It's Blog Action Environment Day - The Impact of Housing Developments

This is a lengthy post and I make no excuse for that. Issues of the environment need air time. What follows below is specific to the region where I live, but it is an issue which affects all of us in one way or another, wherever we live.

Developments and bill boards abound. Areas that were once wide open veld or virgin forest are all succumbing to developer's greed.

We only have the one world. When we’ve plundered all the wild places and used up all the natural resources, we’ll be done for – and so will our children, and our children’s children, and our children’s children’s children… We won’t leave a legacy. We’ll leave nothing - just a vast emptiness in time and space, a place where we once were.

As you know from all the phoktobering I’ve been doing, I live in a beautiful part of the world – a place with pristine beaches, rugged mountains, open plains, tumbling rivers, shaded ravines, flowering meadows… The magnificence of nature here is unsurpassed. The wildlife who enjoy it are many and varied – lions, elephants, giraffes, zebra, cheetahs, leopards, baboons, rhinoceroses, hippopotami, springbuck, eland, kudu, nyala, bushbuck, porcupines, wildebeest, hyenas, wild dogs, monkeys, dung beetles, butterflies, tarantulas, whales, dolphins, sharks, puffadders, cobras, genets, otters, ostriches, herons, guinea fowl… Okay, you get the picture.

This pristine stretch of beach is coming under increasing pressure as the land behind it is turning into a "housing complex". Log cabin holiday homes which have been here for years are being bought, knocked down and turned into huge multi-million rand homes...

Of course all this beauty, this wild magnificence, brings with it opportunity for those who would get rich quick and couldn’t be bothered about the future. Humanity’s lack of vision, the inability to see beyond the present, always amazes me. Does the future really hold so little value? Are we really that myopic? That greedy? Do our fears run so deep, is our consciousness that unevolved? The answer in so many instances would appear to be yes. For what we have here are those who would make a fast buck and benefit personally as they set out to destroy the wonder that is this land. (And yes, it’s not just here, it happens everywhere but I’m not qualified to speak about other places – you do that, okay?). Here, developers are all too quick to take pristine wilderness and turn it into gated or luxury housing estates. The irony is profound. Wilderness and luxury housing – in the same breath… I think not. It’s as insane as conservation through commercialization – another “concept” which plagues us.

A few days ago I showed you some photos taken along the Garden Route – the travesty is that this beautiful area is rapidly being eroded. There are more gated and luxury housing estates, golf estates, polo fields and commercial developments than I have ever seen – all catering to the ultra wealthy – many of whom are foreigners – all devastating the environment. It’s a beautiful area see so we all want some of the action never mind that we’ll destroy it in the process. Talk about the fallacy of composition… One man comes for the lifestyle and believes his coming will have little or no impact on the environment. But his friends soon follow him and the environment staggers beneath the strain as what the one man sought fast disappears.

Once an exclusive seaside playground for the rich, Plettenberg Bay is now wall to wall houses and developments as everyone wants a slice of the cake.

This entire stretch of coastline is being subject to massive over-development. Beyond the curve of the bay are at least three polo fields, luxury and golf estates. To the left of the shot, half the headland, most of which, fortunately, is national park land, is being turned into gated estates...

Over the past few years one such development has raised particular controversy. Called the Lakes Eco and Golf Reserve (yes, please do laugh very loudly at the name) the project plans included 1200 residential stands, 2x18 hole champion golf courses, 300 timeshare units, 120 home retirement village, 80 room hotel, dams and water storage reservoir, sewerage treatment works, village centre, restaurants, aqua driving ranges, sports facilities, sports academy, fuel storage, adventure sports, polo fields, equestrian centre, hiking trails, nature reserve, water sports, airstrip, marina… You can read more about the concerns here and about the developers and their plans here. Of course, the developers argued that they are “giving back” to the community by creating employment for underprivileged communities. Hmm, destroy it and give back just what – can a job really replace the land? You may have money to buy food but what if there’s no land on which to grow that food? As the people of the area said, “We can’t eat golf balls!” and “We don’t play golf or polo!” Oh yes, there’s employment and that’s great, but as maids, gardeners, caddies, stable-hands and waiters to the wealthy... That’s neither sustainable development nor sustainable upliftment. These things have to be viewed holistically because of course environments include people and their needs – their sustainable needs.

