Expats are trashing SA

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Expats are trashing SA
12/02/2008 08:52 - (SA)


Chris Moerdyk

It is the right of every South African, no matter what their colour, race, creed or gender, to choose to leave this country and live anywhere they like in the world without being made to feel that they are traitors.

Fortunately, we have a government that does not prevent any of us doing precisely this although I believe that anyone leaving South Africa should be able to take everything they have earned by the sweat of their own brows and not be restricted financially as they are now.

I have no intention of leaving this country because I tried it for a couple of years in the 1970's during the apartheid era and didn't like it one bit. But that's just me. Other people like it a lot and I would fight for their right to choose where they want to live.

But, nothing on earth annoys me more that those South Africans who have decided to leave the country and then continually write letters to the SA media and berate their friends and families back home about how bad things are in South Africa.

They don't even try to hide the fact that they clearly wish South Africa would self destruct in one huge cataclysmic civil war.

I believe they do this because they have this overwhelming need to keep convincing themselves, their friends, their families and anyone who is prepared to listen, that they made the right decision about leaving South Africa.

Over the years million of Irishmen have left Ireland to live somewhere else. Brits have left the UK in droves. And right now there are more Austrians living abroad than there are left in Austria.

But, I don't hear as many of these expats trashing their countries with such venomous passion.

The real reason for leaving

Of course not all expat South Africans behave this way. But far too many of them do and one can't help but wonder about their real reasons for leaving. Did they really believe that the grass was greener on the other side? Did they actually hate our climate, sport, holiday resorts and game parks? Or did they just hate the fact that black people were in power and that the cushy days of apartheid were over forever?

One can't help feeling that it all boils down to the fact that a lot of them just did not like having to share their country with black people.

After all, why does one see so many old South African flags being waved at SA/Australia rugby Tests in Perth? Why does one keep hearing about groups of South Africans continuing to celebrate apartheid holidays on the beaches of New Zealand surrounded by AWB uniforms and flags?

Frankly, I don't know why I get so steamed up about these jealous and clearly insecure morons who gleefully leap upon every little thing that goes wrong in this country and scream "I told you so."

I suppose we should just be grateful that they did leave the country.

Last week in this column I wrote about the fact that I believe South Africans can overcome our present political and power problems. Like many other South Africans I reckon we have two choices. Sit around and whinge or get off our backsides and do something about fixing it.

I am happy to say that the enormous response to this article, which has now been published on several other websites, was positive. But there were critics of what I had to say.

Such as a husband and wife who, judging from their e-mail address, live overseas and who sent me this charming little note:

"You are a braindead ****ing arsehole who wouldn't have the guts to move to another country. Get your facts right you ANC puppet - South Africa is finished just like the rest of Africa has been ****ed. Wake up you tosser!!!"

There were two questions to answer. Firstly, for someone to get so steamed up, the only conclusion I can come to is that they desperately want to be proved right in their decision to leave a country that they clearly love very passionately.

Secondly, what sort of wife would be part of such an e-mail?. Wow, what a woman. Thank heaven she doesn't live in this country anymore.

Signs of life

But, I also got some very encouraging e-mails, from people of intelligence, such as this one:

"I left SA when I was 21 years of age and met my Australian husband not long after my travels to Papua New Guinea. We returned to SA after we were married in Australia, lived back in Cape Town, our daughter was born here... we left again in 1978 and lived in Sydney for all those years. In 2004 after many holidays with family and friends in CT we returned permanently.

"As a South African I was very proud to return as a South African as I never sought nationality of any other country. I am very proud of my country, warts and all. We both feel blessed to be living in this wonderful country of ours! Sure there are times of difficulties but how proud I still was on a very recent holiday to Paris to say I was from Afrique-du Sud! Thank you for your wonderful article."

And this one from a clearly very insightful and clever woman in the Eastern Cape:

"Having been born in SA in 1949, I am old enough to remember the fear which gripped White south Africans at the time of Sharpeville and people were selling their magnificent farms in Stellenbosch and villas in Clifton for next to nothing - how I wish I had been old enough to buy them up - retirement now would have been a no-brainer and I could do so and live in the lap of luxury in a country which has a population of resourceful people and a climate which must be one of the best in the world!"

Which of these people would you like to have as your neighbour?
http://www.news24.com/News24/Columnists/Chris_Moerdyk/0,,2-1630-2224_2269003,00.html
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Would you trash SA when you leave - more on the 'should we leave' SA debate.
 
Every immigrant needs to vindicate their decision to leave but one hopes they have better things to do than to bash the folk who've chosen to stay or cannot leave. IMO those of us living in SA know how tough it is, we don't need to be reminded by expats...
 
Trashing a country u have left is like trashing an ex.

After all, why does one see so many old South African flags being waved at SA/Australia rugby Tests in Perth? Why does one keep hearing about groups of South Africans continuing to celebrate apartheid holidays on the beaches of New Zealand surrounded by AWB uniforms and flags?
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thats just wrong

One can't help feeling that it all boils down to the fact that a lot of them just did not like having to share their country with black people
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That is unfortunalty true,damn racists.Better for us that are gone
 
One can't help feeling that it all boils down to the fact that a lot of them just did not like having to share their country with black people.
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Funny how the race card is pulled all the time. It is 14 years after race should not be an issue.

When I leave the country it will be to get away from CRIME. Plain and simple.
 
I disagree with waving the old flags and stuff like that. But if Telling people who ask how SA is doing and telling them how bad it really is , is trashing the country. Well then I will be trashing the country, I would tell people SA is a great place when in fact it is heading the Zim route.
 
