If we were being really self-obsessed, we might start to think that disasters (natural or man-made) were preceding our arrivals in destinations around the world…
We go to Thailand and around 600 miles away one of the worst tropical cyclones in recent history hits Burma; we fly to HK and just a few days before a massive earthquake hits China; we’re about to go to South Africa for 6 months and violent xenophobic attacks erupt around the country. I suppose that’s more preferable than being in a place and a bomb explodes nearby – which seems to happen every time my brother takes a trip.
But as you might imagine, we’ve been keeping a close eye on events in South Africa recently – even more so once it occurred to me that I look more like an immigrant – albeit of Asian and not African origin – than say, Jonathan does. And people keep asking us whether it’s safe, whether we’ll be ok and why we’re still going, so I thought I’d post about it…
[On a side note, I have rarely ever noticed that I am actually 'brown' whilst growing up in the UK and yet it's something I'm far more aware of as a LIP for some reason]
So why are we going?
Largely because I’m going to be working part-time there as a management consultant for some friends who’ve just started their own consulting business out there. With our flexibility and the fact we were planning to go back some time later this year anyway, it’s not a major hassle for us to go a couple of months earlier, refresh my consulting skills and help out our friends at the same time.
Will we be safe?
I certainly hope so!! Despite the horrendous crime record in South Africa, we spent 3 months there previously with only a minor brush with crime and feel that as long as we’re street savvy and smart about what we do and when we do it, we can minimise the chances of anything nasty happening.
However, with the recent xenophobic attacks against immigrants and foreigners (not tourists – but largely African immigrants), we’re obviously going to be super-vigilant and aware of our safety. Fortunately for the first month or so, we’ll be tucked away in a small town on the Garden Route before heading to Cape Town afterwards.
How do we feel about South Africa in general?
Since our first stay in South Africa, we have always had the following response when asked what we think about SA as a country: The country is stunning, the cost of living (for us) is cheap but there are still problems with racism which we saw quite clearly even in the younger generations; there is a certain intolerance, arrogance and aggressiveness about the people (black and white) which we’ve not seen anywhere else and the crime problems make us think twice about choosing to settle there more permanently.
What do we think about the attacks?
And as for the attacks – despite the initial denial that these were xenophobic in nature, it’s obviously a root cause. Conditions for many black South Africans are poor, jobs are scarce and whilst to an outsider visiting cities like Cape Town, South Africa may seem to be a nation that has rich resources and is thriving, there are some major underlying problems with poverty, unemployment and inequality still causing resentment, tension and violence.
It doesn’t surprise me that academic studies have long shown South Africans to be among the most intolerant people in the world – and these attacks are another demonstration of this intolerance.
But here’s the important thing…
We count ourselves hugely fortunate to even have this choice of where we go. The thousands of immigrants who’ve had their lives destroyed by these attacks have no choice – or at least the choice they do have is between the lesser of 2 evils. Instead many of them will now be consigned to living in refugee camps for months, maybe years to come.
Want to help out?
As you sit there, in the comfort of a warm, dry home and wonder what you can do to help…how about considering a donation, however small to some of the charities which are helping out in Burma, China and South Africa? Here are some links:
Jonathan Woodward Studio
Kinetiva
Location Independent
Vibrapreneur