WHITE POVERTY IN SOUTH AFRICA July 24, 2008
Posted by frostygirl in News.Tags: poor, whites
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In July 2004 the following was reported “Today 430 000 whites, of a total white population of 4,5-million, are “too poor to live in traditional white areas” and 90 000 “are in a survival struggle”, says Lawrence Schlemmer, director of the Helen Suzman Foundation. Of these, 305 000 are Afrikaans-speaking and 215 000 speak English.”
Since then it has become worse! Jacob Zuma has recently started visiting white “squatter-like” areas in Pretoria and Bethlehem and said: “I am shocked and surprised by what I have seen here. The vast number of black poverty does not mean that we must ignore white poverty, which is increasingly becoming an embarrassment to talk about.”
He said he had seen the same problems facing white residents of the township as he had seen in black squatter camps.
“This is not about politics, it’s about people who are poor, who are in need and want to be helped by government,” he said, quoted by the AFP news agency.
Solidarity deputy secretary general Dirk Herman said the face of poverty in South Africa was changing. “All wealthy South Africans are no longer white and all poor South Africans are no longer black.
“(But) white poverty is silent poverty. It is not politically correct to talk about it, making it probably the only poverty in the world that is politically incorrect,” he claimed.
Many of these white people have skills that can be used in the country, especially the government departments where there are thousands of vacant posts, which cannot be filled by blacks as there is a skills shortage amongst blacks in this field.
I would suggest to Mr Zuma that he asks them to fill in a form listing their skills and previous employment details and I am sure that many of these white people will be employable!
The whites do not need handouts they need jobs, use this source of skills that is left out in the cold and forget the black/white issue, we are now 14 years into the “new” South African, is it not time now?
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ROBBEN ISLAND GOOD NEWS! July 20, 2008
Posted by frostygirl in News.Tags: derman, robben island, searl
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Apparently Searl Derman has obtained approval to capture and move the fallow deer on the Island and he will also capture and sterilise the rabbits with the help of vet Douw Grobbelaar.
Read more about this at: http://allafrica.com/stories/200806090801.html
I promised “Joe” from Durban to find out more about Searl Derman so that if anyone else wishes to pledge funds for this project they can contact Searl Derman direct. Go to:
http://www.whoswhosa.co.za/Pages/profilefull.aspx?IndID=6497
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NELSON MANDELA - 90TH BIRTHDAY July 17, 2008
Posted by frostygirl in News.Tags: birthday, mandela, nelson
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Nelson Mandela is celebrating his 90th birthday on 18 July 2008 and when you look at the man you cannot help thinking about his life.
The world is lifting him up and making him into an idol, which is not right, but he remains a humble man and it seems that his main concern is to help children through his children’s fund.
They say that you can only know what a persons life is like after you have walked a mile in their shoes.
As a white female I tried to visualize what it must have been like for Nelson Mandela in his beloved country, South Africa, being oppressed by racism, but I failed horribly because I just cannot know what it was like because we as whites just take too much for granted.
I heard him say the following when he was addressing a crowd of people: “I do not believe in blacks being dominated by whites…..(lots of cheering) ….I do not believe in whites being dominated by blacks…..(less cheering)….. I believe in democracy!”
As a young man he had ideals and was prepared to fight and die for them, apparently he first tried the passive, peaceful route and when that was not successful his organisation decided to fight for the right to be equal. Many men go to war and kill for what they believe in and if it is such a moral issue it is difficult to condemn them because they believe in their hearts that they are right. Innocent people always die in a war and a lot of innocent people died on both sides during this struggle for equality. I do not believe in war, but it is a fact of life in this world!
It is amazing how things turned out! When Nelson Mandela was found guilty by the State he was supposed to get the death sentence (by hanging), but apparently at the time Prime Minister Hendrik Verwoerd changed it to a life sentence! At the time he did not know that Nelson Mandela was destined for something great in the future and could not die then!
Nelson Mandela could have become a bitter and vengeful man after spending so many years of his life in prison, under bad circumstances for most of the time, but he came out with a smile and a hand of peace held out to all South Africans. He is a humble man, but a strong man who is not afraid to stand up for what he believes in.
