Brain Drain

Why is it that when one system isn’t working, the pendulum typically swings too far to the other side?  Is it human nature to think that if there are problems the complete opposite is the solution?  With any sweeping change, the consequences of throwing the baby out with the bath water, usually takes a few years to become apparent.  We found no exception to this in South Africa.  The country still appears to be in transition from decades of apartheid and will continue to be for some time to come.

There is no doubt that the end to this era is a good thing.  It shouldn’t have been made a policy in the first place.  And yet, we think that post apartheid South Africa, 17 years after Nelson Mandela helped negotiate his country to better times, has taken a good thing too far.  Today tribal mentality, reverse discrimination practices and government corruption are driving lots of young, smart, creative people of all colors to other parts of the world.  There is a common theme among South Africans – they  see no hope in the future.  (Can you imagine not feeling hope?)  The consequence is that hoards are leaving.  South Africa is being drained of it’s talent, vision, brains. 

During the course of our month in South Africa we had the chance to listen to many people’s stories.  They told of their lives under and after apartheid.  The issues are complex to say the least.  This is a difficult topic for non writers, like us, to write about, but we‘re giving it a try as we feel that it is important to document our feelings on this heavy subject; for ourselves if no one else.

We learned that apartheid is an Afrikaans (the language of Apartheid) word which literally means separation.  From 1954-1994, the government of South Africa made discrimination a national policy.  A national policy!  In our life times!  The rights of the majority ’non-white’ inhabitants were curtailed and white minority rule was maintained.  Whites make up just about 6% of SA’s population.  6%!  That’s it.  And yet, they ruled the country and gave themselves every advantage possible. Non whites had inferior education, medical care, beaches, public services, etc.  Many non whites were forcibly removed from their homes and moved to neighborhoods deemed more appropriate.  Black people were even deprived of their citizenship.  They had to become citizens of their tribally based homeland, not of their country, SA.

We talked with one man who’s family was forcibly moved when he was a young child.  He was one of 60,000 people moved from just one area called District 6.  Before the mass removal, the District 6 neighborhood was considered cosmopolitan and made up of a mixture of races and religions.  Blacks, Arabs, Indians, colored (which we learned in SA means someone of a mixed race), Afrikaans and whites lived and worked side by side.  We learned that the people were happy and productive.  The government with it’s divisionist zeal, decided that it knows best.  They concluded that interracial interaction breeds conflict, necessitating the separation of the races.  Between 1968 and 1980 all of the families were relocated from District 6 to what is known today as Cape Flats about 25 kilometers away.  In our opinion it is a bleak area and is probably in worse shape then District 6 ever was.

The people we talked to about this think that the actual reason for the mass removal was due to the land’s proximity to the harbor, Table Mountain and city center; in other words prime real estate, and therefore more suitable for whites.    District 6 was bulldozed.  Every home was flattened.  The only buildings that stand today are houses of worship and a small newly developed housing complex.  Most of it remains a scraped patch of dirt, undeveloped.  An eye sore.  So now there are two eye sores - the remains of District 6 and Cape Flats.

As you can imagine, there were lots of problems under Apartheid, including huge sanctions put upon South Africa by the wealthy nations of the world.  Not many countries wanted to be associated with South Africa and it‘s oppressive policies.   Finally the people rose up, the politicians saw the light and a new leader came into the fray (Nelson Mandela) and the end of the ugly era was negotiated.

Fast forward to 2010/11 and although the country has lots of great things going for it, underneath the extraordinary beauty are some real problems.  It’s by far the richest country on the continent of Africa.  The roads are smooth, wide and traffic free.  The cities in which World Cup games were recently played are modern and mostly clean of litter.  In a lot of ways it feels very western.  With it’s extraordinary coastline and glorious mountains, the natural beauty is second to none. 

 

We spent one month there and had a chance to look under the covers, talk with locals; get a deeper sense of the country.  We were shocked to learn that for people between the ages of 18 and 34, unemployment is 50%.  50% of SA’s young people aren’t working.  That staggering statistic leads to desperation.  Desperation leads to crime and drug addiction.  Therefore petty theft and car jackings are real threats.  We were always on alert and told to stay off the streets at night.  We didn’t, but we were ultra aware after dark.

We talked with one young employed Zulu man who shared with us his viewpoints of the issues.  He thinks that two things are at the root of the post apartheid problems: 1). The tribal mentality in which the chief (president) can do no wrong; and 2).  That black people see themselves as less then whites.

