To my fellow South Africans,
I miss the "old" South Africa. I am not talking about apartheid; I am talking about the new South Africa post-1994. Remember how exciting it was to live in the newest country in the world? We were the centre of attention. It was amazing to see Madiba meeting heads of state that once had sanctions against us, but now embraced us and flooded us with money.
I miss the camaraderie between whites, blacks, coloureds, Indians, now replaced with dirty looks and racist remarks.
I miss being proud of our country and loving our beautiful people and cultures, now replaced with hate and fear and greed.
I miss watching the news and seeing what good was done today, now replaced with corruption and BMWs and Malema.
I miss the days when I didn't hear about the ANC youth league, when they represented the black youth and gave them hope and good direction, now replaced with infighting and daily racist remarks.
I miss the days when the police were friendly and cared and did everything they could to help, now replaced with greed, laziness and apathy.
I miss reading wonderful stories in the foreign media about how the rainbow nation is growing and flourishing, now replaced with rapes, murders, corruption and 2010 chaos.
I miss the warmth and honesty and good character of Madiba, I would trust him with my life and he stood for all of us South Africans, now replaced with a puppet for Cosatu, SACP and ANC cronies, who bends and slides his way out of trouble and who doesn't have the best interests of the country at heart.
I miss knowing that my job is safe, that I am valued, that I matter, now replaced with I'm a racist, I don't belong in Africa, I should make way.
I miss the old "new" South Africa. Somewhere the dream we all had turned into a nightmare. Somewhere the wheels came off and we lost track. Somewhere we stopped loving each other and started loving money and cars and big houses. Somewhere we started caring less for the needy and more for ourselves. Somewhere we forgot that Madiba spent 27 years in prison for all of us, he united us all and he knew the only way forward was together.
If I didn't want a better South Africa, I would have left long ago. But I am here, working, living and trying to keep the dream alive.
I want the new South Africa back, I want the best South Africa back, I want what we all want - a dream we can believe in and not a recurring nightmare.
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Disclaimer: All articles and letters published on MyNews24 have been independently written by members of News24's community. The views of users published on News24 are therefore their own and do not necessarily represent the views of News24. News24 editors also reserve the right to edit or delete any and all comments received.