I would like to know what he is thinking now when he sees what has become of South Africa! His dream of having all South Africans equal has not been realized as the black ANC government now dominates the other race groups in the country with Black Empowerment and Affirmative Action causing inequality! What a shame, it could have been so different. Democracy does not work!
What a pity he did not have age on his side so that he could have had a second term in the office as President, I believe it would have made a huge difference to this country.
Happy birthday Madiba, may you still have many years left to enjoy the freedom and peace you strove for, for so many years!
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ROBBEN ISLAND UPATE July 8, 2008
Posted by frostygirl in News.Tags: deer, fallow, robben
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I am happy to report that some progress has been made on Robben Islands problem. A South African businessman has come forward and offered to pay for the capture and relocation of the Fallow Deer on the Island to more suitable sanctuaries. His proposal still has to be approved by the authorities, but there is some hope for these animals now.
Unfortunately the same cannot be said about the feral rabbits on the Island, it looks like they may be culled, but the verdict is not out yet.
It is always wonderful when someone who has the money to help steps up to the plate and not only offers to pay but has a “hands on” strategy too. Well done Searl Derman for offering your help and money!
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FLAMINGO COLONY UNDER THREAT July 4, 2008
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Kimberley in South Africa is best known for the “Big Hole” where thousands of miners dug a huge hole whilst mining for diamonds. This town was also where the American singer the late Jim Reeves starred in a movie called Kimberley Jim.
What many people do not know is that there is a wonderful new attraction just on the outskirts of Kimberley on Kamfers Dam i.e. flamingos.
Two brothers who owns a mining company called Ekapa Mining heard about the plight of the Lesser Flamingo. They used their own finance and resources to build an island in the middle of Kamfers Dam in an S-shape to attract the flamingos in order to establish a safe breeding place for them. This venture worked wonderfully and the flamingos loved the pristine environment and up to 60000 came to breed there and 9000 chicks where born.
Now due to GREED this habitat is in peril and we need every-ones help to save it from being destroyed. The mismanagement of the municipality of Kimberley has allowed raw sewage to overflow into the Kamfers Dam causing some of the flamingos legs to have sores on them.
Secondly, although this site is declared a National Heritage site, the mayor of Kimberley and his team have agreed to re-zone part of the area to allow a huge development by Group One to be built. This permission was granted without an impact study being done about the effect it will have on the flamingos or input being asked for from the conservationists or the people of Kimberley.
Please go to the following website and sign the petition so that we can stop the development and force the municipality to sort out the sewage problem:
http://www.savetheflamingo.co.za/index.php
Please share this story with as many people as you can and I ask all my entrecard readers to help us by carrying a link of this on their blogs!
Thanks to each and everyone who responds to this call for help.
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ROBERT MUGABE RUINED ZIMBABWE June 25, 2008
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It is amazing how such a well educated man like Mugabe can deteriorate into what he has become. He is the laughing stock of the world and does not even seem to realize it.
Everybody says that they should negotiate with him, has nobody noticed that it cannot be done!
You can not reason with an unreasonable person!
He is in a world of his own and sees himself as wonderful so no matter what the world says he will continue with his violence and intimidation.
Since the MDC leader has announced his retirement from the race the violence against his supporters and himself has escalated. Does that make any sense? Not to a normal human being, no.
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SA BANK CHARGES DUE TO DROP June 23, 2008
Posted by frostygirl in News.5 comments
We are all holding our breath for the expected announcement on Wednesday as to what recommendations are going to be made by the Competition Commission with regard to bank charges in South Africa.
The banks have been milking the consumers for years now and it is wonderful to see that at long last something is going to be done about it.
In South Africa you are charged for almost everything you do i.e. depositing cash, withdrawing cash, bank statements, cheque books, etc and then a further monthly service fee is added too. Your monthly bank charges can be as much as R80 for a private individual just doing their monthly transactions.
Some comments from other countries will be welcome on this subject.
