The Process of being a Sefrican

So on Tuesday night there was an armed robbery at the place where I worked. I could very well have been working that night, but thankfully (and ironically) I was studying Criminal Procedure for my exam the next day. Anyway, it was quite hectic, and most demeaning to people I care deeply about, and so I was really shaken up about it.

As usual, it got me thinking about the state of our country, and I started to think how it was going down the drain, etc etc etc. Thankfully, however, my optimism for this country has been completely fucked over, because I reason with myself that whilst it would be so nice to live in a completely crime-free society, I would get bored. Or at least, that’s what I think.

I don’t really know, because I wasn’t the one with a gun in my face on Tuesday night, and I’m not one living the life in Perth. Although I must say that I have been to Perth, and found it to be a bit like the town of Kimberly with skyscrapers, and I think I would find myself pining for the frenetic nature of Joburg.

But I’m digressing, as usual. My whole point is that over the past day or so, I have gone through a period of what Gevisser calls ‘the bust.’ In this well-written and insightful article, available over here, and with thanks to Kev for pointing it out to me, he talks about how South Africans see in their country in a dichotomy: it’s either in a boom, or it’s in a bust.

We’ve just recently had a boom with the Bokke wining the rugby world cup. It was exemplified as much in the photo below, where Mbeki took on the iconic figure that Madiba has always held on to, and represented all that was good about South Africa: that after years of Apartheid, we were finally united as one country.

A few years ago rugby was perceived as an inherent white Afrikaaner male sport, and now it is seemingly supported by everyone in South Africa and is no longer seen as the ‘Sport of Oppression.’ Indeed I was really quite surprised when I filled up my car with petrol the day before the game, and a black female ‘mama’ (who was filling up my car – viva female empowerment in the petrol-attendant industry!) told me how excited she was about the upcoming match.

And I thought to myself that perhaps we are finally starting to see our country coming full circle, into one where all people are one and where we all relate to each other in ‘YAY-Rainbow-Nation’ and ubuntu type of manner.

But then the armed robbery happened, and I thought – FUCK! Crime seriously is tearing apart the social fabric of our society. And whilst I don’t deny for one second that it’s certainly doing a good job of it, we have to take a step back and remind ourselves of the ‘boom’ times – When we won the bid for the Soccer World Cup, or when we won the Rugby World Cups in 1995 and this year.

We have to remember how these events united us all as one nation, and how they showed that South Africans can actually live together in harmony with one another. And, in fact, we have to do this in order to undo the ‘busts’ that threaten to destroy the social fibre of our society. If we don’t, then the ‘busts’ will override the ‘booms’ and then South Africa might just go kaput.

But we must also remember is that we cannot expect South Africa to be a perfect country, and I think that many of us did that after 1994. We must try see our problems in a proactive, rather than a reactive light. We have a high crime rate – what should we do? Create a culture of humility from a very young age, and teach kiddlie winks that they must face the consequences of our actions. But to run away, or killing the fuckers, isn’t going to solve the problem.

Anyway, read the article, and also attend the talk Mark Gevisser (who wrote the article, and will soon be releasing a book on Moooobheki) will be giving at Wits on November the 12th. Should be fascinating. I’m like totally gonna be there.

P.S – two posts in one month – i is rox. x

Government Incompetence (Round 1 and 2)

Be warned. This is a rant against our stupid government. I don’t like our stupid government. They are (almost) enough to make me unproudly South African. But then I remember that they’re generally a bunch of fat cat dimwits, and that South Africa is SO much more than them. Which is why I will not pack for Perth.

Rather, I will pack them to Perth.

Two stories relate…

The first is about government torture in Zimbabwe…

http://www.carteblanche.co.za/Display/Display.asp?Id=3306

The second is about the reluctance by government to allow foreign adoptions…

http://www.carteblanche.co.za/Display/Display.asp?Id=3308

I don’t often get a chance to watch Carte Blanche, which is really quite a pity because it’s a fantastic show that provides heart-wrenching stories that cause you to think most deeply about you and the society you live in. Apart from the story above,  there was a story by a young man who had been drafted into Zimbabwe’s ‘National Youth Service,’ which ended up being a mask for activities by the Gestapo-styled Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO).

The stories about the torture this young man inflicted on innocent people sends shivers up my spine. Stories like taping cardboard tape over a man’s mouth, blocking his ears and then electrocuting his testicles resulting in him bleeding wherever he’s able to bleed. Then dumping the man’s (still alive) body into a coffin and filling it with cement (whilst he remains unconscious) and then dumping it over a boat into the beautiful Lake Kariba. One can only imagine him waking up and then being engulfed in water whilst unable to do absolutely anything. I haven’t any faith in humanity when I hear stories like this.

But moreover… I just cannot fathom the idea that South Africa allows this to happen. It is now unacceptable to consider the issue from an idealogical point of view.. that it is a flagrant abuse of human rights.. which it is.. but more importantly, it’s something real and tangible that happens 500kms from where I sit now.

The photo is of Samuel Khumalo, a Bulawayo ward councillor for the Zimbabwean Congress of Trade Unions, who was assaulted by police during a protest.

I’ve said it so many times before (as have many other), but our government can no longer just sit like lame ducks and pretend that nothing is happening. How can they continue to claim that our country is a bastion of human rights when they turn such a blind eye to what is happening north of the border? How can we continue to just not care?

