Today is my last day in South Africa. I can't believe almost 2 months have gone by already. I flew from Cape Town to Johannesburg on Kulula Airlines on Saturday morning. I stayed with my friend, Ashir, for the weekend and am flying back to New York City tonight (Monday, March 24th)
It's been 2 months of enjoying all the beauty of South Africa plus learning more of its history, culture and people. I've shared with you most of the natural and physical beauty of the country but one can't help trying to understand the people and politics of RSA. This is what makes the country tick or tock. So I am going to offer my observation and opinion of what I've seen and experienced in my travels.
The story of apartheid and Nelson Mandela is well-known. Mandela is as close to god-status as you can get; just like Abraham Lincoln in the US, Mao-Tse Tung in China, Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam or Winston Churchill in Great Britain. Not only the blacks love him, the whites as well. When he was released from prison and became president, he could have turned RSA into a mess. Instead he asked everyone to forgive one another and looked to the future. If he had turned the other way, and take it out on the white South Africans, RSA would have been like Zimbabwe today, a poor, impoverished country ruined by Robert Mugabe.
Unfortunately, Mandela stayed only one term as President of RSA. Since then, the country has not made much progress. If you ask anyone on the street, the consensus blame is corruption. Everyone blames corruption in the government as the root cause of all the country's problems. Regardless of who and what is to be blamed, the economy is not doing very well. Ten months ago, the exchange rate for the South African Rand, called ZAR, was 9 ZARs' = US$1. Today it's almost 11 ZARs' = US$1.
In spite of the end of apartheid, there is still a racial divide, at least economically. If you walk around anywhere in RSA, it's not difficult to spot the ones doing the menial work are almost all black, and colored. Yes, there are some blacks and coloreds who have attained middle-class status but there are very few, even in the cities. When I walk into a nice restaurant, the clientele is almost all white and the wait staff is almost all black. I heard that waiters or waitresses make only about the equivalent of US$300 to US$500 a month.
What this means is that the gap between the rich and poor is very wide. If you talk to any black person, they seem to be despondent about their situation. Most seem to lose hope of any chance of advancement. Some are desperate enough to turn to crime. It's no surprise that RSA has such a high crime rate.
I was walking in the Cape Town city center area one day and came across a demonstration. The message is clear: the current system doesn't work. They want socialism.
If you think I am being critical of RSA, I am not. I am just offering my observation as a traveler. No country is perfect. America is a big target and as an American traveling overseas, I hear negative remarks about the US all the time. Some are valid but some are just misinformation and biasness. There is no sense in getting into an argument. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. And that's exactly what I am offering here - an opinion, after being in this country for 2 months.
The follow-up question is: Will I come back to South Africa? Absolutely yes! There are still so many things for me to see and many places to go. At the Kirstenbosch Gardens, a group of elderly South African ladies, upon hearing that I am an American, encouraged me to invite my American friends to come and visit South Africa. I said Americans are afraid of crime. They said there is crime everywhere. So so true.
Thank you for reading my blog and traveling with me. In case you are wondering what the title of this post say, it means "Good-bye South Africa; So Long!"
It's been 2 months of enjoying all the beauty of South Africa plus learning more of its history, culture and people. I've shared with you most of the natural and physical beauty of the country but one can't help trying to understand the people and politics of RSA. This is what makes the country tick or tock. So I am going to offer my observation and opinion of what I've seen and experienced in my travels.
The story of apartheid and Nelson Mandela is well-known. Mandela is as close to god-status as you can get; just like Abraham Lincoln in the US, Mao-Tse Tung in China, Ho Chi Minh in Vietnam or Winston Churchill in Great Britain. Not only the blacks love him, the whites as well. When he was released from prison and became president, he could have turned RSA into a mess. Instead he asked everyone to forgive one another and looked to the future. If he had turned the other way, and take it out on the white South Africans, RSA would have been like Zimbabwe today, a poor, impoverished country ruined by Robert Mugabe.
Unfortunately, Mandela stayed only one term as President of RSA. Since then, the country has not made much progress. If you ask anyone on the street, the consensus blame is corruption. Everyone blames corruption in the government as the root cause of all the country's problems. Regardless of who and what is to be blamed, the economy is not doing very well. Ten months ago, the exchange rate for the South African Rand, called ZAR, was 9 ZARs' = US$1. Today it's almost 11 ZARs' = US$1.
In spite of the end of apartheid, there is still a racial divide, at least economically. If you walk around anywhere in RSA, it's not difficult to spot the ones doing the menial work are almost all black, and colored. Yes, there are some blacks and coloreds who have attained middle-class status but there are very few, even in the cities. When I walk into a nice restaurant, the clientele is almost all white and the wait staff is almost all black. I heard that waiters or waitresses make only about the equivalent of US$300 to US$500 a month.
What this means is that the gap between the rich and poor is very wide. If you talk to any black person, they seem to be despondent about their situation. Most seem to lose hope of any chance of advancement. Some are desperate enough to turn to crime. It's no surprise that RSA has such a high crime rate.
I was walking in the Cape Town city center area one day and came across a demonstration. The message is clear: the current system doesn't work. They want socialism.
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| Demonstrators pushing for socialism |
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| You can sense the frustration of a lot of these demonstrators |
If you think I am being critical of RSA, I am not. I am just offering my observation as a traveler. No country is perfect. America is a big target and as an American traveling overseas, I hear negative remarks about the US all the time. Some are valid but some are just misinformation and biasness. There is no sense in getting into an argument. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. And that's exactly what I am offering here - an opinion, after being in this country for 2 months.
The follow-up question is: Will I come back to South Africa? Absolutely yes! There are still so many things for me to see and many places to go. At the Kirstenbosch Gardens, a group of elderly South African ladies, upon hearing that I am an American, encouraged me to invite my American friends to come and visit South Africa. I said Americans are afraid of crime. They said there is crime everywhere. So so true.
Thank you for reading my blog and traveling with me. In case you are wondering what the title of this post say, it means "Good-bye South Africa; So Long!"
Meng, it has been a truly great trip and story! Thank you for all your posts and pictures, It was almost like being there. Looking forward to getting together when you get home.....Grant
ReplyDeleteThanks, Grant. I am glad you enjoyed it. I enjoyed sharing my travels with friends. See you soon.
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