(It is amidst virgin forest and on the rise of the hills just south of where this shot was taken, that the Lakes development is planned.)

Of course, as with all things in this benighted land, every developer has government connections and regrettably our young democracy has shown us that our new government is rife with corruption. Everybody wants to make a quick buck – after all, we see the example of the rest of the world and follow in their footsteps...

Another prime example is a beautiful bay on the outskirts of the city. For years it was enjoyed by windsurfers, surfers, dog walkers – anyone who wanted to feel the sea air in their face and the sand between their toes. Now it is wall to wall development, a blanket of buildings crowded together obliterating the landscape - the legacy of the city’s previous mayor in her personal bid to get rich quick.

The irony in all this is that every development is supposed to be subject to an Environmental Impact Assessment – but when the assessor is being paid by the client i.e. the developer, nine times out of ten, the development gets the go ahead. Everyone has their price, it seems.
Two years ago I wrote an article about the destruction of the Garden Route and attempted to get it published in several local and national newspapers. No one would touch it. Why? Because it was contentious. It stated the facts as they were and made no excuses for human greed. As you will know from reading this blog, I ain’t afraid to tell it like it is – and many don’t like that.

These are but two examples of how man’s greed destroys and will continue to destroy our world. Last Wednesday Jan, over at Jan’s Writing Journal posted about Oliver James’ book Affluenza – go and take a read – it strikes me that it sums up some of the reasons why we are so willing to destroy the planet – so we can all go off and catch this new virus and make ourselves sick. It’s insane. What species willingly sets out to destroy itself and its environment? Just how much have we totally lost the plot so that we can “have it all”. A lot? Completely? Yes. What will we have left to have if we keep up this madness? It’s time we got back to basics. Time we reassessed our values, our ethics, our humanity and our priorities. Time we stood up for the planet and all the life on it – not just greedy humans - unless, of course, we really do want to make ourselves and every other living organism on the planet extinct.

But let’s end on an optimistic note. First, in relation to this post – having not followed the Lakes development for a while – I was too busy trying to save trees… I have just read that the Minister for the Environment of the local region has rejected the application to allow the Lakes development to go ahead! Yes! Of course, this doesn’t mean the developer won’t appeal and go to court but at least the Minister has drawn a line in the sand and maybe the already endangered Knysna seahorse whose number was truly up as a result of this development has been granted a reprieve that will last for a very long time… In the case of the Lakes enough local people stood together and protested. They lobbied local councilors, they marched, they wrote letters to the press. They formed an association and said “No, not on our land!” And this is something everyone can do. Yes, it takes guts, it takes strength, it takes time. But if we do not speak up, we have only ourselves to blame. So, if there is something that concerns you, lobby, motivate, raise hell. The rejection of the Lakes application shows that united voices make a difference.

Secondly, we have Blog Action Day - today! - and the focus on the environment – here’s hoping that the united voice of millions of bloggers will raise a sufficient outcry on the multiple issues concerning all of us so that we and our governing bodies sit up, take note, do our bit and stop the madness and the rot that threatens to destroy our environment and our world.

I leave you with a quote from Jared Diamond:

What did the Easter Islander who cut down the last palm tree say while he was doing it? Like modern loggers, did he shout "Jobs, not trees!”? Or: "Technology will solve our problems, never fear, we'll find a substitute for wood"? Or: "We don't have proof that there aren't palms elsewhere on Easter, we need more research, your proposed banning on logging is premature and driven by fear-mongering"? Similar questions arise for every society that has inadvertently damaged its environment.

