I’m dreaming of a white Christmas… but I’m more likely to get sun.

An African Christmas tree...

“You have Christmas in the heat? How do you do that?” Er, well, actually, we do it in much the same way as you guys in the far north.

As the SARocks blog says, “…we were a British colony for over a century… You don’t think there might be a few, erm, familiar features? Despite the dramatic difference in temperatures, we still have European-style Christmas decorations everywhere – plastic mistletoe, fake snow on shop windows, great big evergreen Christmas trees, Boney-M singing “Mary’s Boy Child” booming out from every PA system… And for many of my school friends, the traditional Christmas lunch was a hot meal of turkey and trimmings. Having said that, large portions of the country are not of British stock and therefore do not feel bound to sweat their way through a turkey dinner while the swimming pool beckons outside"

And that pretty much sums it up.

Ironically, I remember few very hot Christmases because here, for some odd reason, it inevitably rains in Cape Town on Christmas day! And for that I’m grateful, because with a family of thoroughly mixed origin from even colder climes than the UK – the full “real deal” was always how we always did Christmas. Moreover, combining various traditions we really made a meal of it and celebrated Christmas on both Christmas Eve and Christmas day.

I still do the same; with a meat fondue and present opening on Christmas Eve and more present opening and a traditional lunch on Christmas day. I've tried to adapt it over the years to incorporate Lovely Husband’s English and Scottish heritage - though it’s a tough act to perfect. In an ideal world I'd do a gammon and a goose but Lovely Husband won't hear of eating a goose (despite the two that have taken to swimming and shagging in the pool). He won't eat duck either which would be the other option, and my mother won't eat gammon... It all makes traditional Christmases a bit tricky.

So, this year, I am catering to suit myself. After popping round to see my mother on Christmas Eve, we will come home to a presents and a fondue next to the Christmas tree - there may even be schmaltzy Christmas music in the background – you know, Bing crooning “I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas…” On Christmas day, my mother will be having Christmas elsewhere as she's done for the past 16 years (and will have roast lamb and roast chicken) while I will make a traditional glazed gammon and a duck stuffed with apples. There may be more schmaltzy music and then there will be a movie – this year, Robert Zemeckis’ The Christmas Carol.





And then, on Boxing Day (known here in more recent years as the Day of Goodwill) there will be fasting. Actually, there won’t, there’ll snacking on leftovers whilst slobbing out next to the pool.
I do admit that having celebrated several Christmases in the snow, doing it in the heat is a bit odd but still, I believe it's called making the most of multiple heritages.

Wherever you are and however you do – or don’t – celebrate the holiday season, may you have a happy, peaceful, joyous and wonderful time!

From Africa to the rest of the world... MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Afishapa (Akan -Ghana)
Merry Kisimusi (Zimbabwe)
Geseënde Kersfees (Afrikaans - South Africa)
Sinifisela Ukhisimusi Omuhle (Zulu - South Africa)
Sinifisela Khisimusi Lomuhle (Swazi - Swaziland)
Matswalo a Morena a Mabotse (Sotho - Lesotho)
Kuwa na Krismasi njema (Swahili - Tanzania)
Melkam Yelidet Beaal (Amharic - Ethiopia)
Colo sana wintom tiebeen (Egyptian)
E ku odun, e hu iye' dun! (Yoruba -Nigeria)

The Unbearable Dysfunctionality of Being (with apologies to Milan Kundera)

The coastal drive to Cape Point

Chapman's Peak Drive

Scarborough's mist and waves

Those of you who are friends with me on Facebook will have seen a multitude of sunshiny photos this week as D and I have played tourist in our own backyard. We’ve had a lovely time – good food, good wine, good weather - and looking at the photographs of the rich and gorgeous scenery that makes up the area where we live I’m struck yet again by the curious juxtaposition of life in South Africa.

On the one hand the most outstanding natural beauty, on the other, violence, aggression and a completely traumatized society. I’m not talking here about the usual crime, violence and corruption stuff – stuff that we South Africans seemingly take so for granted that we are sublimely desensitized to what would appall the rest of the world – unless you’re living in a war torn zone. What I’m talking about is the complete dysfunctionality of the average South African, a dysfunctionality that is characterized by aggression, greed and vulgarity. Of course, it is a generalization but how else is one to talk of generalities other than by way of generalizations.

Franschhoek - vines and lavender, mountains and big blue skies

I was struck a while ago when one of my critique partners pointed to the violence contained in my own writing and, on thinking about it, I realised how else could I write when surrounded by a proliferation of ongoing, daily aggression? Art reflects reality, always has done, always will, so I suppose it’s no small wonder that my own words and stories are infused with a sort of violence that some may find disturbing. Understand please, it’s not gratuitous violence or violence for the sake of violence that appears in my work – it is just a reflection of the world around me appearing in fictitious form. But it has made me realise that while I abhor violence and horror, it has, nevertheless, by dint of my location, become part of my writing. It’s a sobering – and disturbing – realization.

The blues and golds of the Overberg wheatlands

I often ponder the nature of balance and then try to consider the nature of balance in South Africa. But the balance seems totally unbalanced – the beauty and the beast – the land and the people. It struck me yesterday, while we were sitting in the shade of the oaks in a country village, how people have a phenomenal capacity to tarnish places.

A sleepy Greyton side street

The village which we were visiting is a beautiful place nestled between towering peaks. Once it was home to the Khoi people, the Hessequas and the Attequas, until the arrival of Dutch settlers who dispossessed the local tribes of their land and their herds. The land was given over to farming, and ultimately parts of it became a freehold agricultural village. Today the village is populated predominantly by weekending Capetonians. Watching them, this is what I wrote in my notebook:

“There are certain people who come to certain places and colonize. The places are usually picturesque, the people are usually wealthy. They arrive and take hold like poison ivy. They’ll take an unspoiled sleepy village and populate it with Volvo’s, Beemers and Benz’s. They’ll furnish their homes with antiques raided from the attics of locals (for which they’ll pay a paltry price and sell for a staggering profit.) They’ll open B&Bs, guest houses, art galleries, gift shops (that sell everything you never knew you needed or wanted) and restaurants that serve mediocre food. Their presence will encourage wannabes and the crass nouveau riche set. And were it not for the gentle breeze rustling through the trees and the infectious laughter of the real locals, you would never have any sense of the soul of the place at all.”

