I miss South Africa

In english, for everyones enjoyment...


Not due to some primordial sense of belonging, which I’ve seen plenty of people expressing in writing here and there. How life in Welgevonden or in Devil’s Peak can be remotely connected to any form of ancient ancestry is beyond me. I don’t think life in the sprawling slums of the Cape Flats, where most of the population lives, resemble anything remotely similar to the romanticized view some people have of Africa. It took away some of the passion I’ve had for Norwegian politics, as it’s easy to realize that what I worked with in the municipality council and in the county assembly wasn’t really important issues. But from what I understood of South African politics, much of what was going on there wasn’t really important either. The focus was on corruption, patrimonialism, personal rivalry, palace politics, and outright stupidity. All are things that contribute a great deal to keep Africa poor, unstable and a crappy place to live for hundreds of millions of people.

I don’t miss to read about several rapes and murders daily in the local newspaper either. But despite this being the reality for very many people, it was never part of my reality. I walked around Cape Town downtown and my own neighbourhood without feeling insecure, except for one small incident at the central railway station lasting for maybe 3 minutes before I “escaped” into a taxi.

What I miss is the people I met there, which I saw way too little for various reasons, most notably the lack of proper and safe public transport. A situation which took away much of my personal freedom, especially while living in Stellenbosch. Now, with 1,5 metres of snow on the ground and 10 degrees below zero I miss the lazy Saturdays with meat on the braai and beers to be had. Windhoek, Tafel, Black Label, and maybe even a Castle. And if feeling bold (and stupid) some Wine Coco or Hakkiesdraad. I miss Strand, with its Dubaii’ish waterfront architecture, I miss the pool and pluimbal on Coetzenburg, and I miss my luxurious gym in Wembley Square. Quite honestly, the more relaxed and less serious life. Which I should be ashamed of saying as the point was to finish the foundation for my future.