The Edge, Qatar, 2015

By Sybrandus Adema

One look at Qatar’s bulging rubbish bins and it’s clear that food wastage is a huge problem in the country, which imports about 90% of its food.

Outside the many restaurants, homes and offices, the smell and sight of discarded food are sure signs that an excessive throwaway culture has become the norm. In 2012, the latest year for which there is precise information, a whopping 1,400,000,000 kilograms (1,4 million metric tonnes) of food was consumed and wasted in the country. This figure divided by the 2.05 million inhabitants in that year, equals 636kg of food per person. As most people should not eat more than 2kg of food per day, preferably nutritious fare that doesn’t contain too many kilojoules, the amount does not sound too excessive. But once the young, elderly, short-term visitors/workers and people that consume less than 2kg per day are taken out of the equation, it’s clear that much more than 2kg per adult is consumed or wasted. A situation that adds to the country’s rapidly growing and expensive obesity problem. Added to this are the litres of soft and hot drinks, and bottled water that is drunk daily. The average resident of Qatar also uses 675 litres of water per day (drinking, washing and waste) - twice as much as the average European. And, in a country with a quarter of Israel’s population, four times more desalinated water is used and wasted than in Israel.

However, before the 1.4 million metric tons of food is even sold to the end-consumers, another 14% above this number - nearly 20 million kg of food - is discarded or destroyed. This is the latest statistic concerning what happens to the food between the farm or exporting country and the Qatari consumers. It is either past its sell-by date or spoilt due to problems with the cooling chain. On the one hand this is due to a lack of effective agricultural planning and decades of environmental degradation - even the local fish industry is but a shadow of its former self. On the other hand, the growing and increasingly affluent population means money is no object in terms of the quantity and quality of food demanded. Huge banquets, often with the most expensive, exotic food, have become common, and Qatar is the fastest-growing food consumption market of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries.

According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization's (FAO’s) 2014 data, the average Arab inhabitant wasted up to 250kg worth of food per year, compared with 70kg in other regions. Worldwide, 30% of all food does not end up in someone’s mouth, with America and Europe the biggest culprits. If the total global food loss and waste was a country, it would be the third largest CO2 offender on the planet.

The Middle-Eastern ecology activist group EcoMena it estimates about half of the waste in the Qatar’s landfills consists of leftover food. Given the country’s sky-high consumption rate and very low recycling rate, this can only mean mountains of food are dumped. Furthermore, a minimal portion of the discarded food is composted, even though good soil is in such short supply. The same organization's research shows that up to 25% of all food prepared during Ramadan eventually gets thrown away – even at a time when the distribution of leftover food to the poor is probably at its highest.

The country is trying to get to the bottom of the issue, beginning with better research. This year Qatar National Research Fund (QNRF) announced that it will investigate the food distribution waste and consumption in Qatar. Entitled 'Safeguarding Food and Environment in Qatar (SAFE-Q)' the project

intends to focus on the long-term sustainability of Qatar’s food supply chain, including its green aspects, and the interconnection of these aspects with the population’s health and its economic development. According to Co-Lead Principal Investigator Ms Zeynep Topaloglu, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Economics, Georgetown University in Qatar (GU-Q), the current statistics point to a huge waste on many levels. Most of the discarded food in Qatar has been produced somewhere else in the world, packaged, transported, and distributed, before finally reaching customers – who then throw away a huge amount of it. Ergo, hundreds of thousands of animals and plants are sacrificed for nothing each year. All the pollution that is associated with harvest/slaughter, processing, cold storage and destruction also helps explains why the country, per capita, has the second worst carbon footprint on the planet.

Topaloglu says: “We propose a three-stage methodology composed of problem structuring, operational modelling, and generation of a repository for risk assessment for the implementation of the policies that aim to reduce food waste in Qatar. My specialization has always been risk management, yet for this project my role is to conduct risk analysis for the food supply chain.” According to her it is crucial to understand exactly how much food is waste in Qatar. “At this stage, there is scattered information from different stakeholders.

“In addition, we would like to engage the consumer through the sharing of their food waste diary, which would record the types or kinds of products wasted, the reason why they discarded it as well as whether it could be avoidable or reused/recycled in another way. This will be a totally voluntarily activity, because changing consumption habits and practices cannot be enforced and will only occur if people really want to make a change.”

Fortunately, there are also some local organizations in Qatar, such as Food Savings Bank, trying to collect leftover food and distribute it to the poor. One of them sometimes retrieves up to 10 tonnes of food in two days, which they then transform into meal packages. This is often the remains of endless buffets, or food on the verge of its sell-by date, which does not necessarily mean it's immediately unsafe to eat.

The SAFE-Q project forms part of one of Qatar's major preoccupations: food security. An entire government department is devoted to the Qatar National Food Security Programme (QNFSP), which has held numerous conferences since 2008. Billions of dollars have been set aside to make the country less dependent on food imports, but it has already been scaled down to ‘only’ aim for a 40% local food production in 2023, just after the Football World Cup. Even this master plan is debatable as it is uncertain what causes the greatest ecological damage: importing soil and fertilizer, and desalinating millions litres of water to grow a few thousand hectares of food OR continue importing food, but hopefully from countries closer by?

In the meantime the following issues are only bulging: more than 70% of the indigenous population in 2015 is described as overweight or obese, and 15 to 25% suffer from diabetes, depending on which figures you believe. The percentage of overweight, obese and/or diabetic children is one of the highest in the world, which does not bode well for future medical costs. The government is confronting this with amongst others videos highlighting the link between over-shopping and health problems. A local app, called Basket, has also been developed to make people more aware about what they are buying and wasting.

This will still take a long time to sink in as the following shows: of the approximately 280,000 Qatari nationals, between 1,000 and 2,000 yearly undergo bariatric (weight-loss) surgery, and this is increasing. Food over-consumption is also good for the bottom-line of pharmaceutical companies that

sell medicines to counter heartburn, cardio-vascular problems and various diseases that are in part due to weight/eating issues. And for the thousands of restaurants, from super chic to plastic shack, the fast food chains, the stores crammed with food, and the catering industry. Not to mention the advertising money that goes with it.

In 2014 Qatar's 2.235 million residents spent $ 11 billion (or more than QR40 billion) on food. It's an average of almost QR18 000’s worth of food per person per year - including children, the elderly and low-income migrants that make up the bulk of the residents. In a recent theedge article by Sanjay Bhatia, it is stated that Qatar is expected to be the fastest-growing market for food consumption during 2014 to 2019 at a compound annual growth rates (CAGR) of 5.5 percent. By 2019, the country will in all probability consume 2,2 million metric tonnes of food. - http://www.theedge.me/qatar-the-fastest-growing-food-consumption-market-in-the-gcc/ Given the current trend, this will translate into even more food being wasted and ending up in landfills.

“While our study primarily focuses on Qatar, the results may have a regional and global impact,” says Topaloglu. “Similar studies have been conducted around the world. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, one-third of all food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted globally, which is estimated to be approximately 1.3 billion tons per year. Through taking a closer look at the situation in Qatar, we can try to address the issue. However, for the project to be an overall success, we are highly dependent on the co-operation of the public and policy-makers in Qatar.”