True, this happens everywhere, but here there is a sense of entitlement that seems to me to be uniquely South African and it’s that entitlement and the resentment coupled with it, that constantly leaves me muttering, “Nice place, shame about the people”.

Franschhoek's lavender field

And so, as I drove home yesterday, an incident played itself out which only served to confirm what I already know.

I came up the offramp of the freeway to the stop sign at the top of the bridge. Glass littered the road alongside an unoccupied Suzuki SUV with flashing hazard lights. In front of it was a large Toyota SUV. Both vehicles appeared to be pulled slightly to the side of the road and I assumed there’d been a collision. I pulled to the centre and raised my arms enquiringly at the driver of the Toyota. What was going on, could I go past, was he planning on moving? He gestured violently. I had no idea what he meant. Again, I raised my arms in enquiry. He gestured again, indicating I should “take a hike” and pulled away. I realised then that he was in fact towing the Suzuki. I found myself traveling behind him – with him going increasingly slowly – and also realised I was boxed in, with a white Honda right up my rear. The road on which we were traveling ran between the ocean and Cape Town’s biggest squatter settlement. People dashed across the road between the traffic, drunk driving was much in evidence as cars swerved around each other and people narrowly missed being hit. Feeling increasingly unsafe, I spotted a gap in the oncoming traffic and accelerated to overtake the Toyota. As I went past him, the driver, a thickset guy in his 30s, stuck his hand out the window and gave me the zap sign. Why? Probably because I’d had the “cheek” to question him at the intersection.

And this is the thing, this is the kind of aggression, unnecessary and unpleasant, that so characterizes South African society. Of course, it didn’t end there. The white Honda, driven by a hip young guy, also overtook the Toyota and charged up behind me, where he once again proceeded to sit on my tail. If I accelerated, so did he. If I slowed down, he slowed down. He had plenty of opportunity to overtake me, but he didn’t. It is more “fun”, it’s to be presumed, to threaten people because you can, because it makes you feel good and powerful, because, it seems, you don’t know how else to be.

The Drakenstein mountain

False Bay and the Atlantic Ocean

This, amidst the beauty of the mountains, the oceans and the vineyards is just how it is. South Africa is a land characterized by greed and violence, its people - irrespective of race, creed or gender - are scarred by a long history of social and psychological trauma. And it’s not getting better. As the sun scatters diamonds on the Atlantic Ocean and glints off the granite face of the mountains, as the vines rustle in the south-easterly breeze so increasingly the pot boils and churns and no one, it seems, is willing to douse the flames.

Mountain fires burn above Greyton

Look at that, a blog post!

Yegods, look at this, a miracle... I'm finally getting my butt into gear and doing a blog post...

I can only say that I appear to have turned into an all-time lousy blogger. Not posting, not reading. I suspect a lot of the problem has to do with the fact that most of the things I want to write about are just thoroughly depressing and mostly centre around the current “climate” in South Africa. I’m appalled, for example, at the treatment of medal winning athlete Caster Semenye both by the local head of Athletics SA and the IAAF. And as much as I am appalled by that, I’m revolted by the media circus that has surrounded it and I’m horrified how the whole thing has been turned into a race issue, which is now bringing the race debate back to the fore - and with a vengeance. Yes, ladies, gentlemen and jellybeans, the Rainbow Nation has proved to be an utterly fallacious dream and is as dead as the poor old dodo. Racism is alive, well and thriving in sunny South Africa. If I start getting into this, I will be going down a road I’m not sure is appropriate for this blog. And since it’s been occupying my mind of late, there’s a good reason, I guess, for not blogging. And oh, this is just the tip of the iceberg... I could mention that crime stats are up, rape stats are up, South Africa's refusal to cut carbon emissions... But oh let's just not go there.

On a cheerier note, and another reason for not blogging - my pc finally started sounding its death knell with much grinding, snorting and coughing. For a hopeful moment I thought it might be hatching a dragon. No such luck. But I now have a new pc, custom built, super fast, frighteningly silent and super powerful. Cool. It means I can finish the book trailer I started making – it was looking quite good before everything crashed…

On a more important note, Blog Action Day is coming up and the topic, somewhat unsurprisingly is Climate Change. Blog Action day takes place this year on October 15th and more details can be found on the Blog Action Day website. The notification I received says:

To be a part of this year's event, all we ask is that you commit to writing one post, in your own voice, on October 15, on the topic of climate change.

More than a dozen top blogs, including Mashable, The Official Google Blog, TMZ,
Autoblog, and Daily Blog Tips, have already registered.

But this event won't be successful with big blogs alone. We want bloggers everywhere, of all types and sizes, involved in discussing the wide-ranging way in which climate change affects us all.

To register to participate, go to the Blog Action Day website.

By the way, has anyone noticed that you can no longer post images without giving Google a bunch of exclusive royalty-free rights? I was going to put up some pictures, but...

Come with me on a weekend away...

We want wandering off for a few days the weekend before last. As usual, I was over-zealous with the camera. You have no idea the job I had to thin down over 1500 photos to this little pile... Hope you enjoy them. I, meanwhile, am going to finish off the article I wrote whilst there about porcupines, and then I'm going to play at making a book trailer...

The Franschhoek Valley

The view from the hotel patio

A far flung corner of the Franschhoek valley

Signs of spring

Blossoming

The road through the mountains

No way through

Spring greens - and pinks and reds

Soaring peaks

The vineyards at Boekenhoutskloof winery

Spring is springing

Proteas

Village life

The orchards at Villiersdorp

Theewaterskloof dam

Country roads

Country art?

