Some Thoughts On Africa And Latin America ~ Speaking From Experience

It started to dawn on me about five years ago in Auckland that I wanted to get out of business and law. At around that time it also dawned on me that I wanted to get into college teaching in the less developed world. There was initially no doubt for me where I wanted to do this sort of thing. I wanted to bless students in South Africa with my enormous insight and wisdom gained over the years and in various continents. My humble self unfortunately couldn’t manage to land a teaching position at a university there. I tend to be rather an optimist by nature. Instead of imparting my tremendous knowledge on students in South Africa, I reckoned to do it in another country in the region. However, my applications to universities in Nambia, Botswana, Malawi and to a few private outfits in Kenya and Zimbabwe didn’t lead to a bunch worth mentioning.

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After expanding my search to other regions in the less developed world, I’ve eventually ended up spreading my wisdom in Latin America. Since three and a half years, yours truly creates some “fresh air” in Colima, Mexico.

Looking at all this in hindsight, I can’t claim to be awfully unhappy about how things have turned out. In private chats every now and then, I’m fond of rambling about “my wild days in Africa”. The term “my wild days in Africa” reflects my lifestyle there quite well. Whether a return to “my wild days in Africa” or a continuation of them would have been a wise idea, we better leave it open. The alternative that has gradually materialised appears to be more appropriate for a junior elder – a quiet and pleasant lifestyle in the boondocks of Latin America. However, there are other – less personal – reasons why I’m now more inclined to live in Latin America than in Africa.

Whites In Africa

All over Africa there are a little less than five million whites living. Most of them live in South Africa. They form there about ten percent of the country’s population. There is also a significant white population in countries like Nambia, Zimbabwe and Kenya. For most of them Africa is home. They were born there.

They’ve spent all their lives there. But for quite a few years already the whites in Africa appear to be leaving the continent for good. What is the reason? Why are they leaving Africa permanently? In case you feel like trying to look at Africa from the angle of whites living there, do read the novel “Disgrace” by John M. Coetzee.

The plot is set in the new South Africa. When reading “Disgrace”, it’s hard to avoid the impression that whites feel no longer welcome in South Africa even though they were born and raised there. When reading the book keep in mind that John M. Coetzee – like loads of his fellow South African writers – was opposed to the system of the old days there. By the way, John left too. He lives now in Australia.

After working for a management consulting firm in Johannesburg and travelling extensively throughout Southern Africa, I reckon that I know my way around there.

The longer my humble self watches the new South Africa the more it reminds me of Zimbabwe in the 1980s. I’m not saying that Mbeki resembles Mugabe. I’m not saying that South Africa is going to end up in the gutter next year like Zimbabwe. But there seems to be a pattern in Africa. After gaining independence Kenya ended up in the gutter.

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After gaining independence Zimbabwe ended up in the gutter. Western Cape or Sandton still sounds very appealing. After gaining independence... Let’s wait and see.

Let’s look at South Africa and Nambia in ten or fifteen years. Please don’t get me wrong. I don’t want South Africa and other African countries to go south. I’ve had a bunch of experiences in Africa that I’ll never forget. That’s one reason why yours truly continues to keep an eye on the region. Living in Cape Town or the

Assuming just for the hell of it that the University of Cape Town or Stellenbosch or Monash University campus South Africa were going to invite me to spread my wisdom there, I don’t know what my reaction would be like. My life in Colima tends to be very pleasant. Quite a few folks in Colima presumably reckon that I’m a pain in the butt, which I sometimes enjoy being. Despite all my sumpathy for Southern Africa it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand why whites are leaving Africa for good.

Social Dynamics In Latin America

The social and racial dynamics in Latin America could hardly deviate more from these dynamics in Africa. But first a word of caution. In this respect it’s hardly possible to generalise. It makes more sense to look at countries in Latin America individually. The Brazilian society claims to be colour blind. But there appear to be some invisible racial barriers.

Argentines seem to reckon that they are Italians with British ancestors who speak Spanish and just happen to live in Latin America. In Mexico you come across all shades. Mestizos form the majority of the population. Whites and pure blooded Indians form minorities. To use beverages as an illustration, the population ranges from milk to cocoa and includes coffee with milk as well as coffee without milk. It doesn’t seem to create tensions in Mexico.

When you get to another country to live there, you may feel initially a little out of place.

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