Impressions of South Africa

[Libersolis 0]

Positives

-The Natural beauty of the country is beautiful. I spent 3 days in Cape Town and saw some of the most beautiful sites I have ever seen. Being up in the mountains and looking down at the Indian and Atlantic oceans is quite a site. I also managed to see and take a picture of a Puma in the mountains, which I am told is quite rare to see. I also saw several other animals that in no way shape or form will you ever see in North America. Overall the best thing this country has going for it.

Negatives

Social-Society still very segregated. You hardly see anyone of a different race socializing with someone else of a different race. Even people who you would think would be of the same race even segregate themselves further. Whites segregate themselves based on language, Indians by religion and blacks my tribe and even skin color.

Safety-Crime is a SERIOUS problem in this country. You can hear and see things on TV about it,but until you experience everyday life here it is hard to imagine. Almost everyone lives in homes with huge walls surrounding them. The walls will have razor wire, barbed wire, and electrical fencing. Once you get on a property you have to deal with bars on all the doors and windows and tons of locks. This isn't just in a bad area, BUT ALMOST EVERYWHERE You go. Driving is dangerous as well as beggars line the streets and come up to your car at almost every red light to try and get money from you. With the amount of car hijackings, you definitely feel a sense of fear. You see no police officers anywhere and the roads are dimly lit, making travel at night quite harrowing.

Economy-The countries major industries are all monopolized and owned by the government ( or at least some significant percentage) thus making it difficult to do the most basic things. The telecommunications industry is lagging behind the rest of the world, not because of technological deficiencies, but because Telkom ( the phone monopoly) is trying to squeeze every last penny out of the consumer, while providing minimal service. For example, they have some of the highest rates in the world, BUT STILL CHARGE PEOPLE FOR MAKING LOCAL PHONE CALLS. You would think that these terrible policies wouldn't last, but the government sets up road blocks for any other company to get into the communications industry. Overall not good for the people living here as they continually get shafted.

Poverty- People who talk about poverty in North America really should visit a country like this and see the unlivable conditions the poor live in each day. AIDS, hunger,and filth fill the Shanty Towns to the point that you can't help but wonder why you happened to be fortunate enough to be born into a clean and healthy society.

Work Ethic- I realize every society has different standards and cultural ideas when it comes to work ethic. That being said I saw some of the most outright lazy stuff while I was there. Going to a restaurant was the worst. Now I realize that not every place has the same level of service I have come to expect here in my home town, but the "service" level offered was just pathetic and I say this as someone who has waited on tables and is VERY sympathetic to people in the service industry. It usually took a while before anyone would even acknowledge our existence at the table, and once they did they would take our drink orders( take abotu 10 min to bring some water) then finally come back and take the food order which most of the time was wrong. After they brought it we weren't visited again until the meal was almost over. During the meal you could see about 10 waiters standing around doing either nothing or better yet talking to their fellow employees, all the while not even bothering to see if someone at their tables needed something. The only "waiting" that was done was when we had to wait for them to finally decide to bring us the bill. This kind of service was pretty much the same no matter where we went as it doesn't seem like they have a concept of time.

Government corruption-Jacob Zuma is scheduled to become the next president. He recently was on trial for rape and in that trial he said that he was careful to take a shower after having sex with the HIV positive victim to prevent himself from contracting it. It is also likely that he has been involved in high level corruption. You would think he deplorable actions would be widely condemned yet he stands to become the next president. He is really only one person out of many with this mentality. While the people suffer he lines his pockets and sends the country into further decay. Deplorable, yet widely accepted.

Well overall I think South Africa is a beautiful country, the people are generally nice, but this place is going down hill fast and unless things change it could go the way of many other failed African States that came into being in to 20th and now 21st century.

Edited January 6, 2007 by Libersolis

[thaibu 0]

Quite an impression, from the web images SA looks sweet and serene, but from the mouth of a SA zulu (durban area) aupair working in the states, she would rather die than go back to SA. Thing is raping is rampant.