The SAFE-Q’s site is at  https://blogs.commons.georgetown.edu/safeq/

Category / Community

Cry the beloved lanePosted on 12 August 2011 by Sybrandus Adema13 Bakkie loads. A few hundred human hours. Just over a R1 000. Blood, sweat, tears, dust and dead rats. That’s what it took to turn a sick Woodstock service lane into a healthy communal space. Sybrandus Adema got all the dirt.It all started innocently enough… Having just moved into Woodstock, we were strolling around the hood when we noticed something. Whereas some service lanes, such as Woodworm and Wadham, where attractive havens of peace, the one behind our house, between Chamberlain and Balfour Streets, looked as if it had been hit by various aerial bombing raids since 1971. Or a tropical cyclone dressed up as a Southeaster last summer.One thing led to another, and before I knew it, a terrible affliction dug its claws into me – a monster called Lane Envy. My soul was tormented by thoughts: These lanes are the blood vessels pumping through the neighbourhood. They carry fresh water supplies, storm water, telephone lines; they serve as emergency exits in case of fire and crime. They are alternative entrances to properties – for emergency personnel, for gardening, moving and building purposes. And most are gated at both sides, so they are safe places for children to play in, learn how to ride a bicycle, grow some vegetables in pots, take the cats for a walk…

Why was ours a clogged artery, full of rubble, weeds, dog excrement, dead rats, broken lights? Hounslow Lane/Steeg (the road sign is covered by a Frangipani) was surely a heart attack ticking away behind the back wall, a tunnel filled with mounds of shrapnel where the homeless and the criminal can hide… and where many feel comfortable enough to turn it into an even bigger rubbish dump. This even though some neighbours cleared the Lane a few years ago, marked all the properties with numbers and left numerous signs imploring “Keep our Lane Glam” and “No dumping, please”.

As swearwords in four languages couldn’t describe the trauma, only one thing remained – actually doing something about it. Following one creation of an email address and one flyer (outlining the problems, the hopes, the photos of the crime scene) distributed to all 63 adjoining properties, the support for the Lane cleanup started emailing in. Not many, but enough to get the cleansing ball rolling.

The first goal was to get rid of a lonely ‘car wreck’, abandoned for years in the middle of the Lane. A few people phoning the traffic police until they couldn’t take it anymore did the trick. Owner of said vehicle pleaded with the officers not to tow it away – and they forced him to park it in Chamberlain Street, better known for its trees than ample parking space. Ag, small victories are better than none.The weather forecast looked good, the timing was right, the email went out, and another flyer was launched: coming Saturday would be L Day. Alas, most of the cyber participants were out of town (or something) but many donated or promised money. Some came whispering “It’s not my rubble there” or “It was the owner before me” or “I’m sure it’s neighbour Sies that dumped those things there”. No point in crying over spilt rubbish; the important issue was, how many people would pitch up?Saturday morning. 9AM. Caffeine kicking in. I open the door slowly. I peer down the Lane.And what a sight it was. First one person, then two, some more peeking out of their gates, and soon the sound of 12 scraping shovels resonated throughout the Lane. The doctor, the paint seller, the chef, the journalist, the carpenter, the filmmaker – all targeting their pet-hate rubble pile. Transport was a problem, but later two bakkies attacked the mounds of rubble from both sides. We met the neighbours, got sweaty and exchanged pleasantries. Within hours the place looked like disaster emergency workers and an NGO had arrived to save the day – the only thing missing was CNN. Down at the Woodstock dump, the trouble was separating some of the rubbish – wood, plastic garden, ‘clean’ building rubble, mice – but the people working there are cool, and masters of recycling (if you need compost, swing by).

To get rid of the last mounds took another 2 days, and many more bakkie loads. The participants dried up, more money poured in and extra help was bought as a few die-hards attacked the lastgemors. No Parking and No Dumping signs went up on the gates. And then a well-paid immigrant attacked it with a broom, to place his stamp of approval on the sweeping change…

To celebrate, a  ‘Reclaim the Lane’ party took place – the most popular and well attended of all the gatherings. This time armed with chairs, tables, braai equipment, food, drinks and more plans to make this communal space (all 850m of it) more convivial, neighbours converged on the centre throughout the day. People opened their Lane-facing garages, put on music and got the fires going. Kids played, dogs barked, cats came to investigate. One group of neighbours looked over their wall, wondering if they could jump over or needed to walk all around. No, no, no, we said, and within seconds the prefab cements slabs were lifted off to create an entrance to their new ‘streetscape’. What was supposed to be a brunch went on until dark – with much fun, laughter, and handshaking, not to mention stories regarding the Lane’s history, the vrot to hot transformation and a particular offender who constantly misplaces the gate keys.

A spring jol is next in the pipe-lane, so the question is, who has Lane Envy now, mmmmmm? Maybe the people around Rainham Lane (this is not a subtle hint!)…PS: Once a service lane is gated, the city council will not clear the rubble, but will still look after the infrastructure (lights, water pipes etc). Many Woodstockers have decided the best way to (not) deal with lane issues, is to go into denial by closing up their back walls and decorating it with barbed wire, broken glass and electric fencing.Here’s the challenge: Turn your trashy service lane or alley into a beautiful haven and send in your stories and photos to cecile@ilovewoodstock.co.za. If your lane is not gated, to have it cleaned you can call Cape Town City’s Solid Waste department on 0860 103 089 or emailwastewise@capetown.gov.za (and report illegal dumping to them as well). The Roads and Stormwater department (broken roads/lane surfaces) can be contacted via 0860 103 054 orwatertoc@capetown.gov.za and Water & Sanitation department (leaks, sewerage) on 0860 103 089 or watertoc@capetown.gov.za. We can’t wait to see the Before and After pics!13

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June 02, 2012   04:32

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SOUTH AFRICAPrice Fixing Can Land Company Directors in Jail 

Sybrandus Adema 

CAPE TOWN, Sep 2 (IPS) - A series of high-profile cases in which big South African companies have been found guilty of fixing the prices of even basic foodstuffs have led to the adoption of a new law that will allow directors and managers to be sent to jail for 10 years or receive a fine of 45,000 euros.

Despite considerable resistance from big business, the Competition Amendment Bill was signed into law this past weekend. This follows a series of scandals in which market-dominant companies formed anti-competitive cartels in various sectors of the South African economy. 

One example involves the prices of wheat and flour dropping since June 2008 but the price of bread still staying put. The collusion seldom happens with luxury goods and services but rather with basic foodstuffs, building materials and medicine -- items that people need. 

On top of this comes prohibitive banking and cellphone costs – all investigated by the Competition Commission of South Africa – that hamper economic empowerment. 

In the past few years companies inflating the consumer prices for milk, bread, medicines (through collusive tendering), steel, cement, soda ash, piping, gas, fertiliser, bicycles and local airline tickets have been exposed through the diligent work of the Competition Commission. 

This statutory body is empowered to investigate, control and evaluate restrictive business practices, abuse of dominant market positions and mergers in order to achieve equity and efficiency in the South African economy. 

Guilty companies have so far been fined up to 22 million euros, paid over to the national treasury. The commission could in the past not demand more than 10 percent of companies’ turnover for the previous financial year and individuals could not be prosecuted. As a result, consumers probably ended up paying the fines through "unavoidable" price increases. 

The new law is aimed at addressing these problems, among others by introducing criminal liability for directors and managers who cause firms to engage in anti-competitive behaviour. 

"People focus on corruption in the government, but these corporations’ executives are criminals, stealing from the poor. They should be prosecuted," insisted Prof Jacklyn Cock, of the department of sociology at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. 

The one direct result of price fixing is probably best put by health24.com’s Dr IV van Heerden. Staple foods, often fortified with various essential vitamins, are vital to the health and productivity of the population but, with ever-rising prices, even basic foods like bread and maize meal are becoming unaffordable to those people who need them most. 

"This will probably mean that the gains made in overall nutrition (in South Africa), which were reported at 2008’s Nutrition Congress in Pretoria, will be reversed. This is the real tragedy of the food price-fixing scam," van Heerden writes. 

But despite this direct effect on the poor, few demonstrations have been seen in response to the scandalous behaviour of the corporations. 

The law was preceded by critical media editorials and opinion pieces, sometimes in tandem with readers’ letters and text messages, complaining about the collusion. The country’s largest trade union, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), also held a protest march in Johannesburg in 2008. 