Coming from a black man’s perspective, we thought this opinion was brave, introspective and very honest.  He is worried about his country and is doing what he can to help other young South Africans understand that even though Joseph Zuma, a Zulu, is the current president (chief) of the country, government leaders of today are not the same as tribal elders of yesterday.  They should be held to a greater standard and not allowed to get away with some of the things Zuma is doing.  He also admitted to us that many black people are having trouble retraining themselves to think that they are equal to whites.  Too many of his fellow countrymen, still see themselves as servants and not as business people, doctors or lawyers.  They still limit their own potential and don’t take advantage of educational opportunities, etc. 

 

Fortunately there are movements afoot to drive some clearly needed changes in South Africa‘s government.  Several ANC (African National Congress) opposition organizations are making a concerted effort to bring balance to the country.  Zuma calls the groups poisonous snakes.  Unfortunately, the main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, is seen as the party for whites.  It’s finding it very difficult to attract black people.  It knows it won’t truly make a difference if it only has white members.  But the group is having a tough time interesting blacks due to the deeply rooted belief that tribal chiefs are untouchable.  It’s a fascinating national psyche.  And one, that in our opinion, will take generations to evolve. 

In the meantime, South Africa, is loosing smart people of all colors.  Our friend Magedie, whom we met in his new homeland of Slovenia (via a postcard from Post Office Bay in the Galapagos Islands), is South African, a successful engineer, black, and can’t imagine returning to his home country other then to visit his family.

 

Barry and Francis, a dynamic, intelligent couple, whom we met in Peru and again in South Africa are in the process of leaving South Africa for good.  They are nearing the end of a painstaking process of becoming Canadian citizens.  (They’ll be our neighbors up in Vancouver, British Columbia!)  Although these are just two examples of the brain drain that is occurring, they are first hand.  We heard of many others as well - someone’s sister, son, best friend, etc leaving South Africa.  As we were only there for one month and spent most of time with elephants, we think the problem is more then likely a systemic one.  No place is perfect and we wish our new friends lots of success in their new homelands.  For South Africans that can’t or won’t leave, it’s going to be a long while until that proverbial pendulum lands in the middle.  In the meanwhile, we are hoping that all of the positive change that is happening in SA will continue to progress one baby elephant step at a time.

The Garden Route – The Road to Cape Town

“It’s one of the most beautiful and scenic stretches of highway in the world” we were told.  The 740 kilometers from Port Elizabeth to Cape Town on the N2 highway, was a “must do”.  We mapped our route and decided to spend a week or so to take it all in.

Named for the verdant and ecologically diverse vegetation and the numerous lagoons and lakes; we wanted to see if the Garden Route along South Africa’s south western coast lived up to the hype.  We are usually skeptical with any region that is heavily promoted as a tourist destination.  Sometimes it is much ado about nothing except relieving gullible visitors of their money.  (Ever been to the Mystery Spot in Santa Cruz, CA?)  Anyway, the Garden Route was highly recommended by our new South African friends that we had previously met in a little town in, of all the places, the Peruvian Andes Mountains. 

We trusted them and altered our itinerary so that we could include many of the towns along the Garden Route.  Diverse is an understatement for the region.  Even though the little towns along the route are past their heyday, the scenic coasts, the lush forests, the dry Karoo, the penguins, meerkats, birds and the brandy did not disappoint.   Here is a sampling of our road trip through Western Cape, South Africa.

Tsitsikamma Forest and Storms River Region

The tallest bungy jump in the world - 216 meters or 709 feet – Too crazy for us.  Great White Sharks, yes, falling 709 feet, absolutely not.

Knysna area – amazing cloud fingers

Oudtshoorn area in the Karoo (high desert)

  In the 18th century, the Karoo region was the location of South Africa’s first commercial venture – the export of large flamboyant black and white ostrich feathers to the world’s weathly.   Although there is very little demand for the feathers these days, the area is still home to the planet’s largest number of Ostrich farms.  Today, we consume these birds for their meat and leather.    We read that one of the fun things to do in the Karoo is to go on a meerkat safari.  A meerkat safari?  Get up before the crack of dawn to see wild meerkats in their natural habitat?  Of course we would go.  Cousins of the mongoose; they are highly social and have extended family groups.  They greet each new day by standing in the dawn sunlight to warm themselves.  Even they think it’s early (see the big yawn?).  

Betty’s Bay is the home of penguins that used to be called Jack Ass Peguins.  They (whoever they are) have renamed them to boring ole African Penguins, but they still bray like donkeys.  Hee haw, hee haw.  It’s hilarious and another must see and hear if you’re nearby.

  Making new jack ass penguins…..

       Stellenbosch – The Winelands!