The farmer's road and the "main" road

Theewaterskloof dam

Orchards near Grabouw

Theewaterskloof dam

Trees before spring

The abandoned house

Two-thirds

Well, vote counting is over and the data capturing is underway. Final election results will be announced this weekend. But at this point it seems that the ANC has received the two-thirds majority it sought to conclusively consolidate its position as the democratically elected leader of South Africa. As provisional figures currently stand, the ANC has an overwhelming 67.04 % of the vote.

There was never any question that the ANC would win this election, but there was, for the first time since 1994, some question about the percentage by which it would win. And there was some hope in certain quarters (i.e. from all the opposition parties and their supporters who deplore the greed and corruption within the ANC leadership, the loss of a moral compass, the dropped charges against Jacob Zuma, the controversial, provocative and offensive remarks from him and his cronies, the lack of action on far too many critical issues etc etc), that the ANC would not get a two thirds majority and so the way for real and positive change in South Africa could be paved.

I should add that the question of the two thirds majority is something of a moot point; while in some ways it is merely symbolic of definitive victory it also raises the spectre of power abuse - particularly given some of Jacob Zuma's recent remarks, for example, about amending the Constitution. Remarks, I might add, which change more frequently than the autumnal weather.

And this is the problem with JZ, as he is known; he speaks to his audiences in completely contradictory ways. (One might be led to think that he's merely a puppet with someone else pulling his strings...) So what he might say to a gathering in Soweto is entirely different to what he says to a gathering in Oranje. What he says to the business community and international investors is directly contrary to what he says to the people of the Amatole region in the rural Eastern Cape. And therein lies the bother - no one knows what he's going to do and which group will have the greatest effect on him. And until such time as he appoints his cabinet, we have no idea if it will be business as usual - i.e. more do nothing and more corruption - or if it will result in a radical change in economic policies that will seek to uplift the poor but which may well send international investors - and still more South Africans - running for the hills of other countries.

But this is democracy at work. This is how the people have South Africa have chosen. And one has to hope that they have chosen right - though of course what may be right for one person may not be so for the next.

But the reality is that there remains an awful lot of work to be done in South Africa, as my previous post indicated. There are still millions who live in poverty, healthcare and education are far from what they should be, housing development has lagged badly, the refugee situation, along with crime and violence, is out of control and the unemployment rate is at 40%. And in the current economic climate all this is going to be tough, if not impossible, to turn around.

At present hope runs high amongst those who voted for the ANC. But it begs the question of what happens if that hope is once more dashed. And there remains, of course, the big question of just what the ANC will do, what policies it will implement despite the multiple and often contradictory promises it has made.

So now we wait.

Zumamania

I’m feeling a wee bit stressed at the moment.

On Wednesday 22 April 2009, South Africans go to the polls in the fourth democratic elections since the country was freed from apartheid. The ANC will win and Jacob Zuma will be South Africa’s new president.

It all sounds okay so far, doesn’t it?

Okay, let me straighten the picture a bit.

Jacob Zuma has faced 783 counts of fraud, racketeering, tax evasion and corruption. These charges were all dropped earlier this month courtesy of the bungling of the prosecution process. It has been widely suggested that political pressure on the director of the National Prosecuting Authority brought about this happy outcome. Zuma was also previously acquitted of rape. In his defence at his rape trial he explained that:

“the woman who brought the complaint, a family friend less than half his age (she is 31, he is 64) who was staying in his home, had signalled that she wanted to have sex with him. How? By wearing a knee-length skirt and sitting with uncrossed legs. So what was a gentleman to do?”

Regarding the charges of corruption Zuma has declared himself innocent. The likelihood of that is slim given his co conspirator was convicted and jailed for 15 years. At trial the presiding judge, Hilary Squires, found that Zuma had a "generally corrupt relationship" with Shaik. The latter, I should add, was released earlier this year on “medical grounds”.

(I should also add that most of the leadership has been tainted by corruption but Zuma’s corruption has been the most public, for obvious reasons.)

Let me colour the picture for you a little more. Zuma’s election song and favourite chant is Umshini Wam. It means Bring Me My Machine Gun. The crowds attending his rallies love this song and they love to hear Zuma singing and dancing to it. I’ve included a YouTube clip so you can enjoy it too.

Do click on some of the links shown at the bottom of this youtube insert if you require further "entertainment" - some are a little hair-raising.

To take that up a notch, Zuma’s supporters will tell you that the machine gun song is important because:

"We all believe that we got our freedom because of the machine gun. Without those guerrillas, without those guns we wouldn't be here today talking about the government.”

That’s true enough but then add to that the call, last year, from Julius Malema, the leader of the ANC Youth League, to “take up arms and kill for Zuma” and you’ll perhaps start to get a feeling that violence is seen as a very viable means of achieving one’s ends.

I mean, let’s face it, you just have to think back to the xenophobic violence which affected Angela last year. And in doing that, I’m reminded of the remark Angela’s husband made to me about the cult of personality that is Jacob Zuma.

“People will vote for him because they believe that he will be like Mugabe. They want him to take all the farms and to chase the white people away. We tell them that’s not a good plan but they say they don’t care, that’s what they want.”

This is nothing new, whites (and yes, racism is more alive and well than it ever was) have long been told if they don’t like the way things are they can leave – and only two weeks Zuma ago announced that the only true South Africans (the white ones that is) are the Afrikaners – you know, those creators of apartheid... I suspect that leaves the rest of us booking our plane tickets for our ancestral homelands wherever they may be.

But despite all this, despite the failure of the ANC government to truly deliver, on Wednesday we will go to the ballot boxes and Zuma will be elected as our next president.

Not only is it the cult of personality at play here but the fact that the ANC is the heartland of the majority of South Africans. It’s the party that brought freedom. It’s the party that promises everything. It’s a party that is campaigning by singing Umshini Wam and dishing out free food parcels – and you have no idea how that wins votes amongst the impoverished and unemployed. The fact that, corruption aside, the ANC cannot deliver counts for nought – because people don’t see it that way. They believe the ANC when it makes promises. So there will (despite a global recession and decreasing foreign investment) be more jobs. There will (despite a desperate lack of skills –they all left courtesy of affirmative action policies) be houses for all and massive infrastructural developments. There will (despite a corrupt leadership) be less crime. There will (despite xenophobia, violent crime, and the call to take up arms against antagonists) be less violence. There will (despite Zuma publicly challenging the constitution and constitutional court judges) be greater democracy.

