22 February 2007, by Oageng Tsatsi in Nairobi, Kenya. It"s true what they say about traveling,"it makes you appreciate where you come from". So my recent emotional battle has been - nostalgia. Yes, Nairobi is a friendly, calm and peaceful city that gives one a peace of mind unlike vibby, exciting, rough and let"s not forget crime infested Johannesburg. But what I really truly miss about South Africa is the people, so naturally one will try to fulfill this emotion by seeking South Africans- right!
Oh what a big mistake that has been. After much research I was delighted to find out that there"s actually a few South African social clubs in Nairobi, however I am disappointed to report that after a look into this little South African social scene I want to honestly vomit! I cannot believe that in this day and age, some [and it"s a lot of some] South Africans still choose to think and behave like its 1985 or something and they"ve never sat next to a black person EVER, and what"s worse is that these people are not in their secluded white only neighborhoods in Stellenbosh or Bloemfontein somewhere, no there are in the middle of Africa surrounded by black people like never before in their lives.
Instead off assimilating better and faster than Europeans or Americans they are on a little mission to re-create the old South Africa some where else. It is disgraceful. They bring such huge feelings of resentment and anger that I know oh so well and one of the reasons I no longer enjoy being in South Africa, listen I am a proud hopeful South African and love my country, but this kind of thing about where I come from makes me mad. It"s like a retarded cousin that you"re embarrassed about, it"s a part of who you are and you do not have the power to make disappear.
This is why South Africans are so aggressive, which has sadly manifested itself in the country"s biggest problem- crime, they are confronted on a daily basis with the distressing ugly part of their societal history, which evokes in every single person a negative emotion. The sad thing is that no matter how hard I in this case, try to overlook or rise above these negative emotions that I am so brutally reminded of in some of these South African Social clubs in Nairobi, I still have a sour taste in my mouth!Some people say that South Africa is sitting on a psychological/emotional time bomb, and it"s only a matter of time till it explodes!
Click here to visit Oageng's weblog-page.