I'm the kind of person who gladly lets the people behind me get on the bus first, especially women, for no reason what so ever. I don't think for a second it's an act of chivalry, just a act of being a nice person and it always seems to put a smile on people's faces.
That's sometimes a very rare sighting, especially in Cape Town yeck, the whole of the Western Cape...
Tourists often think think that South Africa is this beautiful country (and it can be, but so can other countries given the opportunity) with happy people etc, etc, etc.
Sad thing is, tourists never see the real South Africa. They come here and see two its best beaches, but fail to see the dozens of other sub-standard beaches. They see the luxurious hotels, but fail to see the streets of Nyanga and Mphaleni.
They see the view of Cape Town from Table Mountain that disguises the filthy roads and streets of the City of Cape Town. They go and see the Legendary prison that held former SA President Nelson Mandela on Robbin Island, but never get to see the prison cells of Pollsmoor Prison that house some of the worlds most deadliest street thugs, that terrorise, rape, murder and molest thousands of innocent men, women and children in the Western Cape.
They go visit the grand restaurants and eat the best foods, but never set eyes on the Cape Flats and that some of the people living there are so impoverished that they can go without supper on a cold rainy night.
Often tourist see the smiles on the faces of the people but fail to see their dried up tears. The way the world sees South Africa, even after the World Cup is a tainted view...
Its been 5 months since the Soccer World Cup was held here, and we still have the same problems as ever, housing, education, poverty, unemployment you name it... The only difference is, the world thinks we are this thriving nation destined for greatness. I'm not saying that South Africa can't be a great nation, I'm just saying its not going to happen in my lifetime...
What it all boils down to is that we don't have much to smile about by these days. The days are dark indeed. The headlines on the newspapers send chills down many people's spines... a father murders his son and commits suicide hours before Christmas, Baby dumping season, etc, etc.
The funny thing is, these exact tourists are just as oblivious to the same things that are happening in their countries, only we may have it worse. Many people don't realise that in SA our minimum wage -by law- is around R7 an hour... there are people getting paid less than that... the minimum wage in the US is $7, in comparison, we are getting paid $1 an hour...
If an American can't survive on $7 an hour minimum wage, he wouldn't last a month in South Africa...
I often fail to see what tourists see, maybe its because I've lived here for so long, that I can't be fooled by the smokescreens of publicity and tourism.
One thing I can tell you though is that even in the most impoverished sections of SA you will find people willing to give, even when they don't have for themselves. That is another thing tourists never see, because they fail to see the poor when come here, only to see the rich...
Mr Lovelace out...
