Warning: Don’t read- a lot of negative drivel… Just move on to something nice…
This is really a silly season in our part of South Africa. It is November, and still it has not rained. It is extremely hot, and extremely dry… every now and then we hear some thunder at night. But that, like our dearly beloved president of South Africa, is just a lot of noise with no performance…
At the moment it is quite hectic times. Especially with my kids. The academic year in our country is rapidly coming to an end.
My daughter is finishing her three year degree as a Graphic Designer this month. Now it is just the final projects that has to be finished, and it is a heap of work to end with. Then- the study loan is laying in wait like a cheetah stalking an impala. She needs to get employment, and there are no firm offers yet. Ideas range from doing a TEFL course and go teach English as a Foreign Language in somewhere like South Korea. Or doing some art and hold an art exhibition.
My eldest son is finishing his school days in matric. He is between the two dreaded final maths exams, one paper yesterday, and the other on Monday. I still wake up sweating in the middle of the night after having nightmares about writing my matric year end papers in maths… My son is writing the examns, then going on a short vacation with friends, and then he is starting at a farm as a laborer, to get ready to possibly go and work on a year contract in the USA… my own dream is to visit the USA on a motorbike, and now it seems as if my son will beat me to going there…
We are having difficult times in South Africa. I had to bury another murder victim on Wednesday. This man in our church was sick at home, when he was overpowered by three thugs. They first tried to strangle him, and then put a plastic bag over his head, tying it off with duct tape. They got away with his purse and his dilapidated old pick up truck. The criminal element in our country is way out of hand, and it starts at the very top… Our President is holding secret talks with Putin to buy 8 atomic power plants from Russkom, the people who built Chernobyl… It will ruin our country’s economy, but the wise man is chasing his dream… It also came to light that we have our very own spy satellite, also built by the Russians… Why on earth do we need that? Our new economy minister meanwhile says the state’s coffers are empty, he will have to tax us more… meanwhile the ruling party parties on… The poor gets poorer, and more and more violent crime is rising.
It is scenes like this in our country that really breaks my heart at the moment. A lady gets hijacked inside a security complex, and they not only have to take her car by gunpoint, they first have to beat her senseless…
Our national captain of our Soccer (Football) team was also murdered in this week… No one is safe anymore…
With all these news you will understand that I don’t blog a lot at the moment. I don’t like to sound negative, it is really my dream to be positive, and make a difference, even here in South Africa. But I lost my way a bit, and am struggling to find some sense at the moment. This too shall pass… I hope…
The Rider 
Sterkte boet!! Ja… julle moet seker lekker gatvol wees teen hierdie tyd! Ek is gatvol net as ek dink aan hoe die land in minder as 25 jaar bankrot geloop het!! Ek is ook geseen om nie daar ‘n lewe hoef te maak nie. Ons is hie deur die resessie maar ons kon bly eet… en in VREDE lewe… en die kinders het skool gegaan en niemand het probeer om my vrou en dogters te verkrag net omdat hulle ‘n seker vel kleur het nie! Sterkte Broer!
We have a day of strike in Belgium today as a protest against some of the decisions of the new federal government, but thousands of people couldn’t make it to Brussels: not enough trains to take the thousands of people there on time. It’s sad too in a way, but I guess Belgium doesn’t seem too bad after reading your post!
I have been to Belgium a few times. At it’s worse it still seems like heaven compared to the every day experience of South Africa…
I know exactly how you feel. It’s a feeling of despair about everything that’s going on in our country and a feeling of helplessness to do anything about it. I’m reading the news daily from afar, but I still care very much about what’s happening. Vasbyt.
Ons klink seker almal nou negatief, maar soms moet jy feite in die oë staar – hier in Limpopo gaan dit net so woes …
I struggle with this too. I love this country of ours but it makes me so miserable at times. I hate that I am constantly worrying about the safety of my family, and I practically have panic attacks if I don’t hear from them by a specific time because I start wondering if they have been hurt.
Sending positive thoughts your way.