Hmm.


But the reality is this: for every thinking person, irrespective of colour, who sees the dangers of a Zuma leadership, there are a whole lot more who buy in to the inflated promises of a better future.

I’m reminded of a story I was told by a friend when I returned to South Africa in 1995 (one year after the country’s first democratic elections when the hopes for the Rainbow Nation were high indeed). Her char, a Xhosa woman, had come to her after the elections and asked when she was moving out of her house. “What are you talking about?” asked my friend, “I’m not moving.” “Oh yes you are,” said the woman, “I’m ready to move in so you must move out.” “I’m not going anywhere,” said my friend somewhat bemused. “But you must, the ANC told me that if we won, I would get your house. So when are you moving out?”

And this is a snapshot of the reality. Vast promises have been and continue to be made and yet the reality for the majority of South Africans is that they still live in shanty towns in abject poverty where they struggle against unemployment, crime and violence, and the ravages of AIDS, while the leadership swans around in Jags, Bentleys, Beemers and Benz’s and live in multi-million rand homes . But that doesn’t stop the majority from believing that things will change - because it will change, Jacob Zuma and his machine gun will ensure that, they believe.

Oh hope that springs eternal…

But here’s the thing. It can’t change. The skills required to create massive infrastructural projects which would create employment have left the country (courtesy of affirmative action policies). This is why each year millions of rand are returned to the treasury because the projects can’t even get off the ground. Now you tell me how you develop a country without skills? You tell me how you meet your promises when you’ve just undertaken to employ even harder hitting affirmative action policies? The ANC simply can’t, with the best will in the world and whilst adopting the policies it has, fulfill the promises it has made. But don’t try telling the majority that because they won’t believe you and will suggest that you leave. But it begs the question – what happens after another five years of unfilled promises? It remains unlikely that the majority will turn their back on the ANC; it is far more likely that they will take up their machine guns and lash out, as they did against refugees last year, in a massive spate of civil unrest. I do not relish the prospect of that day.

What I find deeply sad and ironic is that many of my friends who were not only anti apartheid activists, ANC supporters and ANC members have all left the party realizing that under the ANC government the dream for the Rainbow Nation has failed horribly. Even Nobel Laureate Desmond Tutu has descried what has become of the ANC, saying he is ashamed to see Zuma become his president. As the last moral leader of the old guard left standing, Tutu was, for his pains, roundly condemned by the ANC and its cronies.

The only thing one can hope for from this election is that for the first time since coming to power the ANC does not gain a two-thirds majority which will give it carte blanche to do as it likes, including dismantling the Constitution. And for the first time in 15 years there is a very real threat to the ANC’s stranglehold on government. The threat comes from a breakaway party the Congress of the People – COPE, and the biggest opposition party, the Democratic Alliance. It has to be hoped that between these two parties (and the other 24 contesting the elections) that while the ANC will win, it won’t be with a two-thirds majority. However, the most recent reports indicate that the ANC may yet win with a massive landslide. If that is the case, then the way is paved down a very long and slippery slope - potentially towards dictatorship. Already the national currency is slipping against the dollar.

It is impossible to do this topic justice in a single blog post as it is so multifaceted, so instead I will point you to several other articles, should you be interested.

Peter Hichens article probably provides the most comprehensive overview. While some may say it is alarmist, unbalanced and even racist, he makes very pertinent and very valid points.

Sky news provides a brief overview of the elections.

Songezo Zibi’s article provides an interesting and unique insight into the nature of our democracy and the corruption amongst our leadership.

Pearlie Joubert’s article covers the threat to the Constitution under a Zuma leadership.

Chris Moerdyk’s satirical letter to “Dear Mr President” takes a look from a different angle.

The Australian raises the concern of the likelihood of Winnie Mandikizela Mandela being given a senior cabinet post in the Zuma government. (This after having been sacked by her then husband, Nelson Mandela, for incompetence – oh, and not to mention her involvement in necklacing and kidnapping and more besides.)

You can listen to Archbishop Tutu voicing some of his concerns here.

The wikipedia article on Jacob Zuma is very comprehensive. I’ve excerpted some of his more controversial positions for your, erm, entertainment.

• It would seem that the fact that Zuma has four wives and three fiancés and 18 children is a bit of an issue for many people…
• Zuma was criticised by gay and lesbian groups after he criticised same-sex marriage at a Heritage Day celebration on 2006, saying that same-sex marriage was "a disgrace to the nation and to God": "When I was growing up, a homosexual would not have stood in front of me. I would knock him out."
• Zuma's solution to pregnancy in South African teenagers is to confiscate their babies and have them taken to colleges and "forced" (his words) to obtain degrees.
• Zuma also drew censure from religious and secular groups alike when he declared that the ANC would rule South Africa until the return of Jesus Christ, and that its continued governance was just what God wanted: “God expects us to rule this country because we are the only organisation which was blessed by pastors when it was formed. It is even blessed in Heaven. That is why we will rule until Jesus comes back. We should not allow anyone to govern our city when we are ruling the country.” (Posters at the election rally held yesterday in Johannesburg were emblazoned with “Zuma is like Jesus Christ”.)

And in a spectacular own goal...

South Africa has spent the past week reeling from the spectacular own goal scored by the government when it refused a visa to the Dalai Lama to attend a peace conference. The Dalai Lama was evidently due to speak at the conference on the role that soccer could play in tackling xenophobia and racism. The government initially said the reason the visa was denied was because they didn’t want the Dalai Lama’s visit drawing attention away from the 2010 World Cup. However, it seems that it was pressure from the Chinese that inclined the government to deny the Dalai Lama access to the country.

There are a few things that have struck me in thinking about the matter.

