I am sure that most people around the world can agree that South Africa is a beautiful country with amazing wildlife, scenery and diversity in all aspects. However true this advertising may be, they forget to advertise the overwhelming poverty, the ever increasing racism and the fact that most people in the country are voting a party in, who is destroying the country bit by bit. Most foreigners are oblivious to the problems and realities in South Africa.
From my time overseas, there are 4 common views shared by most foreigners:
1) South Africa is a failure.
2) South Africa is being destroyed by the blacks.
3) South Africa is still financially dominated by racist whites.
4) "Don't go to South Africa, you will catch AIDS".
Only 2 of these opinions are remotely true. First of all, South Africa is slowly becoming a failure due to certain factors in our society which stem from the lack of moral judgement and ethical values. Secondly, you cannot catch AIDS. If you are that ignorant, please go to this website for an education:
( http://aids.gov/hiv-aids-basics/hiv-aids-101/how-you-get-hiv-aids/).
You also have a high chance of getting HIV/AIDS if you have unprotected sex in South Africa as it has one of the highest HIV infection rates in the world.
I can see from a foreigner's perspective why the other 2 above-mentioned points may seem true. Blacks are not destroying South Africa. That is just stereotypical and racist. It is a single political party which is destroying our country. The ANC, the ruling party, has disgraced Nelson Mandela's legacy by being an extremely corrupt, racist party with very little moral or ethical values that were in its original manifesto. Foreigners only see this and not the other side of the story. There is another political party called the DA (Democratic Alliance) which is slowly but surely gaining support due to the increasing failures of the ANC. The DA, with many black members, strives to eliminate corruption and to instill an efficient and effective system of governance in South Africa. Contrary to what foreigners may think, there are black people in South Africa who are trying to make it a better place for all. As for the second, other point that was not discussed, there are a lot of wealthy white people that have worked hard for their money (Unlike the BEE babies). Most white people in South Africa are not racist, however, the portion who are, give all whites a bad name. Many white people may seem to be racist to foreigners because of personal incidents that have affected them in which they hold a grudge. Many whites are victims of crime and as a result are very fearful of the black population which sometimes comes across as racist. Another point I would like to add is that the rich black people in this country are more wealthy than the rich white people, so it is absolute nonsense to say that white people have a financial dominance. Another critical point I will make, is that in order for foreigners to respect South Africa, South Africans need to get rid of the negative aspects of our society and enforce a system of good governance and anti-corruption.
I urge all foreigners to come to South Africa and experience the reality of what is actually happening. Any comments will be gladly welcomed on this blog or at
Always and forever the realist,
Anonymous
NondePlume.
Good job!
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