirming receipt, and when I checked our status on the IEC website it was all in order – we were registered in Port Elizabeth and approved to vote in London. This afternoon I got to South Africa House on Trafalgar Square clutching my VEC 1 form, passport and ID book. Unlike this morning’s 2-hour queues, we only had a 30 minute wait but the 5-deep queue still snaked all the way along the front of the building. HIV Positive & the DA were walking around handing out literature and talking to people and there were loads of free SA newspapers being given out – it was a relaxed and happy atmosphere, rather like the 1994 election I thought – just with more red busses and pigeons!

Once inside, everything was very efficient and everyone was very friendly – plus we got a peek at the very lovely interior of the Sir Herbert Baker building and its Pierneef paintings. Bonus. We got an envelope on which we had to write our names & voting district, then we got the ballot paper and a second blank envelope (read about this system here). We were checked against the voters’ roll and had hour thumbs marked, and then we voted. I was tempted to seal my ballot paper with a kiss – it was that kind of shivers-down-the-spine moment.

This is one South African who is not about to give up lightly the right that so many of my countrymen fought and died for, no matter where I happen to be.

Popularity: 8% [?]

After much bitching and moaning, much torment, badmouthing and ragging of the SA government, a mere 16 240 voters registered to vote abroad for the 2009 elections.

Let’s see the breakdown shall we:

London with 7 472
Canberra, Australia with 1 235
Dubai, United Arab Emirates with 900
Wellington, New Zealand with 410
The Hague, Netherlands with 378
Dublin, Ireland with 360

Wow. Here’s a small fact for you: There are estimated to be over 600 000 South African expats living abroad in LONDON ALONE. Of those ± 600 000 an embarrassing 7472 registered to vote. That is a shocking 1.24% of the expat population in London that bothered to register or apply to vote abroad in the upcoming elections.

I hate to take a rough stand here, but I want the names of the 7472 voters that registered in London because they are the only people living in the UK from SA that I ever want to hear talk about South Africa in a good or bad light. Either make your way back here so that voting isn’t “such a mission” for you over there, or just let go of SA.

As for the rest of the expat population, shame on you. Or Goodbye and thanks for all the fish.

Thank you to the ± 16 000 people who registered to vote abroad, now just be sure to get that vote in, every vote counts.

According to the IEC, South Africans voting at missions abroad must produce both their South African green bar-coded identity document or valid temporary identity certificate as well as their passport when they vote.

“Without these documents, voting will not be permitted. At the mission, they will also be required to complete an application form for a special vote, called a VEC 1 form.

“Voting stations at South African missions abroad will be open from 7am until 7pm,” the IEC said.

Voting times on 20 and 21 April in South Africa will be from 9am until 5pm.

Be sure to remember to take all the necessary documents to avoid disappointment.

Popularity: 8% [?]

Just saw this fantastic Steers advert on Zoopy. Never seen it before and think it’s a great play on the way things are right now with people coming and going from the UK to SA, to Aus and many other places. This is a great angle to take and think Steers pulled this off brilliantly!

Popularity: 4% [?]

This last friday I handed in my notice to my bosses. My last day of work is the 23rd November, and then I have a few days to pack up two years of my life [and the entire contents of a well stocked WHSmith bookshop] in shipping boxes and head home to the sunny shores of the Eastern Cape of South Africa.

I am so excited, I feel like I am going to explode with antici….pation. I have spent the last two years cataloguing why the UK is not for me, and why home is where the heart is [that is stuck on an aloe in the hills of frontier land or floating in a rock pool on the wild coast]. I can’t wait for sunshine, glorious sunshine and rising temperatures and warm evenings on the beach. I will consume only braai and biltong for the first week, and drown myself in SAB’s finest offerings [and I am not even a beer drinker usually].

But putting all excitement aside for a moment, there is a small list of things that I am returning to that don’t leave me giddy with joy. Try to read the following points in the spirit in which they are written – that is positively, with an eye to what we should want to achieve together in South Africa.

1. Firstly let’s get crime out of the way. No one wants it. It affects everyone. It sucks, sure. The point is that there is crime everywhere in the entire world. House breaking is universal. What probably worries all South Africans more than theft is the level of violence we have come to associate with these crimes. I think Rev. Desmond Tutu has already said publically [cant find the quote at the moment], that clearly Apartheid and our past did much more lasting damage than we originally thought. It broke something fundamental in us as a people. Maybe that can’t be fixed, but we can raise a new generation of whole and happy people, by nuturing the humanity we see in all of us. I just wish we could fast track this.

2. I have previously written about how I miss driving over here, and i do, but I know I am going to be in the position to afford a car and the upkeep thereof when I get home. Not everyone can say as much, and the only other real option for these people are taxis, which often come with taxi violence and unroadworthiness as a package. We need to provide effecient public transport locally and long distance options. To do this we need to offer both gov-funded and private contracts and open up the industry. The market is there, where are the Richard Bransons of South Africa?

3. limping, crawling, capped internet is for the nineties! I love ordering my groceries online in ten minutes and booking a delivery slot. I love renting all my dvds through a personalised list on the internet. I adore having a wealth of information at my finger tips at any time of the day – always connected, fast and above all cheap. I pay for my internet connection is two hours working time. It costs the same as 4 pints of lager or 3 packets of cigarettes or a third of my weekly shopping. It gives scholars access to research they couldn’t even imagine. It drives development pure and simple, and we need it in SA!

Yes, they aren’t small problems, but they are fixable. When we get them sorted, I guarantee lots more people will start heading home, and fewer will want to leave for long term anyway.

Popularity: 4% [?]