From the moment the first Portugese set foot on the South African coast during the 16th Century (date might be wrong) and in the succeeding Dutch, British and Afrikaner rule, all blacks were oppressed. 1994 was the first time since the first white man set foot on this land that the blacks have gained power and sefl-determination.

What's happening now is called "payback".

Unlike North America, New Zealand and Australia, in South Africa the indigenous people outnumber the 'settlers'. (And many still enjoy chanting, "one settler, one bullet"). There are 40 million blacks and now only 3 million whites left (2 million having taken the 'chicken run' and fled since black rule).

The world hail...

From the moment the first Portugese set foot on the South African coast during the 16th Century (date might be wrong) and in the succeeding Dutch, British and Afrikaner rule, all blacks were oppressed. 1994 was the first time since the first white man set foot on this land that the blacks have gained power and sefl-determination.

What's happening now is called "payback".

Unlike North America, New Zealand and Australia, in South Africa the indigenous people outnumber the 'settlers'. (And many still enjoy chanting, "one settler, one bullet"). There are 40 million blacks and now only 3 million whites left (2 million having taken the 'chicken run' and fled since black rule).

The world hailed the transition of power as being a miracle. In a sense it was, we whites were not overwhelmed and slaughtered, as many of us thought would happen, en masse.

But, we are being 'erased' piecemeal. President Mbeki simply says that whites are being paranoid and racist. This from a man who is denies that HIV causes AIDS, won't even address the out of control crime rate despite its overwhelming statistics, and keeps absolutely silent in the face of Mugabe's Zimbabwean white land grab. None of this bodes well for our future.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again, Mbeki is our future Mugabe. He has given me no reason to think otherwise. Topping all that is that our country is bleeding from every orifice through rampant corruption in every Government department, even up to the highest level of Parliament. It's so shameless that 30 odd members of parliament have been found guilty in a court of law for corruption, but they are still in parliament.

I maintain that if the world needed an enema, Africa would be the plug-in point. I'm despondent tonight. Sorry for the rant but I feel better.

Thanks for the interest Alanocu. To Jatfla, my apologies, I was to high up on my soapbox I forgot to answer your question. There has always been crime. But the white regime ruled with an iron fist and the death penalty was used with a vengeance. (I stand to be corrected, but if memory serves me correctly we hung more criminals than any other country in the world), The death penalty was abolished after independance and the crime rate has soared since then.
There is a huge disparity between the haves and the have nots. Most of the wealth is still concentrated in white hands and poverty and unemployment (sans a social security system) is rife. What wealth has been redistributed has lan...

Thanks for the interest Alanocu. To Jatfla, my apologies, I was to high up on my soapbox I forgot to answer your question. There has always been crime. But the white regime ruled with an iron fist and the death penalty was used with a vengeance. (I stand to be corrected, but if memory serves me correctly we hung more criminals than any other country in the world), The death penalty was abolished after independance and the crime rate has soared since then.
There is a huge disparity between the haves and the have nots. Most of the wealth is still concentrated in white hands and poverty and unemployment (sans a social security system) is rife. What wealth has been redistributed has landed in the hands of a very few black elite.

But the average black person struggles to keep body and soul alive and the most oppressed people on this continent are black woman. They face racism from whites and extreme chauvanism from black men and yet they are the backbone of their families, communities and indeed the very economy of this country - indeed the entire continent of Africa. I have enormous respect for them.

Because throughout apartheid rule he has been the voice of reason, sanity and conscience. He is completely unbiased and is unafraid to speak out against all wrongs - on both sides. He loves people more than power and he has demonstrated that throughout his life. He headed up the Truth and Reconciliation Committee which was formed when the our black government came into power. This was a forum offering amnesty to anyone, black and white, to come forward and make a clean breast of their past atrocities. Many took advantage of this opportunity. And for the first time all white South Africans got to hear the horror stories. (Bear in mind everything we read was heavily censored under the a...

Because throughout apartheid rule he has been the voice of reason, sanity and conscience. He is completely unbiased and is unafraid to speak out against all wrongs - on both sides. He loves people more than power and he has demonstrated that throughout his life. He headed up the Truth and Reconciliation Committee which was formed when the our black government came into power. This was a forum offering amnesty to anyone, black and white, to come forward and make a clean breast of their past atrocities. Many took advantage of this opportunity. And for the first time all white South Africans got to hear the horror stories. (Bear in mind everything we read was heavily censored under the apartheid regime). He headed it with courage and integrity, without bias and with a huge dollop of forgiveness. He often wept when he heard individual testimonies which, to me, revealed the depth of his empathy, compassion and sensitivity.

I met him once, and had the opportunity to watch him interacting with others, some of whom were simple labourers, and his humility and gentleness were evident.

When he dies (he's fighting cancer) South Africa will have lost a great, great soul - a father-figure to us all. I dread the thought of a South Africa without him.

As for Mandela, he emerged from prison and spent the rest of his time globetrotting, smiling and waving at the cameras, hobnobbing with the rich and famous, and he never even opened his mouth about AIDS, which is decimating the black population, let alone anything else. This is the irony, the world bows down to Mandela when in fact the real hero is Tutu. I LOVE THIS MAN!