But widespread protest has not been seen. According to Cock, not enough people read newspapers or are aware of how they are being exploited. "Also, the chain of production is obscure and complicated, and people probably feel overwhelmed by the complex nature of corporations," she explains. 

Richard Pithouse, who teaches politics at Rhodes University in Grahamstown, South Africa, says people are outraged about high food prices and are becoming more desperate. 

He cites a recent protest in the east coast city of Durban by about 100 members of the South African Unemployed People's Movement who walked into two supermarkets, ate food and refused to pay for it to highlight the unaffordability of food. 

"This wasn’t specifically about price fixing because people don’t always see the link between high prices and price fixing," he says. "But it is a classic case of civil disobedience – they were organised and willing to be arrested." 

According to him South Africa has an incredible rate of protest when people are directly confronted by injustice - when it’s obvious and the culprits, especially government officials, are easily identifiable. 

"At the moment only trade unions and social movements are aware of the price-fixing issue," adds Pithouse. "The social movements are currently not that organised around the issue because of a lack of resources and the daily crisis they

face." 

His guess is that if the social movements (with their hands-on approach) and trade unions (with their access to information and organisational skills) could link up, they could challenge the corporations and take them head on. "Many people don’t have food and other bare necessities, so protests should pick up." 

Recently the Competition Commission initiated a large-scale investigation against the major South African supermarket chains, prompted by concerns raised by various stakeholders and the public. 

This entails looking at the concentration of buyer power, long-term exclusive lease agreements, category management (through which one competitor is given the task to manage the placement, promotion and pricing of other competitors’ products, on a category-wide basis) and information exchange. 

The commission is concerned that the retailers could be exchanging price-sensitive information, which may have an impact on competition. If so, this case will be referred to the Competition Tribunal for adjudication. 

Shan Ramburuth, commissioner at the Competition Commission, says cartels by their very nature substantially eliminate or restrict competition. 

"Society and customers suffer as a result. The conduct of the respondents is no different. They have artificially manipulated prices and tendering in such a way that the respondents’ customers were deprived of competitive choices," indicates Ramburuth. 

Last year, delegates at the National Anti-Corruption Summit 2008 strongly supported moves to make price fixing a crime. This has now happened with the promulgation of the Competition Amendment Bill. 

But, apart from corporate threats to challenge the act in court, the commission in the past raised some concerns about the implementation of the law in a country which has seen state capacity falter. 

The commission's Nandi Mokoena – who told delegates at the summit that her organisation regarded price fixing as theft – expressed reservations about making managers criminally liable on the grounds that it will weaken rather than strengthen the commission’s work. 

She argued that the commission had thus far operated within the framework of civil law, where the burden of proof is less stringent than in criminal law. As the commission lacks the capacity to deal with criminal investigations, this responsibility will fall on an already overburdened criminal justice system. 

The change might also discourage firms from making use of the commission’s corporate leniency policy, similar to the plea-bargaining system, which it credits for much of its success. Furthermore, the commission and legal experts worried that the law might not pass the constitutional test, even though they supported the legislation in general. (END/2009)

The greening of Cameroon2004-05-06 11:44

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Sybrandus Adema

Rhumsiki - The remote north of Cameroon, on the border with Nigeria, is a mix of rocky outcrops and eroded hills, with a

surrealistic feeling that is emphasised as the sun goes down and its last rays are reflected against the clouds and natural stone

images.

In the small town of Rhumsiki the lives of most inhabitants are interwoven with the landscape where they cultivate crops, tend

their cattle and build their homes.

Residents meet under "chat trees" where everything is discussed, including marriage arrangements between the young people

of the village. The old soothsayer uses a live freshwater crab to answer questions from his neighbours, and accepts payment for

the service from tourists who brave the narrow dirt track to this remote area of his country.

And it is in this village where a man lives who wants to change the perception of his community - to make them believe in a

future for Africa.

Parents say he is a witch

Kodji Keka has never heard of the New Partnership for African Development (Nepad) and has no access to radios, TV or

electricity. In an area exposed to deforestation, corruption, minimal development and reduced health and educational services,

he soldiers on daily, trying to prove he is not mad as all residents believe him to be.

"It isn't fair that a witchdoctor can predict the future, telling people what to do. I can't accept that," Keka says in angrily.

"The system discourages initiative and change. People are negative. I want to show that everybody can change. Here people

chop down trees and never replace them. Not only here, but everywhere in Africa. What are we to burn as fuel if all the trees are

gone?"

The problems Keka describe, he has encountered at first hand. Unsure of his true age (somewhere between 32 and 38), he

explains that after the death of his four brothers, his parents were convinced he was a witch. "I was kicked out of the house and

started begging for cadeaux(presents) from tourists in Mokolo, a town nearby."

The staff of a mission school took pity on him and educated him - an intervention that changed his life radically. Later he

returned to Rhumsiki, where he realised big tour operators and hotels were making money from the town, without giving

anything back to it.

"I have been fighting for eleven years for the money to stay here. We started a business to show tourists the real Rhumsiki by

preparing local food and giving them the option of staying with residents of the village."

Naked mountain people

Now he has opened a restaurant called Kirdi (referring to the name Muslims from the north call local people). "It means 'naked

mountain people', but I'm proud to be one. I'm proud to call my business by the name," he stresses.

Through his contact with foreigners, he also tries to educate them. "The most positive thing tourists can do is to donate

stationery to the school and medicine to the clinic. It can prevent tourism from causing an even greater rift between rich and

poor.

"The biggest problem here is that people live only for today, according to the dictates of our culture. It always leads to problems,

forcing people to ask for aid. The culture is a clever way of ensuring that a small group gains power over the masses. The

system ensures that people remain as they are.

"Religion also causes us to accept suffering, since it promises a better life after death."

Keka adds with a wry smile: "It will keep us down, for ever. There is no ambition. If the government says 'left' everyone moves to

the left and if they say 'right' everyone moves to the right."

When he started preaching his ideas, his neighbours made his life a misery. But he never gave up and in 1997 he started

planting trees with the idea to perform children's theatre production in the "new forest".

But residents destroyed it when they cleared land by burning everything - a practice that explains the soil erosion. "I then planted

some more trees, but only on my property. It's a battle, but I have 100 trees already," he says proudly. "We cannot live without

trees. We don't need euros or dollars. What we in fact need is for every man to plant one tree each year."

Don't preach to us

When Keka was very young it was still possible to find firewood around his house. Now residents have to walk far to find wood

and hunt for animals - a sad tale that is happening all over Africa.

"One day nothing will be left, unless we start acting now. We have to understand our needs and how we can provide for them.

There is also no sense in Europeans coming here and telling us not to destroy our forests, when their homes are stuffed with

furniture made from African wood."

He says he cannot help everyone, but he is trying to figure out how to change the bigger picture. One resource he uses is street

theatre, by means of which he stresses the importance of education and manages to convey his ideas.

In these plays he uses his own children and those of the area to pose certain socio-economic issues to the audience and to ask

their opinion. One play, for instance depicts the options open to the village children and how it is likely to mould their future.

People need to be free, Keka believes, but they should have a social conscience.

