Whites come back to SA

2008-07-27 08:05

Devon Haynie

Johannesburg - When South African native Nicky Prins lived in London, there was one television advertisement that always touched her heart.

As part of an effort to encourage tourism, the South African government ran a commercial showing the country's dramatic landscape, coupled with emotive music and excerpts from President Thabo Mbeki's famous "I am an African" speech.

"Sometimes I would cry when I watched it. It sort of brought on the emotions to a head, and you would think, 'I really want to go home,"' said the 34-year-old Prins, an economist who left South Africa eight years ago for better career opportunities.

A few months after she first saw the ad, she packed up her bags and came home.

Brain drain

Brain drain has plagued South Africa since the unravelling of apartheid in the early 1990s. Affluent, accomplished South Africans of all races, but whites in particular, still flood out of the country in search of adventure, better opportunities and an escape from crime.

But now some - like Prins - are returning.

Moving companies, real estate agents and non-profit groups say more and more white South Africans in their late 20s and beyond are returning to South Africa. Hungry for their own culture, eager to raise children near their own families, and encouraged by their country's economic potential, these adults are leaving their successful careers abroad for an uncertain future at home.

"We've been happy and enjoying ourselves ever since the day we've been back," said Prins, who moved to Johannesburg last October. "I felt like my quality of life improved dramatically."

Prins and her boyfriend Mark Kirkness, a civil engineer, may not have made the decision to come home if weren't for the Homecoming Revolution, one of several South African organisations dedicated to persuading expatriates to come back. Kirkness received a job offer after attending a career fair put on by the group, which also provides candid information about the South African economy, security conditions and crime, and hosts networking dinners and other events for those who have returned.

"We've certainly seen South Africans returning," said Homecoming Revolution manager Martine Schaffer, whose website draws 17 000 new visitors each month. "At the beginning of this year, I think we have more people returning than leaving."

More coming back

The South African Department of Home Affairs says it does not track South Africans who move abroad and then return. Anecdotal evidence, however, indicates more South Africans have been returning to the country since the late 1990s.

A spokesperson for Stuttafords Van Lines, the largest moving company in South Africa, said that for every person the company moves out of South Africa to the United Kingdom, it helps another 1.5 return. And the Come Back Home Campaign, a largely Afrikaner-run initiative similar to the Homecoming Revolution, says it's seen a rise in the number of white South Africans looking for help with career advice, immigration papers and other tasks associated with moving home.

But in moments of national insecurity, like during South Africa's power cuts in December and the xenophobic attacks in May, the consistent flow of immigrants turns into a trickle.

"There was until about six months ago a very large influx of returnees," said Brent Townes, CEO of Sotheby's International Realty South Africa. "It was the Soccer World Cup that got their attention. We had quite a few sales."

Better lifestyle here

South Africans flock in the largest numbers to the United Kingdom, where many of British descent are eligible for ancestral visas. Others travel to Canada, the United States and Australia in smaller, but significant numbers. Many of those who leave want to return eventually.

Gregg Anderson, 41, returned to South Africa from the United Kingdom a month ago.

"The lifestyle here (in South Africa) is completely different. You've got vast open spaces, you've got scenery that you don't get in the UK, and the weather is a major factor."

The government has launched a programme called Global South Africans to encourage talented South Africans expatriates to share their skills and knowledge with their fellow citizens. And the office of the South African deputy president has launched similar initiatives to inspire South Africans to share their skills or return home.

- SAPA