29 August 2012

Andrew Alston

The Republic Of South Africa

alston.networks@gmail.com

The Republic of South Africa

ATT: A disillusioned child of the Republic of South Africa

Cowardice couched in flowery words

To the individual who signed himself as a disillusioned child of the Republic of South Africa,

I would respectfully like to respond to your resignation, and while my response is written with respect, I state openly that I have little respect for the position which you managed to couch in such flowery language.

In your resignation, you talk of memories, you talk of hope, yet you say it’s all been stripped away and you seek greener pastures.  You talk about the day that true democracy exists in every province, city and home.  So, I ask you this, where are you planning to go where you will find this utopia?  I, as a child of this republic, which has travelled to 85 countries around the world, am horrified at just how naïve you are in suggesting such a place exists.

I also find myself once again disgusted to see yet another “patriotic” citizen of this country walking away from this great land without staying to try and do whatever they can to save this country from the very problems they cry about. 

If I look back at history, let me ask you this, if Martin Luther King had said “This country has to many problems”, and left for greener pastures, would the US be in the position it is in today?  If Betty Williams had walked away from Ireland in 1976, would the changes that she brought about through her persistence have happened, or would more have died?  If Peter Benenson had not taken the time and stuck by his views, would the world be better off without Amnesty International?

Oh, you can run to another land, and turn your back on this country, saying, there is little I as an individual can do to help change things, and you an appease your guilt with many excuses about how powerless you are, but the reality is, in my eyes, you are a coward and a traitor to the land that gave you birth and gave you what you have today.

Let us instead of talking about the problems focus for a minute on what is good in this country.  Our cost of living is a fraction of what it is in many places in the world, we have amazing weather, we have friendly people, we have consistent growth in our economy, at rates I might add that are multiple percentage points higher than the GDP growth experienced by the UK or the US.  Furthermore, there are industries in this country that compensate their people far better than those same people would be compensated for elsewhere in the world.  The IT Networking industry is one such example, where if you take the salary of a UK network engineer, convert their salary from pounds into rands, and compare it to what a South African of similar skill is earning, the South African comes out WAY ahead, combined with a far lower cost of living.

Yes, we have our problems, our crime rates are ridiculously high, but then again, did the innocent Irish citizens all emigrate during the troubles, troubles which made our crime rates look like a joke?  We have insanity being sprouted by certain areas of our government, but then again, did all American’s emigrate when George Bush was in power? We have poverty, but considering you have the means to get up and relocate to a foreign land, I presume that’s not a problem you suffer with.

What this country needs are the people who have the skills, and the abilities, to stand up and be counted.  To be willing to teach and educate and uplift those around us.  To lead by example.  What we do not need, are cowards that run away because they are not prepared to fight for the land that gave them their birth.

So to you I say this, I for one was born under African skies, I was bred under African skies, and under African skies will I one day be buried.  I am a proud African, and the fact that my skin is white makes me no less so.  I will not be chased away by the insanity of a small minority that sits in power today, or intimidated by the minority of our population that loves crime so much.  I will not strip myself of my birth right and power to forces such as these, and if you choose to do so, I call you coward and I say to you, better that you be on the next plane, because individuals like you do this country no service, instead, you help to create the Armageddon you are so happy to sit and predict.

With pride, and a willingness to fight for this land

An unashamed South African Citizen