"I try and change things on a small scale. I don't know whether people in other parts of Africa are doing the same. I cannot say

that I'm seeing the changes happening. Maybe after my death. Maybe people will then say I had a role to play." - Media24 Africa

http://152.111.1.87/argief/berigte/dieburger/2008/06/21/SK/19/kongoverhaal.html

’n Veilige kamer vir BlaiseDIT is eers teen Maandagaand, drie dae nadat die geweld teen buitelanders uitgebreek het, dat ek onthou om Blaise te bel.Is alles reg? vra ek die Kongolese motorwag. Waar is julle?Nee, hy is op sy eie, voor die polisiekantoor in die stad. Maar sy swanger vrou en driejarige dogter is by aangetroude familie in ’n woonstel, ver buite die stad, waar nou nege mense in plaas van vier bly. En hy gaan net hier slaap. “Ons is moeg om rondgeskuif te word. Ons is moeg om te vlug,” sê hy boos.Ek ry soontoe, en ons begin die opsies bespreek. Nie dat daar veel is nie. Dit is óf die straat óf . . . Dus trek hy in my sitkamer in. Met ’n rugsak en ’n selfoon: sy skans teen die wêreld en sy kontak met die gesin.Dag vir dag ontvou die drama oor wat daardie dag gebeur het. Mense wat gehardloop het om hul kinders by skole, by crèches te haal. En gevlug het met net een tas. Families wat van mekaar geskei geraak het. Mense met bitter min wat met niks geëindig het.Die ergste was die finansiële rampspoed waarin Blaise en al die slagoffers gedompel is. Om reeds van dag tot dag van die hand in die tand te leef, het skielik in ’n maalkolk van geldnood ontaard. Die huis en meubels wat verloor is, die deposito’s wat verbeur is weens hardvogtige hut-here, ekstra koste vir vervoer, kommunikasie, die dae dat niemand kon

werk nie weens vrees of omdat hulle ander verblyf soek. En die kettingreaksie van al daardie probleme: werk wat verloor word en die ongelooflike stres wat dit op gesinne plaas. Stres wat vertaal word in verwyte, trane en hulpeloosheid.

ONS kyk saam TV, maak saam kos terwyl hy die parkeerpolitiek verduidelik en Kongolese geregte aanmekaarslaan. En elke dag soek ons ’n langtermyn-opsie. Die paar noodsentrums wat ons by die kerke en moskees sien, is skoon, en die vrywilligers staan reg met ’n groot hart en baie kos. Maar hoe lank kan ’n mens ’n vloer met honderde ander deel? Die voorstede is ook skielik vol instromelinge wat elke dag verblyf soek. En terwyl talle Suid-Afrikaners hul hart oopmaak, is daar aasvoëls wat skielik tot R2 000 per maand vra om ’n kamer in ’n afgeleefde huis in ’n selfs meer afgeleefde woonbuurt te huur.Ons bel en bel die organisasies wat ons na ander verwys. Elke dag word geboekstaaf op papiertjies met nommers en name van hoop. Maar die realiteit is dat alles op noodhulp gefokus is en niemand weet wat die lang termyn inhou nie.“Ek soek net ’n Afrika-land waar ek veilig kan woon,” sê Blaise en sug. Bietjie vir bietjie vertel hy sy verhaal: hoe hy as student teen die regering betoog het en die polisie hom in hegtenis probeer neem het. Hy het aan ’n paal vasgehou, en hulle het hom twee keer in die hand geskiet voordat hy hospitaal toe gebring is. Daar het hy verpleërdrag gesteel en met ’n serp om sy stukkende hand uitgestap voordat hy uit die land gevlug het. ’n Land wat hy nie weer sal sien nie totdat die politieke omstandighede – wat hy via telefoonoproepe en my internet-afdrukke volg – heeltemal verander het nie. ’n Geskiedenis wat pynlik te sien is op sy hand wat nooit reg behandel is nie en wat hy onder ’n handskoen versteek.

SY vrou en jongste kind het uiteindelik na Suid-Afrika gekom, maar sy ander drie kinders word deur hul oupa en ouma grootgemaak. Al het hy hier vlugtelingstatus, hang alles soos altyd aan ’n draadjie. Sy broer was ’n dosent aan die Universiteit van Kaapstad, maar is vier jaar gelede vermoor tussen die stasie en hul huis – ’n saak wat nie verder as ’n papierdossier gevorder het nie.Ek daag een keer op om hom op te laai waar hy by Shoprite Checkers werk, maar vind hom in ’n winkel waar hy die dag se kleingeld vir note omruil. Daar is ’n tienrandnoot en ’n paar muntstukke op die toonbank – die somtotaal van ’n dag se werk in die koue en reën. Hy staar benoud na die kassier voor hom, met sy liggaam wat gespanne die wens uitdruk dat daar meer geld is as wat dit lyk, terwyl sy stadig optel. Ek is verleë en stap by hom verby voordat hy my kan sien, want sy selfrespek is soms ál wat hom aan die gang hou. “Gemiddeld maak ek maar R40 tot R60,’’ vertel hy tog later. “En op ’n goeie dag R100, maar dit is uitsonderlik.’’ Hoe hy, wat eens as elektrisiën gewerk het, met hierdie kriesel-loon huur kan betaal en eet, weet nugter alleen.

INTUSSEN bly ons soek, ’n veilige Afrika-land vergete; ’n veilige kamer die teiken. Snags ry ons na plekke – te duur, te klein, reeds gevul. Daar is ook ’n onderonsie met ander Kongolese wat hom ’n rat voor die oë probeer draai deur lang verhale en talle oproepe. Kortom, hy moet hulle betaal, dan kan hy iemand anders se kamer oorneem. Maar ons sien nooit die plek nie.“Ons Kongolese staan net nie saam nie,’’ verduidelik hy. “Die Zimbabwiërs, die Keniane, die Malawiërs, hulle help mekaar.” En die Nigeriërs? “A, die Nigeriërs! Jy weet, ons is vlugteling hier, ons is verleë, ons is amper jammer dat ons leef. Maar die Nigeriërs, hulle vat nie nonsens nie. Nie van enigiemand nie. Hulle verbaas my altyd,” sê hy half jaloers.Ons ry ook ’n paar keer na die township om hul karige besittings by verskillende bêreplekke op te laai. Klaarblyklik is daar inwoners wat die buitelanders gehelp het en steeds skaam kry oor wat hul bure gedoen het. Maar om weer daar te gaan woon, is nie ’n opsie nie – die vertroue is aan skerwe.Blaise vertel sy verhaal aan ’n paar ander mense wat hom daagliks op straat sien. Een bars in trane uit en belowe dat sy gaan help. ’n Paar dae later het sy inderdaad goeie nuus: Blaise-hulle kan ’n kamer huur by haar vriend se ma. Dit is baie nader aan die stad en vervoer. Sy oë is nat as hy die groter kamer sien. “Ek weet nie wat ek gedoen het om al hierdie hulp te verdien nie; dis ongelooflik. Dankie, dankie,” herhaal hy onophoudelik.

DIE trekdag breek aan, en die motor is vir oulaas volgeprop. Die bokse wat in die sitkamer gestapel was, is weg en al die naam-en-nommer-papiertjies in die asblik. Ons ry eers ’n draai om ’n luukse kitskosmaaltyd te koop om die nuwe lewe mee te vier – vir ’n opgewonde vrou en kind wat wag by die huis waarop hulle hul toekoms wil bou.Buite in die donker, voor die motor, bedel ’n Keniaan: “Asseblief, help my, ek het twee dae laas geëet.”En Blaise, wat so min het, krap in sy beursie, gee skaam-skaam vir hom R5 en sê in gebroke Engels: “Ek verstaan, my broer; ook ek kom van ver. Ek verstaan.”

Mense wat gevlug het weens die konflik in die westelike Soedanse streek Darfoer, het eergister in die ooste van Tjad in ’n stofstorm skuiling gesoek by die Djabal-kamp naby Gos Beida. Foto: REUTERS

Strike a gong for Dugong Beach Lodge

Travel | April 6 2010The warm waters of a Mozambican nature reserve are the ideal place to indulge in water sports... or simply to indulge in doing nothing, writes Sybrandus Adema Read Story

Eye your feast on ReunionTravel | November 20 2006When you're living on the enchanting island of Reunion, it gets under your skin, as Sybrandus Adema discovered after staying there for 18 months Read Story

Eye your feast on ReunionNovember 18 2005 at 11:15am 

The dodo may be dead, but Réunion - considered by some to have been the one-time island playground of one variety of the bird - is alive and kicking.

