Stelio Da Fonseca
I left South Africa 4 years ago and I am now living in Heidelberg, Germany. Listening to that report made me want to go back home, but I do not want to go back empty handed. When I go back I want to be able to change something.
That is the problem I think not enough of us are going back.
Well hearing those kids speak made me think of the hopes and dreams of my younger sisters.
Mr Jez
My mother is south african and she came over here in the late 80's because it appeared that everything was going on in england, music, culture etc.. when i went to SA in january, i felt the opposite, now to me it seems there is a great deal of hope and i plan to go back an set myself up as soon as iv finished my a-levels. theres alot of promise there musically as well, so watch out!
T Shaw
Oh, and another thing - kwaito music is heavy! Ive heard it get some play in a couple of UK clubs. How about some airtime 1Xtra? ;)
Lilly
i am half cast and i was born in south africa, i am very pleased with what i see of south africa now. i was six when everything went wrong in my country. but i am now very proud of my country, because my family are healthy now and we can live a little bit more safely.
KEITA (X-STAFACE)
Changes do come but it's a slow and gradual process. I think life is better in the far south than the west places like sierra leone where I was born n raised. 2PAC says "to every dark day of life there is a brighter one after that so no matter how hard it gets stick your chance out keep your head up n handle it" so it's just a matter of time because it will surely change. South Africa 50 years ago is a far cry from south Africa today.
Danya
I am concerned about the anger of both sides (white and black). This is causing violence, emmigration and poverty. What is the private sector doing about this as obviously government is going to need some help. Are there any sane voices of reason (without the distrurbing hatred) out there? I myslef have been working overseas and am returning home in 4 days. I am frightened of what I am returning to (having left due to violence personally touching me).....is it fair to judge me or others for wanting the freeom to live?
T Shaw
I grew up in Botswana, just over the border from South Africa, and I miss it terribly. I went back to South Africa last year and, I have to say, I was envious of my friends still there and the people I met. South Africa is a really exciting place to be. Sure, reconciling the past is not easy, but everyone is facing the same problems, and (nearly) everyone has a lot of hope for the new south africa.
One guy told me he wouldnt be anywhere else in the world. He said in South Africa, he felt like history was being made and he was there to witness it. The reverse side to that hope and energy is the depressing reality of economic and social segregation. But in the big cities, I was suprised at just how racially intergrated the youth have become. Much more so than in London! As far as I'm concerned, only time will heal it's scars...
Foxy
Growing up in South Africa one had to keep up with lots of unbearable things; like being spit on because of your skin colour. I left just after the end of apartheid and even then everything was still determined by skin colour, it will take time before the Africans realize they are as worthy as the white man. The white man did a great job when he brainwashed our parents that they were no good and were second class citizens because that mentality still exists.
Now the problem is not much of discrimination but that of the gap between the wealthy and the poor. The white man still got the money; hence he is able to provide quality education to his kids in a separate school still with majority of whites. The difference is only that the constitution says it’s illegal to discriminate but in practice there's still a lot of discrimination. Look at maids in South Africa, how much do they earn? Their rooms are smaller some washrooms of their bosses!!
If you are white you get paid more even though there's a black with the same skill and capabilities as yours. Only the rich are benefiting from the so called democracy in South Africa. I mean even Tukwini has more opportunities than any other child because her grandfather was a president, look at the school she goes to and what kind of neighbourhood she lives in. Social inequality is a big problem. After we close the gap, SA will be the US of Africa because we have the capability.
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