(Jared Diamond: Collapse – How Societies Choose Or Fail To Survive ; Pg 114; Penguin Books 2006)

(When I was a child, this area was just bush and mountain...)

(NOTE: an ironic aside - while developers are quick to create luxury estates for those who can afford them, millions of South Africans still live in tin and wood shanties... We have curious priorities...)

Reflections... and smile awards

Continuing the Phoktober theme... This series of shots was taken a while back when I was playing with light reflected through coloured glass objects onto a white surface. What I've done here is to take the reflected section from each shot without any sign of the real object of the reflection.

What we see is not
What we don't see may well be
Things are seldom what they seem

Look beyond
Between the glimmers of light
The magic resides within

Now see if you can work out which shot above came from which shot below!

Reflections in light
time and space

cease to be

:-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-) :-)

And the good and fun news of the day is that lovely Bonnie over at Words from a Wordsmith has given me a "You make me smile, award"! Thank you, Bonnie! Your words make me smile too!

Made by Susan of Patchwork Reflections, she said, "Comments make me smile! So all of you who were nice enough to comment here are officially presented with the 'you make me smile' award! Congratulations!" On her blog she added this verse:

Smiling is infectious,
U can catch it like the flu.
Someone smiled at me today,
And I started smiling too,
Now I am passing it on to you!

So now I'm passing on the smile award to:

Verilion who's as daft as a brush - you have to know her to know...
Vesper - who is a kindred spirit and brings a smile to my heart.
John - who ends every comment with a smile which you know is heartfelt.
Baino - who has a wicked sense of humour
and Kyklops - who had me in stitches with his comment on my mushroom post!

You know what I hate about these awards - you're only supposed to be able to pass them on to five people - I think that's so unfair - I want to give awards to all of you - especially this one, because in some way, each of you brings a smile to my face! So go on, consider yourself awarded and SMILE!

Magic Mushrooms and...

On October 15th, bloggers around the web will unite to put a single important issue on everyone’s mind - the environment. Every blogger will post about the environment in their own way and relating to their own topic. The idea is to get everyone talking towards a better future. Follow the link and take a look.

Frankly, I have no idea at this stage what I'll post about but for now let's get on with things Phoktoberish and enjoy a feast of mushrooms. Okay, so I stand corrected, funghi... And they do after all form a part of our environment. Enjoy, but don't try to eat or smoke the pictures, okay?!



















Tomorrow, I'm going off to see if I can find the whales for you to admire... Watch this space...

Lee-Ann's Story

She comes from a one horse town in the middle of nowhere. It is a place that has stood still in time. The land is arid and harsh. Dust sweeps along the roads of the village and billows through the broken windows of the magistrate’s court. The people are narrow, closed and hard. Her family owns the town. Her grandfather is the commandant.
She is ten years old and has been sexually abused by her uncle. No one listens to her cries. No one hears her words. Her pain and agony are invisible to them. They must be. They do not want to know. It is something they cannot admit to. Their ears are closed to all that may amount to a scandal. They protect their own. Yet they sacrifice their own too. They tell her she is wrong. They say her uncle is a wonderful man. They tell her she must listen to Grandfather for he knows best. Nothing happened to her, they say. She imagined it all, like a bad dream. Her grandma bakes her rusks – hard, dry, tasteless things – but she believes they are delicious. She agrees all must be well, for they say so.
She buries her pain, turns it inward, lets it fester in a place where she can never digest it. She endures life. Her step-father molests her continually. She says, he loved me, he gave me far more than fatherly love. He was kind to me…