Because, for reasons known only to the universe, Earth's forces have chosen this tiny speck between Mauritius and Madagascar to hold a showdown.

In the one corner an active volcano spews lava, increasing the island's height and girth.

In the other, the Indian Ocean heaves with all its might to subdue this hard-headed piece of land: huge waves erode the coastal belt and the tropical waters fuel cyclones to batter the island with record-breaking downpours and winds.

The battle has been raging for more than a million years, with the flora and fauna joining in, and humans making their appearance only in the past three centuries.

Thus far Réunion is winning, flexing its mountainous muscle to a heigh of 3 000m and every so often gaining an extra few square metres.

Furthermore, each species' adaptation to this intense paradise has resulted in peculiarities that are amazing to see and fun to experience.

Eroded coral and lava have produced white and black beaches lying cheek to cheek, while the mountains play host to hundreds of waterfalls, hidden green ravines, immense rock barriers and tropical forests.

On the few slopes that can be cultivated, the highly rated Bourbon vanilla rubs shoulders with geraniums, sugar cane, mango and litchi trees, interspersed with colourful flowers and traditional Creole houses.

But make no mistake: the old forms an ever-diminishing living museum set against what has become a modernised département of France - where Europe and Africa link up and East meets West.

Houses here are often separated only by alleys and small streets, brimming with brand new cars, where goats lounge beside highways, where sugar cane is transported by ox-cart and gigantic airconditioned truck, and where old Creole people with hats and flower dresses kneel down at the countless Catholic, Hindu and Chinese temples, while their scantily clad teenagers apply bright make-up for night-long discos.

It's a place of rum and superstition, chic French boutiques and sun-seekers.

The island's short history has given birth to a rich Creole culture that is still defining its language and itself.

Where else do people call one another comrade and read a communist daily newspaper while putting Americans to shame with their spending sprees?

Or a climate typified by sweltering summers at the coast with minimum temperatures above 25°C, while winters occasionally surprise inhabitants with snow-falls?

The tourist office promotes Réunion as "the intense island" and that's no idle talk. The island offers so many extreme sports that many macho French go there exclusively for their tropical adrenaline shots.

Diving, surfing, world-class canyoning, death-defying rock climbing, white-water rafting, quad-bike trails, horseriding, kite surfing, paragliding and excruciating two-day cross-country races over mountains are just some of the options.

And, thanks to the fickle weather, one can expect changeable conditions to add an extra dimension of challenge.

Fortunately, tourists can also adapt to the majority's lifestyle, which revolves around plentiful good food, daily siestas, lounging on the beach and playing card games under shady trees.

And shopping. The best beaches for bumming are on the west coast, stretching from Boucon Canot in the north to Saline le Bas.

The lagoon offers coral reefs, waves and shady beaches, and the backdrop to magnificent sunsets that call for real French Champagne.

Luxury hotels, restaurants, bars and clubs are a dime a dozen, ensnaring many tourists and resulting in their experiencing only a fraction of what the island has to offer.

"Les pieds dans l'eau" ("Your feet in the water") is, after all, how they entice clients.

Don't be fooled by the island's diminutive 60km-by-80km dimension: if you want to experience most of Réunion's highlights, you'll need a good two weeks. Some of the most spectacular places are accessible only by foot, unless you want to hire a helicopter.

In the south the active volcano burns for attention, and rightly so. You can drive right up to the edge of the main crater by car.

Here the superb view reminds one of images from another planet. The walk to the actual mouth of the crater takes about an hour and is well worth the trek over the wide, black, rocky landscape.

It's an easy walk, but best made early as the clouds usually come up after 10am, spoiling the sea view.

Unless, of course, you prefer sleeping in and enjoy stumbling about in the haunting mist.

Much lower down the mountain the volcano museum offers an informative and graphic idea of what you saw at the top.

Three cirques (rugged amphitheatres created when one of the volcanoes caved in) dominate the north-west.

In the Salazie cirque - best known for Hell-Bourg, one of the best-preserved of Creole towns - you can feast your eyes on beautiful architecture and gardens.

The feast extends to your stomach when you sample the excellent Creole food, flavoured with rich vanilla sauces and better digested with rhum-arrangé (rums mixed with fruit and spices).

Stay over and discover just why the old colonials chose this town for a respite from the heat (and to heal their aching bones at the spa, which was unfortunately devastated in a cyclone).

A long and winding drive brings you to the Cilaos cirque.

The town is not only known for its spectacular scenery and spa - this one still operational - but also for locally produced wine and flowers.

From here, as with the other cirques, one can go on hundreds of walks, many of them following old trails forged when escaped slaves fled sadistic land barons on the coast.

The excellent La Maison du Peuplement showcases the history of the highlands population.

At 3 069m above sea level, the island's loftiest peak, Piton de Neige, towers over the town. It can be conquered on a two-day trek, with a stop at a gte (a hut where beds, food and, as always, rum are provided).�

The third cirque, Mafate, has no real town and no roads, but it does have a super-fit postman, who takes to the valleys and mountains to deliver letters to the inhabitants of the farthest-flung ilots (patches of flat land pitched on steep hills resembling islands in this carved-up world).

To gain an insight into the island's geological growing pains, it is recommended that you enter this hidden treasure from Sans Souci via the amazing "canal route".

It's an incredible combination of sky-high, carved-up mountains, ravines and vertiginous drops, on which the sun dances in an ever-changing light display.

The friendly inhabitants offer g'tes, stories - and more rum. In summer you will feel compelled to cool down in one of many rivers that rush down to the coast.

Don't be surprised if you find yourself wanting to walk for more days than originally planned: there are enough routes to keep one's body active while the mind goes Zen.

Once you have returned from the outback, you'll find still more things to enjoy: villages, outdoor markets, food and cultural festivals, monuments, historic sights, daylong picnics and relaxing in bistros sipping coffee or traditional tea (thé sain) served with delicious pastries.

All this with thousands of signs clamouring for your attention with the exclamation: La Dodo lé la! ("The dodo is there!" in Réunionese Creole).

The dodo, it turns out, is a popular local beer that keeps the name of Réunion's favourite would-be curio alive.

And phooey to those (many, alas) who doubt that Raphus solitarius, the "white dodo", ever actually existed - or, if it did, made its home on Réunion rather than the Mauritian island of Rodriguez. It matters not.

Let your imagination take flight. You will find your dodo - and, if you're not swallowing a myth, you can devour the beverage of that name instead. All this less than four hours from Joburg.

If you go

Visas: South African passport-holders need a visa to enter Réunion. You can apply for one at the French embassy or consulate.

Telephone: 011-778-5605; 012-425-1600; 011-778- 5605 or 021-422 1338.

Getting there: Air Austral (0861-340-340 or 011-268-0508) and Air Mauritius (011-444-4600) fly to the island, the latter giving you the option of departing from Durban, Cape Town or Johannesburg and arriving in either the north or south of the island.

Launguage: Remember your Speak French In 24 Hours - unless you stick to "Little Paris", the name given to the touristy west coast. Creoles also call it Zoreilleland as it is a magnet for mainland French (called Zoreilles). Ask locals to explain this cheeky reference and other phrases in Réunionese Creole.

When there: The Réunionese tourist offices have free, multilingual guidebooks listing accommodation places, restaurants and tourist sights.

The must-see museum is the stunning old sugar factory Stella Matutina on the west coast which chronicles the island's history. Must-taste museums on the island revolve around chocolate, beer and spices.

Weather: Avoid the cyclone season, from February to April.

