I just read that thread about that Dr Idiot from America that says we should be victors and stay in SA and make it a wonderful place, blah, blah, blah. Of course he has to say that, that's how he makes his money off people who are too poor/scared/in denial to emigrate. He makes me mad. Of course Oprah and Richard Branson invested here - they don't have to live here.
There was a report on Carte Blanche on Sunday about crime in SA and how it's out of control and they showed an area in Gauteng where crime is 0%. Amazing I hear you say, impossible. They have CCTV cameras on every street corner and armed cars in huge bakkies driving around questioning anybody that looks suspicious. They even showed a clip of the CCTV footage where some guys tried to hijack someone in their driveway - a few seconds later the guards showed up and stopped them - brilliant. Only thing is, it costs R1000 a month from every household in the area. So, moral of the story - if you're rich then you can live in SA (or be rich and just invest in SA). I don't have money for security like that or for private schools for my 3 kids. I just don't. So, I'll be willing to pay more for housing in NZ, because I'll have no worries about my safety.
For those in NZ, can you still remember the feeling of being unsafe in your own house? We've done renovations on our house and haven't put the back-door safety-gate on yet. I wanted to leave my back-door open for some fresh air today and I managed to leave it open for a minute, before my nerve gave in and I closed it again. It sucks being locked in your house all day. That is something I hope to be rid of once I'm in NZ.
About 4 years ago, when I was 8 months pregnant with my 2nd child, we visited my parents at their place with a few friends. They lived on a corner plot with the front-door on one side and the driveway on the other. When we all left, we went through the front-door and my dad went through the garage. We drove happily home and put our son in bed who had fallen asleep in the car. Next thing we get a phone call from my dad who says "Phone the police - we've been robbed and tied up". I'm crying remembering how that felt. My husband got such a fright he couldn't remember what the flying-squad number was. I shouted the number to him and then looked up my parent's next-door neighbour's number and phoned them to ask him to go over with his huge dog. Luckily the police arrived quickly - no really they did.
What had happened was, as soon as we'd left that night, my dad and mum went back though the garage and then my mum remembered that she'd left the front door open. Off she went to lock it and then there they were, 3
with guns. Instead of running to the panic button, she ran to my dad. So they were tied up with one guarding them while the other 2 raided the house. They told my mum not to worry they wouldn't rape her. My dad gave them the keys to his Landrover, but they said they didn't want c**p - he was most upset about that! When they left, my dad managed to press the redial button on the phone (his hands were still tied) which luckily was our number. My mum just kept saying that she was so glad that we weren't there with our little boy and me being pregnant. How would a 4-year old have handled being tied up and having a gun held to his head? When the police arrived they said and I quote "You (my parents) should consider yourselves lucky that it was coloured guys and not black guys that broke in, because then you probably would have been raped and then killed!" Can you believe a policeman said that!! You have to be picky about which race group attacks you! It's just so scary to think that these people are watching your every move - they probably wanted to hijack one of our cars, but there were too many people outside at once, so they decided to rob the house instead.
My parents sold their house after that and moved to a nice flat in a security complex with views of the mountain. That was too big an adjustment to move from a big house to a small flat, so they moved to a house in a complex. My mum still pulls her dressing table in front of her bedroom door at night when my dad's away. She locks herself in and stays awake for as long as possible watching DSTV.
I refuse to live like that. Anyone who says stay here and fight for the country just doesn't have a clue what it's like to be afraid. Where I am at the moment I'm still lucky - my kids play in the street and ride their bikes - no-one has walls around the front of their properties and everyone knows everyone. But for how much longer? The criminals are there and they are watching and waiting. Well, I'll be outta here soon, so they can watch as long as they want. I will miss SA - if it wasn't for the crime and the politicians I would stay here - it would be great.
So for those still in 2 minds about leaving, ask yourself this - do you feel scared? If not, then you're lucky or rich, so you don't need to leave. Otherwise, I don't see any reason to stay - life has to be better than this. So make a plan and make your life better. That's what I'm doing.
I think I went on a bit in this post - sorry - it's quite long - but that's what you're here for. To listen and support - I think most of you know what I'm talking about.
Thanks for listening!