#

She is twenty, her name is Lee-Ann and she comes to the city to study. She is a silent, withdrawn girl, painfully thin. She asks if she may stay with an aunt and uncle. They take her in and immediately sense something is amiss. She is anorexic, she is wasting away. The ache within her is desperate to be released. Safe, for the first time in her life, it bubbles out of her. Her aunt and uncle book her into a clinic. She is counseled, she is given love and safety. Her story pours from her in a torrent of agony, finally able to find release.
She returns to the home of her aunt and uncle. She receives weekly counseling. She gains a little weight. She is given special meals, she is nurtured. She begins to enjoy life. She laughs, she dances, she smiles. Her aunt helps her with her homework. She learns. She is beautiful and she is safe within this loving and protected environment. She starts the long journey of healing.
It is good, says her psychiatrist, if she doesn’t make this shift now she will be dead in two years. Keep supporting her.
Her aunt and uncle, only too willing to reach out and help this shattered waif, give her everything they are able to. They give her a wonderful 21st birthday party, they buy her tickets to a WWE event, they buy her new clothes and continue to support her in every way they can. They want her to be whole.
Her mother comes to visit. There is no interaction between mother and child – she does not enquire after her daughter’s well being – it is as though her daughter does not exist, as though the world begins and ends with the mother and her fitness regime. She talks about how sore her hips are – from an excess of training. She exercises everyday, sometimes all day. She trains hard, as though she is chasing away demons. She is. She tells her sister-in-law how she too was abused. But she is worried, the family secret is out… She returns home.
Lee-Ann’s aunt is called away to the UK on family business. Will she be okay staying with her uncle? Would she prefer to stay with her uncle’s sister, they ask her? No, she says, she is safe here. She will look after her uncle and they will have a fine time together.
In the dusty arid town in the middle of nowhere there is a family crisis. Those people, far away in the city, they know about Lee-Ann’s abuse. What is worse, they believe her. They will talk. Others will know. This could rock the family - destroy their hold on their one horse town. The family with its connections in police and army swing into action. Small minds think small, no further than the end of their own nose.
The police arrive at the home of Lee-Ann’s aunt and uncle. They’ve had reports, they say, that he is holding the girl hostage. Her uncle is appalled. He denies the accusation, points to her bedroom, invites them to speak to her. They tell her they’ve come to take her away, because they know she is in danger here. They ask her if there’s anything she wants to say. She turns to her uncle and tells him she appreciates how much he and her aunt have done for her. How much it means to her and she turns away. Her uncle is told not to touch her clothes or any of her things – it is all evidence. He is devastated.
She is returned to her family in the middle of nowhere, thrown back to the lions in their den. Only lions would have more honour, show more protection of their young.
Her uncle tries to make sense of what has happened but he’s not given a chance. He receives word that a court interdict has been sought to prevent him from seeing his niece ever again. It is claimed that he has been abusing her. He is gutted.
His wife returns. They speak to their lawyers and drive hundreds of miles through barren nothingness to the place that is nowhere.
The villagers stare at them, these city folk in their smart clothes. They are a threat. The police eyeball them, bellow instructions at them. They are strangers in a surreal show. They are made to wait, to sit quietly and watch the dust gather as it drifts through the paneless windows of the magistrate’s court.
Lee-Ann’s uncle is called before the prosecutor. He is grilled, given the third-degree. He states the facts of the matter. Explains the history, provides affidavits. The prosecutor, doing her job, doesn’t believe him. He persists, answers the same questions over and over again. Lee-Ann enters the court room. She has lost weight. She is pale, her beauty fading.
“Has this man ever harmed you?” the prosecutor asks.
“No,” she whispers staring at her feet.
“Has he threatened you ever?”
“No,” she murmurs.
“Did you ever feel unsafe with him?”
“No.”
“Was he unkind to you?”
“No.”
“Then why are you seeking an interdict against him?”
“Because I must,” she whispers, a wild look flickering in her eyes. “I have to.”
The family has drawn together. Their reputation will be upheld. Lee Ann will do as she is instructed. She may not think for herself. It has been forbidden. The dreadful secret will not be revealed. The rot will stop – it will be erased from existence as though it never existed. Lee Ann will be the sacrificial lamb, offered up to protect the reputation of a family that is twisted and corrupt. Her life has no value. Her pain counts for nothing. Her silence is everything. It is likely she will be dead in less than two years.