Info: Phone Pierre Saliba, of the French Tourism Office in Joburg, on 011-523-8292 or 082-449-7715; send an e-mail to: mdfsa@frenchdoor.co.za or check out the following websites:

www.la-Reunion-tourisme.com and www.Reunionmagic.net/adventures.htm This article was originally published on page 14 of The Star on November 19, 2005

Mangoes for the journey2004-06-14 07:52

Print this article

Sybrandus Adema

Cuamba, Mozambique - It is almost midnight at a dark railway station in the north of Mozambique, near the Malawi

border.

There is hardly any chance of sleeping, no facilities and even fewer chances at securing a comfortable seat on the train.

The train departs at 04:00, long before the sun is up, from Cuamba to the nearest town, Nampula, on a journey during

which there is likely to be much trading.

Buying a ticket means getting as close as you can to the railway line to ensure a seat. A shadowy image snakes closer.

The train has arrived! Old and young scramble through windows and doors.

If notices displayed on the doors are anything to go by, the train is also destined for Bethlehem in the Free State province

in South Africa. However, those wheels have clearly not seen that country in a very long time.

Inside the train it is a hive of activity as passengers stake out their seats - for themselves, their luggage and comrades still

struggling to board the train. People are selling beer, cooldrinks, pregoes and plastic bags.

The diesel locomotive creaks and moans with gusto as it strains to carry on without a breakdown. Sunrise is a fantastic

sight as monstrous rocky crags emerge through the morning mists.

First mango stop

Half an hour later we come to the first mango stop. Scores of people are stading next to the railway line with freshly

picked mangoes. Polio, war and HIV/Aids have left their marks on many passengers. Some have no legs, others have lost

an arm. Nothing, however, prevents them from crawling around, haggling over prices and pushing huge, heavy bags of

mangoes through the windows.

Passengers are in a jovial mood, sharing food and stories with everyone. A man, who introduces himself as Kabamba* is

from the southern parts of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, speaks four languages, including English.

He is on his way to a refugee camp in Mozambique to join his family. They had been settled in a camp in Tanzania before.

"There are too many refugees, too much xenophobia and too little money," he complains.

He studies a map of Africa and points to Johannesburg: "Do you know, everyone in Africa wants to go there. I've seen

photos; it's fantastic."

But Kabamba hopes to return home some day. "Despite all the problems it's a good country, with good people."

He eagerly reads books about the DRC: "I am trying to understand what happened, but it is beyond me."

This extremely intelligent man, whose enthusiasm cannot be suppressed, is similar to many others on the train facing a

difficult struggle on a continent where there is very little compassion with the poor. The poor transport system, which

seldom accommodates passengers' comfort, and definitely not their safety, is evidence of this.

A Mozambican, Danito* helps where he can. He is taking his wife to family - from there she has to travel to South Africa to

undergo surgery. He shows doctors' letters and other documents indicating what awaits her in Johannesburg at

astronomical costs. The guest house where they will be staying is clearly exploiting them, but what else can he do?

Colonial station

Yet another old colonial stations appears on the horizon: The building in ruins, its clock that stopped at 7:15 goodness

knows when and a burnt out tank stands in a side street with its barrel aimed at the railway line.

In contrast to the south of the country, where signs of the war are being removed hurriedly, the north bears testimony to

that era.

The journey has started taking its toll. The train has become even more crowded and the smell of mangoes is

overwhelming. It is late in the afternoon and guards are manhandling handcuffed pickpockets, dragging them to the back

of the train.

Mangoes for the poor

Nampula is drawing close and mango trees are disappearing. But mangoes are raining on those standing near the railway

lines as generous passengers toss the fruit at them - a gentlemen's agreement honoured by the poor in large parts of

Africa.

A thunderstorm accompanies the train into the town and hundreds on the platform greet its arrival jubilantly. It is, however,

not a welcoming cry, but desperate residents, many of them Aids orphans, trying to scrounge something for nothing.

Despite the driving rain and whip-wielding guards, many try to board the train - to steal food or merely to get the best price

for their wares.

Passengers tumble from windows and doors carrying bulging bags.

It is time to do some business before the next train departs for Cuamba - and before the mango season ends.

* Pseudonyms have been used. - Media24 Africa

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Hoë kommissaris bou SA beeld in Brittanje Cheryl Carolus se sjarme boul buitelanders uitMe. Cheryl Carolus: `Londen is besig, maar om doodeerlik te wees, ek sal uiters verveeld raak in 'n nege-tot-vyf-werk. Ek hou daarvan om nuwe grense te beproef en ek is versot op my werk.'

Sybrandus Adema

Vandeesmaand verstryk die helfte van die vierjaar-dienstydperk van Suid-Afrika se hoë kommissaris in Brittanje, me. Cheryl Ann Carolus (43), in dié land. Sybrandus Adema het met haar gesels.

haar oor die laaste twee jaar en die toekoms uitgevra.

Londen. Jy kan Cheryl Carolus nie miskyk by openbare ge leenthede nie.

Met haar gemaklike, openhartige en reguit styl betrap sy dalk menige stywelip-Brit onverhoeds, maar danksy haar sjarme en eerlikheid hang hulle gou aan háár lippe.

``Ons het 'n pragtige land wat maklik is om te verkoop,'' sê sy. ``Die storie wat ons in Suid-Afrika bou, is inderdaad die storie wat begin om baie van die uitdagings vir die moderne wêreld aan te pak of dit nou om demokrasie, onderhandelings of rasseverhoudinge gaan.''

Op 'n persoonlike vlak meen sy sy het baie gegroei die afgelope twee jaar. ``Londen is besig, maar om doodeerlik te wees, ek sal uiters verveeld raak in 'n nege-tot-vyf-werk. Ek hou daarvan om nuwe grense te beproef en ek is versot op my werk.''

Volgens Carolus vaar Suid-Afrika baie goed. ``Ons word gerespekteer oor ons gesofistikeerde infrastruktuur en die vlakke van vaardighede en politieke bestuur. Ons ekonomiese herstel het bewys dat dit moontlik is om ontwikkelingsbehoeftes en ekonomiese noodsaaklikhede te versoen.''

Sy reken Suid-Afrika het al talle van die kwessies opgelos waarmee Brittanje nog worstel ná die politieke veranderings daar. Só kan die Britte in hul hantering van die Noord-Ierse kwessie baie put uit die Suid-Afrikaanse ervaring.

Die hoë kommissariaat het hom die afgelope paar jaar daarop toegespits om Suid-Afrikaners in Brittanje deel te maak van die proses om die land te bemark. ``Op enige gegewe tyd is daar tussen 400 000 en 500 000 Suid-Afrikaners in Brittanje 'n syfer wat ons in samewerking met die Britse departement van buitelandse sake bepaal het,'' sê Carolus.

Met inagneming van hul opleiding en vaardighede probeer die hoë kommissaris dié Suid-Afrikaners saamsnoer in wat sy grappenderwys ``Suid-Afrika Ge¨nkorporeer'' noem.

``Hulle help om 'n kwalitatiewe verskuiwing in die persepsies oor Suid-Afrika te bewerkstellig. Maar daar is nog 'n skokkende onkunde hier oor Suid-Afrika en Afrika.''

Sy raak baie kwaad oor sommige van die Britse mediadekking oor Suid-Afrika. ``Dit word darem beter en veral die ernstiger media, soos onderwys-, ekonomiese en ontwikkelingstydskrifte, skets 'n meer ewewigtige prentjie.''

Op ekonomiese vlak is Suid-Afrika en die plaaslike Suid-Afrikaners toenemend besig om hulle te onderskei. ``Vir die eerste keer in baie dekades het ons 'n handelsoorskot met Brittanje en lyk die vooruitsigte op ekonomiese groei baie goed.''

As deel van die kommissariaat se ekonomiese strategie identifiseer hy toenemend nismarkte wat vir Suid-Afrikaanse bedrywe van belang is. Verlede jaar het Carolus Skotland en Wallis besoek waar sy met belangrike streekregerings en sakelui onderhandel het.