And Brandy.  South Africa has been a premium brandy maker for eons.  When paired with chocolate and coffee it’s an unbelievable taste bud sensation. The marketing of any province, state or territory is very interesting.  As you can probably imagine, over the course of our travels, we’ve seen lots of attempts at creative advertising to entice people to an area.  Most regions have created campaigns, routes and attractions so that local and foreign tourists visit and spend money.  Think of the commercials in which California celebrities tell you why you should come to their fun and beautiful state.  Or the development of the wine country in Oregon.  It‘s all about tourism and money.  The small towns of the Western Cape needed a boost.  So, the region turned it’s sights to tourism and established and touted the Garden Route.

It was a smart decision, for us, to slow down the pace and not beeline it to Cape Town.  Our year of travel was coming to end and we wanted to savor the countryside and take in some of the less popular destinations in South Africa.  With it’s array of animals, plants, scenery and adventure; we were very wise to stop and smell (and taste and see) the Garden Route.

A Birthday Wish for a Really Big Fish

There are only a few things that are assured while spending a year on the road:  The holidays will be a lonely time, US taxes still need to be paid, and another birthday will arrive.  Instead of denying that she was adding another year to her age, Amy decided to celebrate like never before.  She slipped on the tightest fitting little black number she could find, donned the latest in head wear and jumped feet first into a shark cage!! 
After seeing the movie Jaws, she was traumatized and afraid of the open water for years.  Even though those fears are long ago and far away, Steve was shocked when she exclaimed that she’d like to revel in her birthday with a Great White Shark dive. 


This was the first birthday Amy has commemorated in the summer.  In February.  For anyone that has a winter birthday in the Northern hemisphere, she highly recommends getting south of the equator to enjoy it in the summertime.  Given that we were in South Africa in late February we welcomed the warm,  humid weather on this special day. 
We headed to Gansbaai (pronounced Hans Bay); home of Shark Alley.  There are many Great White tour operators who take out the fearless into the cold waters for a close and personal encounter with these apex predators.  We did our research and interviewed several tour operators -- How do they attract the sharks, their destination, the likelihood of seeing the sharks, how they protect them, etc…  As always, we wanted to insure that our presence has minimal interference with their natural behavior and contributes to their preservation versus their demise.  Satisfied that our tour operator does not “feed” the sharks, but rather attracts them with a tuna oil slick, we signed our life away with the standard….”You will not hold us responsible if you get chowed by this HUGE flesh eating fish!!!!!!!!”.

 
  We chose a company that is actively involved with preservation efforts of these endangered animals.  We headed out on an early cloudy morning to the notorious Shark Alley, an area in the Indian Ocean between two islands that is home to a large colony of fur seals…..the tasty snack of choice for our shark friends.  Half an hour later, we drop anchor and the cage is lowered into the chilly dark waters.  A few minutes after the tuna oil is ladled onto the water someone yelled “Did you see what I just saw?!?”  Before any of us were in the cage, a few of the stealthy creatures from the deep showed up.  These are VERY LARGE fish.  Bigger then the pictures suggest.


Shark cage diving is a bit of a misnomer.  It is actually cage bobbing.  No scuba equipment is required, not even a snorkel.  Six people get into the cage at a time and take a deep breaths and duck under the water at the direction of the shark spotter.  He tells us to look left, right, or downward as appropriate as the sharks swim by.  The gray carnivores are chasing a tuna head on a rope that is pulled through the water.  It is not allowed to let them eat the bait, but rather just play a game of keep away.  On our special day the water visibility was somewhat poor.  Even so, we were prepared with a rented digital underwater camera.   

The first six brave souls enter the cage.  We watch from the boat as these agile beings repeatedly attack the tuna temptation.  We even see a few breach the water with their classic attack from below.  It is a show of amazing strength.

Our turn.  We slide into the cage and feel our wetsuits fill up with freezing cold water.  Before we have a chance to think about how cold we are, we hear…“Look to the right”.  We take a deep breath, duck underwater, and watch as a 10 foot plus creature of the dark swims by the cage.  Holy moly…..we could have reached out and touched it.  Thankfully, all of our extremities were safely tucked inside the cage.  “Look below!”  As we duck for the second time we see one gliding underneath us.  The adrenalin kicked in, the excitement is crescendoing and the freezing water temperature is long forgotten.  We are totally focused on seeing every detail.


We watch 7 or 8 magnificent great whites, brimming with confidence and grace, and seemingly uninterested in the human meals in the cage.  They glance at us a few times but have their black eyes on the ‘chicken of the sea’ enticement.
 


It was time to share the fun with our shipmates, so we watch and cheer as the next set of bobbers enjoy their experience.  A bit later, we eagerly accept a second chance to enter the cage and again observe in amazement at these supple pelagic beasts.  Amy may have been the oldest woman on the boat but her shrieks of joy are the giddiest and loudest.  It was an unforgettable ‘summer in February’ birthday!