The grass isn't always greener

When things are looking down it can be an eye opener to see things from another's perspective.

I've written a couple of times in my blog about how things seem to be looking bleak in South Africa. Our major institutions central to democracy, are all under challenge, there are economic and infrastructure problems, and crime is always a big issue.

On the front page of today's Business Day is a story titled: More Afrikaners Flock off to Australia. According to the article more and  more South Africans are thinking of emigrating to Australia. Crime and political uncertainty in South Africa, and good job opportunities in Australia, are the main driving factors.

As I read the article I thought back to a conversation I had last week with a Belgian businessman. I sat next to him on the flight back from Lusaka, following our in-country Citizen Journalism in Africa workshop. Anyway, we got chatting and the Belgian man told me he'd just been on safari, and that he comes to this part of the world at least once a year.

Then he said, he's planning to move to southern Africa. He said, "my friends tell me I'm crazy, that it's unsafe, but I feel safer here than in Belgium." He went on to say that in Belgium he's had two cars stolen, been hijacked with a machine gun against his head, and dealt with an attempt to kidnap his daughter. "At least in this part of the world you know there are dangers and you learn to deal with them," he said. "But in Belgium everybody pretends it safe, so it's actually more dangerous because nobody is prepared."

Now it wasn't exactly a good news message. He wasn't saying life is wonderful in southern Africa, just that it's unsafe everywhere. But he wants to move to southern Africa, because he believes that our part of the world has several good points, that outweigh the negatives. His reasons for loving our region? Wonderful, warm people, great climate, plenty of opportunities, and places where you can still head off and get away from it all -- cellphones, crowds, hustle and bustle.

I guess when things start going wrong in any situation it's tempting to uproot and flee. But that also carries costs -- in the case of emigration, it means leaving behind friends and family, and a sense of one's roots. How much better it would be if everyone committed to stick out the tough times and fight to make them better.

If this sounds preachy let me be honest and say that if things got really bad where I live I might also pack up and move on. The trick, I guess, is to know when that point is -- when is it just stupid and insane to remain in a bad situation?  And any such decisions should ideally be made with an accurate appreciation of how things are -- not a misguided belief that the grass is always greener somewhere else.

I hope my Belgian acquaintance does move to this part of the world. He's an experienced businessman with international connections. He looks like the kind of person who would create opportunities for himself and others. He may well help create new jobs. Certainly, just by moving here, he'd prompt many others to look again at their surroundings and appreciate what they've got.