``Daar is reeds talle suksesverhale. Só verskaf 'n Suid-Afrikaanse maatskappy al die allooiwiele vir motors soos BMW, Rover en Rolls-Royce/Bentley. Die Volkswagen Golf 4- en BMW 3-reekse vir Brittanje word ten volle in Suid-Afrika vervaardig.''

Die grootste ekonomiese slag is geslaan in die handels- en ontwikkelingsooreenkoms tussen die Europese Unie en Suid-Afrika. Hoewel sommige lidlande steeds 'n stok in die wiel probeer steek, is dit veral die steun van Brittanje wat die druk op die onderhandelings volgehou het.

En dié druk is grootliks te danke aan die kommissariaat en ander rolspelers wat Europa herinner het aan die belofte wat nog gedoen is aan oudpres. Nelson Mandela.

Vanjaar sal die hoë kommissaris voortgaan om op streekvlak sakelui en regeerders te oortuig van die voordele van handel met Suid-Afrika.

Hulle beplan ook 'n ``Vier Suid-Afrika-fees''. Op ekonomiese vlak behels dit dat die land as 'n ``ontluikende mark met 'n verskil'' bevorder word. Op kultuurvlak sal talle Suid-Afrikaanse kunstenaars einde Augustus aan die Edinburg-kunstefees deelneem.

``Verder wil ons deelneem aan die Notting Hill-karnaval (in Londen) omdat dit die grootse karnaval in Europa is.'' Die doel is dat die plaaslike Suid-Afrikaanse gemeenskap saam sal kom en help om handel met en toerisme na Suid-Afrika te bevorder.

``Ek het net onlangs met 'n toeragentskap gesels wat weer bevestig het dat mense slegs een keer na Suid-Afrika moet gaan om verlief te raak op die land.''

Die kommissariaat het die afgelope jaar gebuk gegaan onder kritiek op sy dienslewering, maar volgens Carolus is dit deels die gevolg van sy eie sukses. ``Sedert 1994 het Britse toerisme na Suid-Afrika verdubbel en handel tussen die twee lande toegeneem. Talle Suid-Afrikaanse bedrywe raak meer globaal mededingend en brei uit na Brittanje,'' verduidelik sy.

``Gekoppel aan die feit dat Brittanje die grootste konsentrasie Suid-Afrikaners buite Suid-Afrika het, is daar dus groot druk op die konsulaatdienste. Sake is ook nie deur 'n kleiner begroting vergemaklik nie.

``Maar dinge behoort nou beter te gaan. Oor die algemeen was Suid-Afrikaners geduldig en het hulle die soort humor getoon waarom ons so bekend is.''

Nog 'n kwessie wat opgelos moet word, is dié van Suid-Afrika Huis. Die binneversiering weerspieël 'n baie ou, en plek-plek selfs kitscherige, Suid-Afrika. Hoewel talle kunstenaars, ander individue en maatskappye al aangedui het hulle sal help, wag die kommissariaat totdat almal saam beplan het.

Nie net sal die kuns in Suid-Afrika Huis alle kulture in Suid-Afrika weerspieël nie, maar die gebou sal ook gemoderniseer word. ``Ons gaan toenemend van inligtingstegnologie gebruik gemaak om Suid-Afrika nog meer as 'n gesofistikeerde Afrika-land te projekteer,'' sê Carolus.

Intussen berei sy haar voor op haar ``halftermyn-besoek'' aan Suid-Afrika later vandeesmaand, wetende dat sy oor twee jaar aan Brittanje tot siens moet sê. ``Ek kan nie vir altyd hier woon nie, al het ek intussen geleer om dit baie te geniet. Ek wil teruggaan en 'n verskil dáár maak.

``Ek is oud genoeg om die wreedhede van apartheid self te belewe het en presies te verstaan waarom dit tot 'n misdaad teen die mensdom verklaar is. Terselfdertyd is ek baie bevoorreg om jonk genoeg te wees om positief by te dra tot die land se heropbou.''

Jong Suid-Afrikaners in Brittanje lê haar na aan die hart. ``Ek wil hulle aanmoedig om hul tyd hier te bestee deur waarde toe te voeg tot hul lewe, en om dan terug te gaan na Suid-Afrika en 'n verskil te maak in hul eie land.''

Soos talle jong Suid-Afrikaners sal kan getuig wat al hier deur haar nader gehaak is: sy bedoel dit uit die diepte van haar hart.

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Uitgeweke Vernon February se hart bly nog Suid-AfrikaansSybrandus Adema

Die uitgeweke Suid-Afrikaanse skrywer en literatuurkenner Vernon February (60), wat al veertig jaar in die buiteland woon, brand van verlange huis toe. Sybrandus Adema het met hom in Nederland gesels.

Dis nie maklik om met Vernon February 'n onderhoud te kry nie. Hy werk in Leiden, sy vrou is siek en skielik sterf 'n tante van hom ook nog.

``Interessante taalverhaaltjie,'' sê hy oor die telefoon. ``Sy het veertig jaar in Engeland gewoon, maar die paar dae tussen haar beroerte en dood het sy skielik daarop aangedring om net Afrikaans te praat. Wat toe beteken het dat daar vir haar getolk moes word.''

Hy weet nie wat die rede was nie, ``maar dit was asof Engels skielik nie meer vir haar bestaan het nie''.

Uiteindelik is ons in sy tipies Nederlandse ``apartement'' in die suide van Leiden, waar dit gou duidelik is dat February se hart (en sy Somerset-Wes-T-hemp) ongetwyfeld nog Suid-Afrikaans is. Ondanks vier dekades in die buiteland.

As een van die eerste ``eiewys'' anti-apartheidstryders wat in Nederland sy weg gevind het, het hy baie verhale om te vertel 'n geskiedenis van verset, studie, boeke publiseer en veral insette lewer. Wat ook 'n rol gespeel het in die herskepping van Suid-Afrika. Hy ken pres. Thabo Mbeki persoonlik en het groot vertroue in hom.

Waarom Nederland?

``Ek het die keuse gehad om na Engeland te gaan, maar het Nederland verkies vanweë die taalverwantskap.'' Hy het daar in die literatuur gestudeer en 'n doktorsgraad behaal. Toe les gegee in verskeie Afrika-lande voordat hy terug in Nederland in Kreoolse literatuur gaan spesialiseer het. Hy het in onder meer die Suriname en Amerika les gegee en lid geword van die Universiteit van Leiden se Afrika-studiesentrum.

Terwyl February in Ghana gewerk het, het pres. Kwame Nkrumah gesterf. ``Hy was die man wat Afrika-bewussyn gepropageer het, wat gepraat het oor die rennaisance. Ek het toe gemerk dat sy invloed ontsettend groot is in Afrika.''

Hy is verbaas dat Mbeki, wat dieselfde filosofie aanhang, nie meermale na Nkrumah verwys nie.

Hy onthou hy ``kon destyds dinge skryf en sê wat julle by die huis nie kon nie.

``Ek het gesê: `Julle kan veg teen die stelsel, maar Afrikaans is nié die taal van die onderdrukker nie.' Sommige mense was nie dankbaar dat ek dit gesê het nie, maar dit móés gesê word.''

Hy het in dié tyd in Afrikaans bly dig en skryf. ``Ek het besef dat ek oor my eie land moes skryf en dit was baie moeilik omdat jy dan van 'n afstand skryf. Maar terselfdertyd kon ek veel meer dinge sien oor my land as julle. Só kon ek veel meer oor die Soweto-opstande sien oor TV.

``Dus is jy konstant daaraan herinner dat jy 'n Suid-Afrikaner is . . . deur geweld. Soms was dit pynlik, want ek het dinge gesien wat ek liefs nie wou gesien het nie.''