Rather worryingly, South Africa’s leaders and some of her people, seem to have forgotten our own long struggle for freedom and democracy. It seems to be a case of, “Now that we’re sorted, tough luck for those who aren’t - not our problem.” This conveniently forgets the international aid and support we had from so many quarters. And it forgets how much of that support came from international sporting bodies.

The decision by the government is nothing more than rank hypocrisy hiding behind the skirts of “economics”. Moreover, it is a decision laced with self-centredness and shows absolutely no consideration for the fact that we are all in this together, as one. It is one world, we are one people - what happens to one, impacts upon the other. Tragically, however, it seems our greed and fear are always too strong for us to remember that. History faced with self interest appears to teach us little.

Sadly, money is once again allowed to speak louder than what is right and just. But this whole business of trade vs human struggle is a double edged sword - given that trade with China has resulted in the loss of innumerable jobs in the clothing, textile and footwear industries in South Africa. While consumers have, to date, been happy to buy Chinese made goods, trade unions and workers have long protested against Chinese imports. And of course, it is not only these industries that have been affected – many others have taken a knock at the hands of cheaply made Chinese goods. It would do well for the government and for those South Africans who support the denial of a visa to the Dalai Lama to remember that.

But the Chinese link raises another issue. Not only has the government failed to consider the often brutal reality of the Chinese occupation of Tibet and our own history and struggle for freedom from the apartheid past but they’ve also forgotten our colonial heritage. In a moment of greed and myopia they fail to observe the role that China is increasingly playing in Africa. If anyone was upset by British colonialism, be sure that it will be a tea party by comparison to Chinese colonization, which is already well under way.

The point might even lead one to ask why Mbeki followed such very quiet diplomacy with Zimbabwe. Was it perhaps because Mugabe had already sold out to the Chinese, thereby giving them a kind of ownership in the country, which enabled them to bring economic pressure to bear on the Mbeki government?

But the most critical point remains this: Trade is all well and good but what happened to ethics and human values? Since when did trade become more important than freedom, justice and democracy - the very pillars on which the constitution of South Africa stands? It is a sad day indeed when one’s own leaders forget these things – and it’s no small wonder that several groups are going to the court over the matter.

The self-interested focus on trade at all costs is a sad indictment of what South Africa – that place that once stood as a beacon for human rights - is becoming. It strikes me that those who support the government’s decision are probably also those who last year took to the streets of South Africa in waves of xenophobic violence against refugees from neighbouring countries – countries that had aided those who sought to end apartheid. It all speaks to the same mindset. And it leaves me thinking that too many South Africans (and too many humans per se – witness the global economy) have become far too focused on self interest - to the extent that the view of the far bigger picture of our humanity has been lost. It is a sad day when the South African concept of ubuntu - the ethical and humanist philosophy which focuses on people's allegiances and relations with each other and which acknowledges that we cannot and do not exist in isolation - is forgotten.

The reality of the thing is that the denial of a visa to the Dalai Lama has nothing to do with soccer. It certainly has nothing to do with peace. It definitely has nothing to do with democracy. It would seem to be about something far more complex. Time to wake up and smell the chop-suey wafting through the plastic bead-curtains of self-interest.

It's a sludgy kind of rainbow

I’m not sure what happened to the dream of the Rainbow Nation but I think it’s probably safe to say both dream and rainbow have vanished. The past few weeks have been “interesting” to say the least. The xenophobic violence that reared its ugly head killing about 62 people, injuring some 670 and displacing more than 100 000 people has left many of us perplexed. D and I have had long discussions as to what may lie behind the inexplicable display of violence that has been experienced. Could it be sociological? Yes. Could it be theological? Yes. Is it the result of socio-economic policies? Yes. Is it the result of high expectations fuelled by lack of delivery? Yes. Is it the result of political lethargy? Yes. Is the result of a lack of education? Yes. It is all these things but it is also more – and it is the more that is almost too frightening to put into words. It is a barbarism and brutality that smacks primarily of Hitler’s Germany but also of Pol Pot’s Cambodia and Milosevic’s Serbia. It speaks of a baseness in the human psyche – the shadow self, the untamed beast.

Take this story and make sense of it if you can.

A Somali shop owner lived in one of the Cape Town townships/shantytowns for over seven years. He lent his predominantly Xhosa neighbours money, did their shopping when they’ve were unable to, gave their children sweets. He was a part of their community and his prices were better than the supermarkets. Yet there he stood in his shop two weeks ago when his neighbour walked into the shop and started toyi-toyi-ing. He said to her “Sisi [sister], you must sing when you dance,” not realising that her dance was a Judas kiss which brought all his other neighbours into the shop. His neighbours looted the shop, burnt it down and chased him from his home and neighbourhood screaming “Hamba amakwerekwere, hamba!” (Go, foreigner, go!)

There is no logic in this action. This man had done nothing to them. In fact, he had helped them, yet this was how they repaid him – by turning on him and destroying everything he had.

It’s not an isolated incident. In recent weeks events like this have unfolded across South Africa.

Angela’s husband has experienced much the same. For two years he has lived amongst his neighbours, renting a room from a local woman. As a qualified welder running his own business, he has created burglar bars, sliding gates and security gates for the people he lives amongst. Yet, on top of never wanting to pay him (after all, why should they pay a foreigner), two weeks ago they looted the workshop where he worked and stole most of his equipment. He now has to either start from scratch or find employment with a company. The irony is, these same locals are now asking when he'll come back and do more burglar bars for him. As he says, he doesn't want to go back, it's not safe and will never be. Foreigners, he says, are natural targets from local criminal elements - and others, simply because they're foreign

As events have unfolded, foreigners across South Africa have been necklaced and burnt to death, they’ve been attacked and victimized, they’ve had their belongings stolen or burnt. Many fled with just the clothes on their back. Locals have shown a complete lack of human compassion, understanding - and basic humanity. A negative energy which has touched everyone has pervaded the country like an unexpected, rampant cancer. Of course, one might say it was not that unexpected. And it wasn’t – it’s been waiting to happen – it started happening five years ago (and that’s without mentioning South Africa’s long history of ethnic violence). But the government in its “wisdom” has, as ever, failed to act - and continues to do too little, too late.

