A Word on South Africans

I just wanted to write about my interactions with the South African people.  I consider myself lucky to have been able to visit South Africa.  It's an amazing place that, in some ways, felt like I was at home just with some funny accents.

The people I have met while in South Africa have been open and warm.  We've had great discussions about the differences between South Africa and the United States, the problems in both of our countries, and how we wish that things could get better.  I have been asked a lot about the upcoming Presidential Election.  Yes, most people have asked me if President Obama will be relected.  That's actually launched into a discussion of politics in both countries and the US' Electoral College.  In South Africa, they actually don't get to vote for the people but for the party.  In addition, lower level officials are appointed by the ruling party.  Therefore, they feel they're not being represented perhaps as well as we Americans are (and I'm sure some would debate that...).

The South Africans were also open to discussions regarding Apartheid.  I made mention that racial relations were not something I felt the US had completely dealt with and that South Africa had through their Reconciliation Commission, I was informed that it wasn't complete.  In some cases, there was an overreaction to Apartheid and now it appears that reverse racism is occurring.

The one thing that surprised me greatly was the discussions regarding violence and crime which also led into corruption.  I sat there a bit shocked to hear the conversation at my table turn to the lengths that rather well off South Africans have to go to protect themselves and, at times, these measures don't protect them because the crooks are notified by the installers of the systems or the police themselves are the thieves.  I knew that corruption was a big issue in Africa but didn't realize that it filtered all the way down to the police.

All in all, I felt that we had really good discussions.  I considered it part of my education about South Africa and am very thankful that people were willing to be open and honest about how they felt.