I am contemplating leaving South Africa

27 June 2011 - 16:11 By Tshepiso Letswalo by email
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Image: © Brandan.

Its unfair for you to place this burden on citizens. We have played our part by voting for opposition. I as a black South African, I'm starting to contemplate leaving our beloved country and be ahead of the queue.

I'm educated and learned to learn from history, learn from case studies such as Zimbabwe that if your the last to leave, your more likely to be exploited in your late attempt to migrate oversees. Look at Zimbabwe's middle class, how teachers, nurses, doctors etc are exploited even after coming to South Africa or working oversees. Its like pressing a reset button on your working life and starting over as an intern.

I've grown and lived in the township up until my late 20's. Seen the wisdom of my mother's selfless effort  of sacrificing her mere salary so that we can get a better education. As a grown man I sometimes contrast my life with the life that could have been. Watching my friends who did not have the benefit of a quality education.

Celebrating their "new found freedom" by literally drinking Monday to Monday, Smoking drugs religiously, leaving life day by day. On the odd visit home, they are only happy to see me not because of the old friendship but on my ability to buy them booze. These men may also have impregnated a female, forcing her out of school because of embarrassment  of teenage pregnancy

This sort of behavior applies not only to most of my friends but to most South African black male. You can go to the township and find hundreds of thousands of kids loitering in the streets after school at the age were Harry Potter should be their best friend. 10 years later they'll be still blaming apartheid for their misfortune.

This is some strong generalization but its mostly true, I've tried to argue with them on policies of the ANC and dangers of giving  OT too much power. Most of them will call me white wanna be, sellout, WHITES will bring back apartheid (ANC rhetoric is working). Even though I hardly speak English unless i'm @ work or socializing with peers who are comfortable with English.

Its seems their  policy stance stem from the likes of Julius Malema whose only way of debating is name calling and getting what he wants.

The plight of township children:

-lack of education

-teenage pregnancy

-dropping out of school to drive a taxi

-drugs, gambling, etc

Its like a systematic policy of the apartheid era that manage to evolve itself into this uncontrollable monster.

It sometimes feels like a curse were you have the vision to imagine things to come in 10 years time (if nationalization is adopted), wishing you could live day by day as they do, ignoring what might come.

Then you ask me to put my family's future, my daughter's future in the hands of my friends. Having gay freedom problems looks more attractive for a countries problem.

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