It would, of course, be gloriously easy to say, as so many do, “Oh, this is the legacy of apartheid.” To that, I say, "Rubbish! Wake up and smell the roses." Yes, of course, apartheid was a deeply dehumanizing system, no one denies that, of course it has left scars. But we are fourteen years on and huge efforts have been made to heal the rifts. Yet today, racism is more alive and well in South Africa than it has ever been. It is conceivably far worse than ever.

Angela’s husband and I were chatting this morning.

“You know what they say in the townships,” he said, “why they want this Zuma as president? Because they say he is going to chase away the whites. They don’t want whites in South Africa, they want only themselves, they hate everyone else. They look to Zimbabwe and they say, yes, that Mugabe, he has the right idea, he chased away the whites. They’re mad, these people, crazy. They’re ignorant. They don’t know what the reality will be. They will have nothing. South Africa will end up like Zimbabwe – and unlike Zimbabweans, these South Africans they don’t want to work, they don’t know how to work. They want everything, but it must be given to them for nothing.”

My own experience of many South Africans bears this out. The resentment and hatred continues to brood and brew. It is targeted at minority ethnic groups, irrespective of colour or creed. Alongside it the culture of entitlement and non-payment continues to grow.

“You know,” said Angela’s husband, “they were attacking everyone they saw when we left. It didn’t matter that you were black, if you were blacker than them, they attacked you. Even their own people. It was only when people could prove they spoke their language that they stopped beating them, but everyone else – local people and foreigners – who didn’t speak their language, they attacked, even the old ladies, the grandmothers.”

(Do take into account that South Africa has 11 official languages and eight non official languages...)

There is a strong sense among those I speak to that this violence is but the beginning. That it will, in time, spread from attacks on foreigners to attacks on the Indian, “coloured” (mixed race), white and other smaller ethnic populations.

The ANC government has had fourteen years to make a difference – and it has failed miserably. President Thabo Mbeki continues to argue that there is no crisis in Zimbabwe. I suspect he still believes that AIDS is the white man’s hex on the black man and that it can be cured by the African potato and a goodly dose of garlic. He has presided over an education system which is in tatters, health services which have failed miserably, and borders that are as porous as sieves. The fact that it took him two weeks to act and another two and a half weeks to speak out against the xenophobia, also speaks volumes, as does his refusal to invite the UN to lend assistance to the thousands of refugees housed in tented camps in the middle of a wet and cold winter. One can only assume that along with Bob from up North, he’s done a deal with the devil (or maybe the Chinese). Of course, as to his successor, Jacob Zuma, currently facing charges of fraud and corruption (which he and his cronies are doing their level best to quash), I think it would be safe to say, he’ll go with the highest bidder. As it is, his message changes from day to day depending on what any given audience wishes to hear.

Those who think the writing isn’t on the wall for the “Rainbow Nation” are surely living in a fool’s paradise whilst imitating the good old ostrich.

To give you the other view – beyond natural beauty

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This is a lengthy post but I hope to give all those who responded to the attack on my mom a cohesive view of some of the things currently happening in South Africa since many of you have indicated that you didn’t realise things were so bad. Consider it an attempt to redress the balance given the images of beauty I usually post. And let me also take the opportunity to thank you all for your kindness, concern and support since the blog post about my mother’s attack. I appreciate it hugely. It’s a strange and wonderful thing this blogging community of which we’re all part. It is truly a community we have going here - and that’s rather special.

It’s been a funny few days, with me worrying about my mom and her, after a couple of days of shock, tootling along as if nothing ever happened – it seems the trauma counselor encouraged her to just get on with it and forget about it all. Frankly, I find this a bit alarming – especially when I really need my mom to consider moving into a security complex of some sort. But this is what staggers me about living in South Africa – we’ve become so accustomed to crime that we just take it in our stride. Things that the rest of you find so appalling, we just cope with. I keep wondering if we’re living with our heads in the sand or if we’ve just been dehumanized by the brutality around us. I suspect it may be a bit of both.

Despite the spectacular natural beauty and the optimism of the majority of people, South Africa is a society that is soaked in brutality which started hundreds of years ago - even before the first settlers arrived here. But then I wonder, isn’t this just in the nature of humanity – all the battling for territory, position and power? Look at Europe, the East, the Americas. Our human history is riddled by it. In South Africa brutality took on new dimensions during the Anglo Boer war when the English held Boers (or Afrikaners – descendents of the original Dutch settlers) in concentration camps, and it reached vile levels during the apartheid era and now has gone on to something I don’t think anyone ever expected. There are approximately 17 000 murders every year, armed robberies are on the increase, we have the highest incidences of rape in the world and people are killed for no reason - whether they live in posh suburbs or ghettos. 50% of South African children suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and only 23% of children feel safe in school.

Of course, the years of brutality, and the impact of apartheid which ripped family systems and societies apart is much to blame. The endemic poverty that has resulted - and which has not been redressed doesn’t help. Drug abuse, gang culture, disempowerment, poverty, unemployment (despite a rapidly growing economy) have all played their part. The gradual erosion of other systems of government is not helping either. Education and Health are in crisis - did you know we import doctors from Cuba because of poor decisions taken by the Ministry of Health? Water Affairs have major problems on their hands with a water contamination disaster, much like the current power disaster, threatened. Land Affairs remains a huge issue with white farmers unwilling to sell or accept government prices so that land can be repatriated to the people it once belonged to. Everyone is affected in one way or another.

I, for example, having been retrenched from my position of marketing director of an actuarial consultancy in 1999 have found it impossible to find fulltime work – because I am the wrong colour. Likewise, I cannot get my novels published here because I don’t write South African based stories and I work in the fantasy genre. In the same breath, there are millions of unemployed black people who cannot find work because they lack the skills and the education system is shot to ribbons because of a “genius” move, between 1994 and 1998, to thin the teaching profession – something the present government is trying to reverse, without much success.