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ROBBEN ISLAND SHAMBLES June 22, 2008
Posted by frostygirl in News.3 comments
For nearly 400 years, Robben Island, about 12 kilometres from Cape Town in South Africa, was a place of exile and imprisonment where rulers sent those they regarded as outcasts and troublemakers.
This island is most famous for being Nelson Mandela’s home for 18 of his 27 years imprisonment and was declared a world heritage site in 1999. Nelson Mandela went on to become the first black President of South Africa. It has since become a symbol of the strength and endurance of its political prisoners, and “the triumph of the human spirit, of freedom, and of democracy over oppression. ”
While Robben Island was run by the prison service they and the prisoners took great pride in the fauna and flora of the Island and it was a lush beautiful place with a large variety of animals and birds living on it.
But now this Island is in an environmental crisis through lack of proper management by the Robben Island Museum who is supposed to look after this world heritage site.
Once again we find a typical situation where blacks, who are not trained, are placed in situations they cannot manage. They are supposed to protect the nature to ensure that this site remains the tourist attraction it has become.
The main problem is the explosion of ferrell rabbits eating everything in sight and despite the warnings given by the environmentalists to the museum management over 3 years ago of the ecological disaster waiting to happen, nothing was done.
Now there is a major crisis as many animals like the deer, springbok, bontebok and rabbits are starving to death. One can clearly see up to what height the animals could reach to eat leaves off the trees and bushes and when they could not reach anymore they died from starvation.
Footage of a buck eating a carcase of a dead animal was taken by the environmentalists and that is shocking in itself because buck never eat meat, so the poor animal had to be desperate!
Once again the citizens of the country have to dig into their own pockets to help the starving animals. Relief workers are taking food and fruit across to Robben Island to keep the few remaining animals alive.
Now that this problem has been highlighted hopefully the museum management team will get together with conservationists and implement a plan to reduce the ferrell rabbits, see what they can do about the animals who are not indigenous to South Africa, like the fallow deer, and restore the vegetation and animal life to what it was before.
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STORM LASHES KZN SOUTH COAST June 20, 2008
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Well it was full moon again on 19 June 2008 and the KZN South Coast felt the effects when a huge storm lashed the area causing a lot of damage and killing at least 12 people.
The Durban Weather Bureau said the heavy downpour had broken four rainfall records, one of them dating back to 1964.
1000’s of people have been displaced and have been accommodated in local community halls for the time being.
The damage to roads, bridges and other infrastructure amounts to billions of Rands and it will take a long time to repair/fix.
This part of South Africa has been hit quite a few times over the last 2 years and the sea has been claiming back large stretches of beach from Ballito Bay down to Port Shepstone. For more info on this storm go to:
http://www.dailynews.co.za/?fSectionId=&fArticleId=nw20080620172217260C783449
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MORE ON AFRICAN MINDSET June 18, 2008
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A few more things happened in South Africa recently which may be used as examples of the African mindset:
The ANC Youth League president Julius Malema said that the organisation would kill “counter-revolutionaries”, including those in the ruling party, who undermine party president Jacob Zuma. His call to “kill for Zuma” at a Youth Day rally in Thaba Nchu on Monday has created a publicity nightmare for the ANC.
To make a public statement like that straight after we have seen the awful xenophobic attacks in this country is absolutely irresponsible! Read the full story at:
The second example is the vitamins issued to HIV/AIDS sufferers to help them build up their immune systems by a German company. They were told to take the tablets as well as the antiretrovirals they were already taking. Of course they did not do so and actually stopped taking the antiretrovirals all together. You cannot treat the African the same as you would in the more developed countries. You cannot assume that they understand the instructions given to them or that they would read and understand the directions on the vitamin bottle!
Read my previous post on HIV/AIDS why medicate?
The third example is the continued stealing by postal workers of articles sent to people in SA, it has now got so bad that Amazon Books have black listed The SA Post Office and will no longer be sending books via them. Read about it at:
And finally, Chinese South Africans are now classified as “black” so that they may qualify for Black Empowerment benefits. How anyone can say that Chinese are black is just so funny.
Just as funny as South Africa being called the “rainbow nation” but if you have a close look at the colours in a rainbow you will not find the colour “black” in it.
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