It is distressing to see what the world is coming to. I am finding myself sticking my head in the sand by not watching the news or reading the paper because I just don’t want to see this sort of thing.
I know its wrong but I just feel ill when I see this sort of thing. I just want to see my grandchildren grow up in a safe and happy world.
How about some good news. My 3rd grand daughter, Jaida, was born 2 weeks ago, my second eldest son is now engaged 3 days ago. Life goes on and we need to celebrate the good things. Do what we can about the bad, but don’t dwell on it. Who wins if you do.
Cliff
Do not think you are being negative by observing and commenting on difficult things when times are tough. My blog has much beauty and ‘positivity’ because peace and beauty are currently the predominant reality where I live. There is some difficulty, but not like you are experiencing. Also what is most positive is reaching out to share it. You are being positive within your circumstances when you speak honestly of what you see and express that you long for better. And in the same way it is positive that you reach out to share your reality with us. I think a positive outlook does not mean always presenting nice things, but rather looking to make the truth better. And it is only human to be discouraged. The positive step is to acknowledge that and reach for encouragement and change.
Thanks sheri
Crap times all round mate. Situation is similar, but different here in the middle east. We have wide-scale corruption and what is almost an intelligence state (government control the media, even the courts now, military had its teeth taken out and the intelligence replaced the oversight committee who control internet etc). Add that to an armed insurgency with 40,000 casualties so far, and civil war on 2-3 of our borders, it’s a scary world sometimes.
Sterkte, Liewe Donkie of Perd. Ekself is hierdie jaar deur ‘n uiters depressiewe toestand oor ons land, met angstigheid, vrees vir die toekoms, vrees vir die boere se toekoms… maar dit gaan nou beter. Ek hoop vir jou dat dit ook met jou sal beter gaan.
Ek bid regtig vir ons land. Dat hulle misdaad vasgevat sal kry, dat ons leiers met integriteit sal kry, ook vir baie ander dinge. Op hierdie stadium lyk dit regtig onmoontlik, maar vir God is dit moontlik.
Hoop julle kry gou reën.
Dankie, reën sal al baie help om die gemoed ligter te maak!
I bang on about how crooked our guvmint is – but they are as nothing compared with Zuma and his mates. Still, they’re doing their best to catch up.
It’s hard to imagine how your country will be helped, Vosper, without some miracle to provide work for the masses.
The problem is: the ANC created a new form of slavery. They pay a children’s grant of R430 per month- that is only about US $ 40, but a lot of poor children in South Africa sees that as a way of making a living. I see it every time I have to register a marriage at our Home Affairs offices- girls of about 12-14 sitting there with their babies, registering them to get the grant. And they just keep on having babies. At the moment South Africa has about 4 million tax payers, and about 19 million people receiving these kind of grants… guess for who they will vote…. They also received free houses- a shameful little box of 6 meters by 3 meters with a kitchen, bathroom and bedroom. Now the honorable minister of housing said they shall no longer give houses to under 40 year olds- you must see the anger rising in the country. A whole generation has been bred with nearly no education, living on just $40 per month per child… guess why the state coffers are nearly empty… a revolution is coming…
I am not a racist about this as the charge will quickly be laid on my head around here. I really wish for a country where every citizen can have a decent job, and get decent education for their children. I really wish all races in South Africa can get out of the grip of poverty, and build a strong country where everybody is free. But this ANC government is like a plague, they drag every single aspect of society down the drain. The only state department that functions at the moment is the tax services that collect our pay. The only province in South Africa where it is any better is the Western Cape, where the ANC is not the ruling party of the province…
But those 19 million grant receivers will not vote anything else than ANC, because then they just might have to work.
Now our spy satellite is probably monitoring me… if I disappear under mysterious circumstances- it will probably be because of this post… 🙂
You’re an up-front feller,Vosper – and I can only hope that somehow your faith gives you the support you need …
🙂 Thanks M-R
Ek verstaan heelhartig hoe jy voel! Ons land is in chaos! Selfs hier in die Kaap is dit nie meer dieselfde nie! Sterkte daar!
Gatvol is die woord…
Absoluut!