This is a true story – Lee-Ann’s aunt told me about it yesterday. I don’t know Lee-Ann, I barely know her aunt, but she needed to tell her story. And I, my heart aching and overwhelmed by human injustice and cruelty have to tell it to you so that we know and remember who and what we are and what we do to our children. Lee Ann and her uncle have jointly signed a document saying that neither will ever contact the other again. Her one lifeline has been cut off from her. The people who could have helped her to heal have been forcibly removed from her life. Her psychiatrist has said it is very likely she will not survive. This is child abuse. This is human sacrifice. This is the insanity of the world in which we live – for events like these happen everyday and everywhere. This is in the nature of our humanity. This is Lee-Ann’s story and the story of thousands of other children like her. And their stories must be told, for the rot must stop.


It is Phoktober and I've chosen the two images above as symbolic of Lee-Ann's story - the first with the light and the shadow on either side of a newly opened white daisy, the second showing the bugs destroying the heart of a white daisy.

Ooh, I'm "nice" (though I rather wish I was in Nice...)

Dear, sweet and very genuinely nice Canterbury Soul has awarded me with "Nice". Although I only know CS a little from blogging and that infernal Facebook, he's always struck me as a caring, kind, considerate, creative, thoughtful and well, just very, very nice person. So a big thank you CS, for thinking that I'm nice too!

I've watched as this nice award has traveled nicely around blogosphere and have thought to myself, gosh, that's nice. What a nice thing to honour nice people with. Mind you, on the flip side I've also thought to myself, nice... hmm, that word... it's so... well, nice... no, not really, as a word it's not-nice. See, as a writer I have issues with nice. Just as I have issues with "then" and "suddenly" and "and then".

Anyway, I ran a search for "nice" and this is what the one set of dictionary definitions has to say about nice:

–adjective, nic·er, nic·est.

1.	pleasing; agreeable; delightful: a nice visit.

2.	amiably pleasant; kind: They are always nice to strangers.

3.	characterized by, showing, or requiring great accuracy, precision, skill, tact, care, or delicacy: nice workmanship; a nice shot; a nice handling of a crisis.

4.	showing or indicating very small differences; minutely accurate, as instruments: a job that requires nice measurements.

5.	minute, fine, or subtle: a nice distinction.

6.	having or showing delicate, accurate perception: a nice sense of color.

7.	refined in manners, language, etc.: Nice people wouldn't do such things.

8.	virtuous; respectable; decorous: a nice girl.

9.	suitable or proper: That was not a nice remark.

10.	carefully neat in dress, habits, etc.

11.	(esp. of food) dainty or delicate.

12.	having fastidious, finicky, or fussy tastes: They're much too nice in their dining habits to enjoy an outdoor barbecue.

So there you go, now you know, just in case you ever had any doubt about how nice, nice is...

Now, I understand I'm supposed to pass this award on... We-ell, a number of the people I had in mind have already received nice awards - people like Debi, Vesper, Scarlett, Kimy, Jon and CS himself (see, I just wanted you to know that I too think you're nice!) But now for some other nicely deserving nice people...

I hereby nominate Jefferson Davis who is one of the sweetest, nicest people I know in blogosphere - with the heart the size of lion, supportive and caring to boot.
Baino who has a nice bit of wit and is friendly and kind and supportive.
Rambler, who is a nice and loyal and faithful reader of this blog and who is generally far too hard on himself so needs to be told that he really is nice.
Bonnie, who is nicely enthusiastic, supportive, thoughtful and kind.
Wilf who is just the nicest little boy you could ever wish to meet.

No, stop, wait, this is silly. You know what, all of you who read this blog are NICE! You are, you really are. I therefore present YOU, YOU, YOU and YOU and all the people on my blogroll with the Nice Award. Now go and stick it on your blog and play it forward. Spread the love and the niceness! Let's make the world a happier and brighter and nicer place!

Oh yes, and since I'm playing Phoctober, here are some nice photos of a nice flower unfurling.