We were immigrants, equipped only with an old car, lots of enthusiasm, and three young children -- "Not enough," the white Afrikaner Immigration official growled after we landed at Cape Town in those now seemingly long-ago apartheid days. "We need more white children." Undaunted, we set off north through the Karoo Desert for Johannesburg -- Egoli, the "place of gold," in Zulu -- blissfully ignorant about the complex, stunningly beautiful country that we would settle in.
Today, in spite of South Africa's ongoing problem with crime and violence, we still wouldn't choose to live anywhere else. There's no room or time for Old World boredom or complacency when you can live in a country where people debate in 11 different official languages -- Archbishop Desmond Tutu christened us "the Rainbow Nation" for our racial and cultural diversity and the name has stuck -- and that has the world's newest and most liberal constitution. It's difficult to imagine a country more vibrant and alive than this.
The whole world knows of our infamous past. Our ground-breaking Truth and Reconciliation Commission continues to ensure that we don't forget it. Although so much heartbreak, trauma, and truth, and so many lies have been revealed at the public hearings, most of us firmly believe that to know the past is part of the process of understanding it, coming to terms with it, and moving on. Amazingly, there's little bitterness or racial conflict -- a lead set by our first democratically elected president, Nelson Mandela, one of the 20th century's most respected leaders.
His successor, seasoned diplomat Thabo Mbeki, although lacking Mandela's charisma, is well respected at home and abroad and seems intent on keeping South Africa afloat economically, politically, and morally. He has taken a strong stand against corruption, aiming for "discipline, hard work and effectiveness, not popularity." The public comforts itself with the knowledge that when yet another corruption scandal erupts, at least these days the corruption -- although not dealt with as firmly and swiftly as it would like -- is "transparent." Transparency is one of the buzz words of the new government -- it is determined not to copy the cloak-and-dagger "dirty tricks" tactics of the former Nationalist governments.
So what's the mood in today's country? South Africans who think positively know that the honeymoon is over and there's a long road ahead but that good things will come to those who wait. Unfortunately, thousands of white professionals have emigrated, because of perceived fears of South Africa's becoming yet another stereotypical African country spiraling into a potential one-party state, a fear of a lack of job opportunities for their children because of the government's rigorous affirmative action program, and fears for their children's educational prospects in government schools bursting at the seams.
Those of us who have stayed take comfort in the burgeoning economy and remind ourselves that we live in the newest, most liberal democracy in the world -- and the one with the best weather in the world.
Immigrants, legal and illegal, flock in from neighboring countries and flood both the squatter camps and the diminishing job market. Although black South Africans have seen sweeping changes in educational, employment, and housing opportunities, massive unemployment fuels the rampant crime figures. Everybody now knows somebody who has been a victim of hijacking, mugging, burglary, or other violence of some kind. People agree that the government of the African National Congress, in for a second four-year term with a sweeping majority, isn't doing too badly. And when you visit the rural areas and the former black townships and see the new clinics, the rows of small neat houses, and the uniformed kids making their way to school, you feel a burst of pride. Okay, we're not making enough changes fast enough, but we're getting there.
Blacks and whites mix freely in public places, and the only apartheid now is that between the haves and the have-nots -- as with anywhere else in the world. We're a noisy, vociferous lot who argue our opinions wherever and whenever anybody will listen -- opinions not hidden or submerged by hypocrisy or warm, fuzzy euphemisms but discussed openly and up-front in the media, in schools and universities, in the home, and wherever people are gathered together. Change is still the keynote of the new South Africa. And energy, buzz, vibrations (both good and bad) permeate the air. Friends of mine, back from two years in Canada, are delighted to be home. In South Africa, they claim, you'll never be bored, there's no chance here of the bland leading the bland.
As a foreigner in South Africa, you'll meet with tremendous hospitality. A friend of mine from Boston, visiting the Kimberley Mine Museum, ended up spending a few days in this historic and fascinating city with a local schoolmaster and his family. Talk, talk, talk to everyone you can -- South Africans love to talk about their country. Other than Ireland, I can't think of a place where people are so keen and ready to discuss their country, warts and all, with such honesty and heady enthusiasm. Sure, we know we have problems, but we are the Rainbow Nation and proud of it.
So welcome, then, to one of the most beautiful and diverse countries on earth, where sea, mountains, rolling plains, mighty rivers, deep gorges and the bush, with its big game, more than 800 birds, and amazing biodiversity will hook you from day one. Your first visit certainly won't be your last.
Kate Turkinton is a South African journalist and broadcaster. She is managing editor of Marung and Flamingo, the in-flight magazines of Air Botswana and Air Namibia.
The preceding essay was excerpted from Fodor's Southern Africa.
By Kate Turkington
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