And aside from all that we have the incredibly disparate distribution of wealth - the staggeringly rich sitting alongside the bitterly poor. And yes, while there is a rapidly rising black middle class and a very wealthy black upper class, the masses, “the people”, still live in abject poverty, many in tin shanties with no sanitation, in ghettoes so overwhelmed with crime and gangsterism that it’s hard to know how anyone survives.

One of the ironies of the “new” South Africa is that Affirmative Action* policies and Black Economic Empowerment schemes were created in order to uplift “the people”. The trouble is only a handful has benefited and those who have, have no intention of sharing their wealth with those who do not have – there is far too much status and materialism at stake. I have, sadly, even heard people say that their lives were better off under the old regime – and that I find truly alarming.

To add to this picture, skilled labour – generally white – from whom others might learn, is fleeing the country for greener pastures, better opportunities and safer places to raise children.** One emigration expert has said his international moving business has increased by 50% in the last six months. Of course, those who leave or who want to leave are labeled as “whinging whites” and are actually encouraged to go. And ironically, South African companies are having to import skilled labour in order to fill positions.

Of course, none of the present situation is helped by the imminent election of Jacob Zuma to President of South Africa. He is, after all, a man dogged by scandal. In August 2008, he goes on trial on charges of fraud, racketeering, corruption and money-laundering. His principal financial adviser is already in jail for fraud and corruption. His current financial adviser, brother to the principal financial adviser, has as his body guard one of the most infamous gang bosses in South Africa. The masses view Zuma’s leadership with hope – will this man, considered a “man of the people”, with his strong ties to the trade unions and the South African Communist Party, finally be the man who fulfills their dreams of a better life? It seems unlikely, as Zuma is already showing himself to be a man who will say anything he needs to win over anyone who may be against him, even if it means contradicting himself. And it is worrying to think that whoever offers him the best deal, will be the one to set the path Zuma follows. Disturbingly, he has already called for a clampdown on the media.

Meanwhile division within the ruling party, the ANC is increasing and could result in the paralysis of the country’s development and reform process. Frankly, the fact that the ANC remains as a single party is remarkable, given the broad spectrum of opinions and political views that exist within it.

The problems that South Africa faces astound me. For the past14 years we have tried to build the Rainbow Nation, tried to believe that we could make this work. But now doubt is setting in with a vengeance. There has been a 20% drop in the peoples’ approval of government in the last two years. International investors and watchdogs are jittery, viewing South Africa, almost, but not quite in the same light as Iraq and Pakistan. It seems to me like we are on our way to hell in a handbasket.


* Jobs go first to black women, then black men, then so-called “coloured” (ie mixed race) women, then men, Indian/Asian women, then men and finally white women and then white men. You can bet that after that being white and male doesn’t leave you with many options which is why so many white, coloured and Indian youngsters are leaving the country to seek employment elsewhere.

** One of the difficulties facing many wanting to leave is that South Africa exercises a foreign exchange allowance. Thus one may only take a certain amount of money out of the country – anything else, including pensions, has to be left behind. For a single person this amounts to approximately $285 700.00, at current exchange rates, and for a family of two or more, it amounts to $571 500.00 - and these amounts shift and change depending on government decisions and daily exchange rates. There are also restrictions on the value of goods, such a jewelry, furniture etc that may be taken out. Thus many people leave the majority of their wealth behind and have to start completely from scratch – and for some the prospect of leaving that wealth behind is what forces them to stay – until things get too bad.

POSTSCRIPT: Having re-read this post several times it concerns me that I have not provided a sufficiently balanced view point and so, to this post I would like to add something I've just written to a friend who was bemoaning the "state of the nation".

"It's perfectly true that there is an awful lot of bad stuff going on but... There are those who would argue that for all the things that are broken and breaking, there are other things that are working. There are also those who would argue that the ANC have had a hard time learning to govern and are still learning. There are those who would tell you that millions now have rights where before they had none. They have houses, electricity and water where they didn't. They have freedom to move where they want. The economy has grown in leaps and bounds. People have careers where they were previously unable to do so. There is a burgeoning black middle class where before there could never have been - and their spending ability is huge.
I think the one thing we all forget is exactly what the ANC inherited from the old apartheid regime - fear of transparency, determination to exercise central control, huge amounts of debt, a massively distorted division of land and, public transport, health, education systems that didn't work. The aspects of those systems that appeared to work were all geared toward the white minority - they did not work for the majority. I'm not making excuses for the ANC but I think that in order to get a balanced point of view, which most of us whities forget, it is only fair to look at both sides of the coin and to accept that what the ANC took on was a huge process of reformation, a system in a mess and having to do it with little or no experience in governing.

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Note: images contained in montages come from multiple sources and special thanks go to Andrew Hagen for the use of some of his beautiful shots.

Crime comes home

I seem to have made a slight error of judgement. I have been concentrating so much on the beauty, in trying to find some balance to the insanity that surrounds me, that I have forgotten the other side of reality.

Today my 82 year old mother and her housekeeper were held up at gunpoint in their driveway by two thugs. My mother’s jewelry was ripped off her, the housekeeper was thrown to the ground and stood on, on two separate occasions. They stole my mother’s car keys and the gadget that opens her automated gate. They stole two mobile phones. They threatened to kill my mother and her housekeeper. Thank god that my mother and her housekeeper weren’t seriously harmed, but they are traumatized beyond measure and most likely will have to deal with what so many South Africans live with on a daily basis - Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. We pretty much all live with it, all the time, but for those who've been attacked, it is that much worse, because one's worst fears become reality - and under brutal circumstances.

We have always joked that my mother’s home is like Fort Knox, it is so well secured – but even all the security couldn’t have prevented this crime. For this is the nature of crime in South Africa – if the thugs want something, they will get it. In this instance they will sell my mother’s jewelry for a fraction of it’s true value and buy Crystal Meth - methamphetamine, or, as it is called here, Tik. They will get high and hyped and then they will attack someone else, and again, the proceeds of the robbery will be used to buy yet more Tik. Drug abuse is one of the most common causes of crime in this city and in South Africa per se - and there seems to be no end in sight - particularly when government seems intent upon not acting.