But another story… One which can’t be ‘justified’ on fucked-up Pan-African notions of quiet diplomacy and passive engagement. Oh.. and peer review. Forgot that one.

———–

The next story relates to the general stupidity and absurbdity of another governmental department: this time the Department of Social Services. For some fucked-up reason, the Dept has in place a policy of first placing orphaned children in South African homes, and only as a last resort, finding them a home internationally.

Which I suppose, in practice, is OK, because they are South Africans and one wants them to grow up in South Africa. The problem, however, is that there aren’t enough children being adopted by South Africans. Out of an estimated 2 million orphans, only 3000 were adopted last year.

And because there is this HUGE reluctance to allow foreign adoption, and more importantly, because of our government’s inability to deal with the HIV crisis effectively, by 2015 South Africa will have four million orphans. Which means 4 million children will not likely have access to adequate education, health care, parental care and will probably grow up without any skills and will become destitute adults that will have to rely on the state for support and might even turn to crime to support themselves.

Debbie Wybrow, a family law advocate, says they get about ten new foreign applications every week to adopt children. Yet in one particular orphanage, only twenty children have been given to foreign parents in the past twelve years.

Why? Government’s response is that they prefer children to grow up in local communities rather than overseas. Fine – we want South Africa to grow and we need the next generation to help us do that. The problem is that the next generation is unlikely to grow up and contribute if they don’t have any parental supervision!!! like, duh!

It defies logic that the state would want to support children when there are private individuals willing to do it themselves. And whilst they might go live in another country and not grow up in their own community, in many circumstances the community in which the child originated from is unknown anyway (!), and besides, you might find them actually returning to South Africa properly educated and willing to contribute to the growth of their home nation.

Like, wow. What a revelation. oh. my. gawd.

To me, it just smells of xenophobia on the part of the government. For some reason, there is this fear of foreigners in South Africa, that exposing ourselves to foreigners will degradate our national identity and retard our growth as a nation.

Either that, or they are just plain dumb and incompetent. That they just cannot think beyond their own noses and apply logic to something that really isn’t that complicated to work out.

Or… a more sobering thought… they just don’t care. And it makes me so upset, as a proud South African, to be led by a government that doesn’t seem to care much about the vitality of this country and it’s neighbours. And I’m not being one of those whiney white people who moan about crime over a braai.

I am a truly concerned South African who wants to see this country and all it’s people prosper. And that’s why I just can’t accept the government’s stance on this issue. I have to find something that will enable me to contribute to positive change in this country.

They don’t care. I do.

Point-by-Point by Tom Cat: Volume 2 (DHA = GR)

• The Department of Home Affairs is the most useless fucking government department in South Africa. Sarah and I went to the Edenvale office today to collect various documentation, namely a passport and ID for Sarah, and an ID for me. After waiting in the queue for an hour, we got to the front, and were dealt with in the rudest and most arrogant way I have ever experienced. L. Tsebe (name and shame tactics rock) was incompetent, arrogant, nasty and a general pain in the butt. The Department is equally useless, having smudged Sarah’s fingerprints and not bothering to tell her about it. So now she has to reapply again. Her ID was ready, luckily, and although I applied on the same day, my ID was not ready. I’m convinced that it was ready, but L. Tsebe was simply tired of seeing my face and wanted me out and away from his sight. But whatever. I wrote a nasty note (and I never write nasty, for I understand what it feels like to be behind the counter) about what a useless department the DHA is, and although I know my complaint was not going to be taken seriously, I told them that the entire country (and much of Africa too, if you think about it, with it’s useless Refugee section that messes entire families about – and I know this too because of my work in the Refugee Clinic)… anyway, I told them that the ENTIRE country perceives them as THE most useless institution ever, and they should be ashamed to work in such a crap place.

  In retrospect, perhaps I was being a bit harsh. But it’s really not my fault they’re a bunch of fuggin useless sloths with no brain cells. They reminded me of my ex-boss: a bland brick wall.I am angry, as you can see.

• I have got so much work to do. Sooooo much work to do. I am fucked. Fuck.
• No one has phoned me for a job position next year. I am beyond the point of caring. I don’t even want articles anymore. Right now all I want is a law clark position at the Contitutionl Court (deliberately misspelt so that the search engines don’t pick it up). The working environment looks fantastic, it’s something that i’m really passionate about, and it’ll be an experience that is akin to gold. Either that, or I’m going to go study an MPhil in Justice and Transformation at the University of Cape Town.Study? STUDY?Yes, Study. My foggies turned around to me the other day and suggested that I consider other plans for next year, like studying. I was like (in my head, of course): “HELLO! What have I been saying for the past 3 months?” But I still love them muchly. And I’m quite glad that the pressure to find articles has lifted. Slightly.
• Talking about families, tomorrow I am going away on holiday. I am sooooo excited! I cannot wait to smell the fresh sea air again! And what’s even nicer is that I am going down with my whole family. We haven’t been together on holiday since I was about 12, and so it’s going to be a really nice experience reliving our trips down to the coast as a family. My dad used to scream at my sister for never remembering what an arrestabed was (I know – arb, but it was important to him), and I used to scream at the top of my lungs that my dad needs to find a parking space because “the sea is running away”… ie, the waves.I will be taking my laptop down, so hopefully the blog will be getting regular updates. I’ll be able to show you photos like…

  

  Ja. Nee. Bet you’re jealous, neh?

• Lastly, I cannot tell you how much I am addicted to Facebook. It is simply, scary.