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Oh, another white-guilt liberal :D. Amazing how he doesn't mention govt. incompetence on issues such as crime and electricity cuts or affirmative action/BEE as a reason for leaving but rather plays the over-used racial card. Idiot.
 
Pilgrim said:
Funny how the race card is pulled all the time. It is 14 years after race should not be an issue.

When I leave the country it will be to get away from CRIME. Plain and simple.
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Race will always be an issue.14 years is nothing,do think slavery was forgotten after a few generations?
 
The ANC goverment, Eskom, and the criminals are trashing SA.

We need to get the rest of the world to listen and understand to whats happening in SA, just like under apartheid when the ANC made noise overseas, we are doing the same thing.

I never bad mounth SA as a country, but always tell people about its sad state of affairs, the corrupt government and criminals out on a rampage.
 
look, if ure insecure about your decision to leave RSA you will constantly feel the need to trash it to make yourself feel better about your new life. if, however, you are an adult, at peace with your decision and really happy in the new country, trashing RSA, the country you care so little for, won't really cross your mind.

and all this stuff about heading the zim route..have you actually been to zim? its an easy statement to make in times of frustration, but its total BS.

not all people who leave are racists, prob very few, it prob has nothing to do with the race, except the ANC, who run our country and are majority black(understatement) are doing a **** job.
 
theratman said:
Trashing a country u have left is like trashing an ex.



thats just wrong



That is unfortunalty true,damn racists.Better for us that are gone
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Do you really believe that people that left this country would take their AWB uniforms with them to Australia,and then have a picknick on the beach(in uniform)?

If you believe that,you probably believe that Thabo Mbeki opened parliament in traditional dress and that Marthinus van Schalkwyk assisted Thabo to get out his car dressed in a "kortbroek".

You have to believe this ,because i wrote it in black on white.
And as soon as the Googlebots find this post it will be available all over the world for anyone to see.

It was written down so it must be the truth.
 
Sigh , race this and race that, people need to get over it. :mad:

I did not benefit from whatever came before and certainly the young matriculants of today did not either yet people are still trying to "fix the wrongs". It was wrong, it's been fixed , now lets build this country to all it can be.
 
Pilgrim said:
Funny how the race card is pulled all the time. It is 14 years after race should not be an issue.
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Far more worrying is that it's 14 years of freedom, and us clueless w-nkers still wouldn't know what "freedom of speech" was if it hit us with a cluestick: News24 held a poll on this column asking if readers thought ex-pats 'should be allowed to criticise the country' and a huge percentage voted no. That is genuinely *scary*, and casts a massive shadow of doubt over whether we are capable of "democracy" at all.

All that talk about "freedom", all those people who DIED for that "freedom", and yet, evidently, nobody has ever looked it up in a dictionary.

OF COURSE expats 'may' complain. As much as they bloody want provided they don't lie, and I fully encourage people to exercise freedom of speech (in principle or in law, wherever they may be). Nothing else even enters into the debate, it borders on axiomatic. What is Chris Moerdyk afraid of - that the truth might be heard? He has to stigmatise critics? The day people ever stop speaking out obvious wrongdoing is the day civilised society is gone. If I emigrate or not has no bearing on whether or not I should or may continue to hold or state opinions, or state facts.
 
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Turtle said:
Far more worrying is that it's 14 years of freedom, and us clueless w-nkers still wouldn't know what "freedom of speech" was if it hit us with a cluestick: News24 held a poll on this column asking if readers thought ex-pats 'should be allowed to criticise the country' and a huge percentage voted no. That is genuinely *scary*, and casts a massive shadow of doubt over whether we are capable of "democracy" at all.

All that talk about "freedom", all those people who DIED for that "freedom", and yet, evidently, nobody has ever looked it up in a dictionary.

OF COURSE expats 'may' complain. As much as they bloody want provided they don't lie, and I fully encourage people to exercise freedom of speech (in principle or in law, wherever they may be). Nothing else even enters into the debate, it borders on axiomatic. What is Chris Moerdyk afraid of - that the truth might be heard?
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Who is this Chris Moerdyk?
I agree with you about the freedom of speech bit.
 
You seem to think that white SA expats are complete racists. That is not true, as most of us get along just fine with blacks in the countries we have moved to. We have a problem with South African blacks who have laid waste to south africa's infrastructure and put it on the fast lane to becoming as 3rd world as the rest of africa.

If we want to complain about the reasons that made us leave SA, then why shouldnt we be able to.

And its not the expats bringing down the country, just pick up a foreign newspaper and read the articles about zuma, crime, eskom etc etc etc. The politicians in SA are causing much more damage to SA's image than expats by cocking up the country.

:mad::mad::mad:
 
Piepalook said:
Do you really believe that people that left this country would take their AWB uniforms with them to Australia,and then have a picknick on the beach(in uniform)?

If you believe that,you probably believe that Thabo Mbeki opened parliament in traditional dress and that Marthinus van Schalkwyk assisted Thabo to get out his car dressed in a "kortbroek".

You have to believe this ,because i wrote it in black on white.
And as soon as the Googlebots find this post it will be available all over the world for anyone to see.

It was written down so it must be the truth.
Click to expand...

y is it that as soon as i slam racism u slam me?
 
The sad thing is with every expat 10 jobs leave the country. Why slam people leaving the country and why not try to keep them here by addressing the issues that are creating this situation? TAM.
 
theratman said:
y is it that as soon as i slam racism u slam me?
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I do not slam you.I am a racist,but i have an open mind.

I want you to use your brain and to question statements like these.

Do not believe everything you read.

There is a lot of lies out there.

Question stupid statements.
 
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