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south africa is mis-understood
- by kasey,
- 02 March 2010
- Posted in Student Life In Cape Town
Like most legends, South Africa stands on the forefront of being one of the most misunderstood places in the world. ignorance has barricaded her with danger signs where foreigner are apprehensive to now go but here is a new and exciting way of seeing south Africa. Think of a piece of abstract art, its fascination and beauty does not come in the squiggles and blotches of paint, instead it is understanding the motives and feelings of the artist himself that turns conceptual artwork into a masterpiece. The same can be said about South Africa. Many people may marvel over the lanscapes and coastlines or criticize its crime ridden statistics but how many will try understand the experience? Look at Cape Town and her infamous table mountain, to you? She is a proud tick on your tourist to do list, but to me... she is the mother of cohesion, nurturing our defeats with the comfort of knowing she will never forsake and like the heart, she pumps life through the veins of her surrounds and connects the separate and unequal surrounds with a united understanding, she is mother to us all.
And our crime? Everybody has a story to tell about the time they come mugged or hijacked or burgled.. Crime is an unfortunate reality to which many have paid the unfair price. But crime by definition is an act punishable by law, what about all the evil that falls beyond the pale of legislation? war? starvation? greed? Just because the western world is more educated in disguising evil acts doesn’t make them any less wrong. Capitalism is the major oppressor of our age and unfortunately compounded with a hundred years of apartheid oppression, crime has become a weapon against a system that benefits 1 in every billion people. And so if crime can come in so many different forms and sizes moulding to the various conditions of every country then why are we so focussed on South African crime? Why is the word of mouth bug so much more contagious than the virus of capitalism of religious fundamentalists? If it is crime the repels you from south Africa, then you might as well not bother travelling to any beautiful place worth seeing.
All i am asking is for you to open your your mind to the good and the bad, greatness and its shorcomings and gain the best experience south africa has to offer... understanding it!
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