Last week my mother’s neighbours were held up at gunpoint in their driveway. There were 36 incidents of crime in my neighbourhood in January - including 17 house break-ins.

The headlines in today’s newspaper read, “Survivor describes horror attack after mountain run” and refers to an incident that took place last week when a young mother of two was brutally attacked and nearly raped whilst training for a marathon. There was also an article which warned home-owners to be especially vigilant in their driveways since these have become the most common places for attacks to take place - exactly as happened to my mom.

What makes all of this so worse is that criminals are almost "protected". Homeowners may not shoot an intruder unless the intruder first shoots them. To shoot an intruder means going to jail - as though you, the victim, are the criminal.

I spent the entire afternoon sorting out new security arrangements for my mom, getting her car key immobilized, organizing an armed guard to be on duty for the entire weekend, day and night, sorting out insurers, arranging for electric fencing to be put right around her perimeter, dealing with the police – who, I must say, were absolutely amazing. And then I came home to find someone had ripped off and stolen the trellises that support the creeper on my external perimeter wall – making it now much easier to jump over said wall – which is what they did at my mom’s place – despite the fact that the wall is six foot high and has spikes on top.

I may like to show you the beauty of the place where I live - for it is truly beautiful - but that beauty walks hand in hand with the most atrocious violence and ugliness - and that taints everything around us, indeed, makes a mockery of all that is wonderful. It is hard, in situations such as these, to keep a balanced perspective. One tries, but then one wonders if one is just kidding oneself. Bear in mind, it's not just crime and violence that are issues here - but there are a range of other things, as I allued to in my post of 2 February.

Although I went for a walk today and took some stunning shots of the beauty around me - I am not going to post them here - not today. If you want to see them, please follow the link to my flickr account in the sidebar.

I wish you peace and safety. For those of you who live without the horror that we live with every day - please don't take what you have for granted.

Witterings & Warblings from a Less than Absolute Vanilla Pod

First off, let me say a huge and grateful "THANK YOU" to all of you for your kind wishes and thoughts on the last two posts - your support and care is so very much appreciated. The ordeal of "Welcome to My Africa" left me pretty traumatised and the flu virus, ever ready to pounce on an opportunity struck with a vengeance. I'm still not over it, (she typed, amidst much hacking, wheezing and coughing) but I'm getting there - after all, you can't keep a good vanilla pod down.


Secondly, there are things happening in blogosphere.

Opening Chapter's Blag - a Blag = Bl(og) + (M)ag(azine) - has finally been launched. There are articles in it by some bloggers known to you - including this blogger...

The Blag is an online arts and literature magazine - and they're open to submissions... So...you might also want to become a blagger! Check it out!


Then, the Shameless Lions appear to be regrouping for the creation of a collective story. Should be fun, might get out of control... Go and take a peek...


Finally, given my recent ordeal, I decided to watch the local premier of an excellent documentary by ex-South African and Oscar winner, Jon Blair, last night. Presented by another ex-South African, Sir Anthony Sher, it is called Murder Most Foul and deals with crime in South Africa. (The documentary had its world premier on the True Stories strand on the UK's Channel 4 on 25 September.)

In it Blair describes crime in South Africa as being on an "industrial scale". Archbishop Desmond Tutu says "something has gone horrendously, badly wrong". The Minister of Safety and Security, however, says (of people like me): "They can continue to whinge until they’re blue in the face, they can continue to be as negative as they want to or they can simply leave this country...".

What struck me most forcibly was this: I expected to be harrowed and horrified by the film. I was not. Why? Because I am numb. Because this is what we live with every single day. This crime - it is becoming South Africa. We say "it is not acceptable" and yet we all accept it. I was not shocked or overwhelmed by it as Anthony Sher was, because this is how I know we live - white, black, brown - crime isn't interested in race. We have, unwittingly, become desensitised and, as such, dehumanised. And that is indeed a sad indictment of South Africa and South Africans - and more so that it takes a documentary like Murder Most Foul to make us sit up and take note. (I hope we will sit up and take note and not, instead, start berating the producer and presenter for being "white sensationalist shit-stirrers".)

What I find even more disturbing are the South Africans who seem unwilling to accept this horrific crime is happening. I'm not talking about the government here - we know they are asleep - they, after all, denied there was an AIDS pandemic until the world stepped in and opened their eyes so they could see the thousands dying. No, I'm talking about fellow South Africans who are so determined to focus only on the positive - got to be "positively South African" you know to be a good South African - god forbid you should criticize (but where would we be without criticism?) - but it is they who fail to see the woods for the trees. One South African blogger said: "Quotes like “Violence has always been a way of life in SA” are bullshit and misleading." Hmm, I wonder where he was when all the children were being gunned down in Soweto in 1976... I wonder where he was when families were being torn apart by apartheid, women were being raped by the police and activists and ordinary people lived in fear of their lives and police brutality. Where was he when people were put in detention without trial? Anyone who thinks violence is not part of our heritage and our legacy is floating down a very long river called Denial. I would say beware to them, there be crocodiles...

At the end of the apartheid era many feared a bloodbath - but it didn't happen and the world marvelled at our peaceful transformation to a democracy. But as Sher commented - there is a bloodbath it's just happening slowly and over a very long time. Last year 18 500 South Africans were murdered. In the past year 20 000 have been murdered. This does not include the unreported cases, the rapes, the child rapes, the mutilations, the torture, the robbery, the hijackings, the attempted murders...

If you are interested and get a chance to see Blair's documentary, do. Unreported World - also UK Channel 4 - will also be reporting on current levels of violence in South Africa tomorrow night 28 September.

Funny that it takes outsiders to see our problems while so many of us are hell-bent on playing ostrich and others are intent on screwing their rose-coloured spectacles to their head. Sounds, in fact, rather frighteningly familiar of our not too distant past...