Suid-Afrikaners in Nederland in dié tyd?

``Aan die begin was hier maar min Suid-Afrikaners. Die eerste mense wat gekom het, het 'n Nederlandse agtergrond gehad, jy weet, `halfbroertje' of `volle broer'. Dit het interessant geraak toe meer swart Suid-Afrikaners na Nederland gekom het wat nie 'n taal- of familie-agtergrond gedeel het met die land nie.

``Toe het ons veel meer kontak met mekaar gesoek as Suid-Afrikaners. En saam apartheid beveg. Mettertyd kom daar toe ook wit Suid-Afrikaners wat diensplig ontduik het. Dit gee toe 'n ander perspektief, want vir die eerste keer word Nederlanders gekonfronteer met wit Suid-Afrikaners wat nie bereid is om vir apartheid te veg nie.

``Langsamerhand is ons almal in mekaar se arms gedryf.''

En toe?

``In 1989 het ons nie geweet dinge gaan verander nie, maar ons het goed gehoor. Ek kry toe 'n oproep van Lusaka dat ek na Zimbabwe moet kom. Maar waar presies het ek nie geweet nie, totdat ons by die Victoria-waterval aangekom het.''

En só word February deel van daardie geskiedkundige beraad wat 'n belangrike grondslag gelê het vir die veranderings wat op hande was.

1991 was'n ``goue jaar''. February het geld van die Nederlandse regering gekry om taalkundige boeke te publiseer en 'n kongres oor inheemse tale in Suid-Afrika te reël. Volgens hom het Afrikaners 'n veel groter bemoeienis met inheemse tale gehad as Engelssprekendes.

Hy het ereprofessor in literatuur aan die Universiteit van die Wes-Kaap geword. ``My intreerede was oor veral Afrikaans in die veranderende politiek. Maar my hooftema was dat ons nie na Nederland moet kyk nie, maar gaan kyk na Nederland as kolonialiserende land. Indoniesië, Antille ensovoorts. Die mense daar praat ook op 'n ander manier Nederlands, soortgelyk aan ons situasie.''

Terug in Suid-Afrika het hy skielik besef hoe groot die afstande is. Al die werk en reis het sy gesondheid geknou totdat hy ``tot orde geroep is deur die Grootbaas''.

Dis te bevraagteken of hy rustiger is, want elke paar minute spring hy op om boeke en foto's te wys, onder meer van hom en Mbeki.

Wil hy dalk permanent terug na Suid-Afrika gaan?

``Ons land het vir my baie spesiaal geword. Ek merk dat namate jy ouer word, word dit moeiliker om in 'n ander land te woon.'' En hy maak dit duidelik dat Suid-Afrika steeds sy, ``ons'' land is ondanks sy band met Nederland. 'n Band wat versterk word deur sy Nederlandse vrou en hul agttienjarige dogter.

``My familie sal my nie vashou nie. Ek is dankbaar dat ek die kans gehad het om hier te woon. Daaroor sal ek nooit spyt hê nie. Ek is dankbaar dat ek die kennis wat ek hier opgedoen het, kan inploeg in Suid-Afrika. Maar ek het nooit gedroom dat ek my lewe lank in 'n ander land sal woon nie.''

Waarvan hou hy in Nederland?

``Die mense is baie reguit en eerlik. Ons Suid-Afrikaners soek altyd 'n omweg om nie mekaar seer te maak nie. Die mense hier is ook baie goed met selfkritiek.''

Is daar iets negatiefs?

``Daar is nie baie ruimte nie. Maar hulle het my 'n ander soort ruimte gegee wat ek nie by die huis gehad het nie. In ruil vir die fisieke ruimte wat my ontneem is, het ek hier geestelike ruimte gekry.''

Nederlanders se kennis oor Afrika en Suid-Afrika?

``In die jare sestig was dit nie so groot nie. Dit het stadig gegroei, want danksy die televisie kon jy dit nie meer ignoreer nie. Soms kry ek die indruk dat hulle almal anti-apartheidstryders was, maar dis die soort indruk wat hulle ook probeer gee van die Tweede Wêreldoorlog dat hulle almal versetstryders was.''

Hy meen die belangstelling in Suid-Afrika het baie afgeneem, soos bewys deur die relatief min aandag wat aan die verkiesing en Mbeki se inhuldiging gegee is.

Wat dink hy van Mbeki?

``Hy moes ook na die buiteland uitwyk, maar het die ruimte gebruik om te studeer. Baie mense sê hy is moeilik om te benader; dalk omdat hy lank uit die land was. Maar moenie vergeet nie, Thabo sit met 'n legende. Om darem elke dag in die skaduwee van Madiba te moet staan . . .

``Hy het visie, hy sal groei en die sinici verkeerd bewys. Ek is nie 'n profeet nie, maar ek en ander het genoeg vertroue in sy bestuursvermoë.

``Thabo het die man geword wat hy is juis ómdat hy lank buite gewoon het. Wat sou hy gewees het as hy nét in Suid-Afrika gewoon het?''

http://152.111.1.88/argief/berigte/beeld/1997/02/7/4/12.html

In die hitte en die stryd is daar vrede om 'n waterkraan...ILLUSTRASIE:foto: 'n Groep kinders en jong mense van Brixton, Johannesburg, op pad om die Sowejoca-protesaksie in Westbury te gaan ondersteun.

Sybrandus Adema

IN Westbury is dit nog vroeg, maar die humeure, en vure, vlam al op. ``Dis nie 'n Kleurlingkwessie nie,'' sê party betogers, maar dis duidelik dat die oorgrote meerderheid dink dít is presies wat dit is. Die Polisie en joernaliste word rassistiese aanmerkings toegesnou en om iewers met die motor uit te kom, moet 'n mens maar glimlag, die vredesteken wys en jou perskaart in die lug hou. Via die selfoon hoor ons daar is 'n groot gemors in Eldoradopark. Ons jaag soos besetenes daarheen, maar die pad is versper deur verkeersbeamptes. Hulle weier om ons toe te laat, ondanks die perskaarte en pleidooie. Ompaaie en verskeie padversperrings later is ons wel in dié brandpunt. Verskeie joernaliste het reeds deurgeloop en in die warmste tyd van die dag drom die mense saam, gooi klippe en hardloop weg van die traangas. Soos in die ander gebiede is die skerp reuk van brandende bande oral teenwoordig. Ook hier dra party betogers die South Western Joint Civic Association (Sowejoca) se T-hemde met die woorde ``Die storie gaan aan''. En dit gaan aan die hele middag lank. En ook hier het elke betoger 'n ander rede vir die betogings. Van rassisme, agterstallige huurgeld en swak behuising tot die onderdruk king van Afrikaans. En een jong man, gewapen met 'n mes, sê hy weet glad nie wat aangaan nie, maar toe hy sien die diensstasie word geplunder, het hy gou aangesluit. Dit is juis by dié diensstasie waar weer petrolbomme gegooi word. Die koeëls fluit en die lug is die ene traangas. Beseerdes, onder andere 'n seuntjie, word deur histeriese ka merade weggesleep. Ek word self amper met 'n klip raak gegooi toe ek te na aan 'n polisievoertuig staan. Die wit rook pluim wat die traangas maak, kan vermy word, maar dit versprei veel verder. En mens se traanoë getuig daarvan. Nog 'n fotograaf word in sy nek geskiet in die malheid. Alles lyk maar sinloos, met die Po lisie wat hier en daar rondbeweeg terwyl die betogers verdeel en saamkom voordat albei partye weer in 'n skermutseling betrokke raak. Maar in die bloedige hitte is daar 'n onsigbare wit vlag by 'n waterkraan waar almal, die Polisie, betogers en media, gereeld 

vergader om gou 'n sluk water te drink voordat die stryd voortgesit word.