[Mandatum]

If it was as simple as that notion sounds, I wouldn't be here. And believe me I know many of people who have decided to start families in other countries.

I hate my government, the corruption, violence, bigotry.. But this is my home. I love the people, the culture, the food, my friends and family.

I've traveled and I've lived in other areas in the world. But this place is my home.

People wonder why anyone would want to live in the Middle East; Iraq, Afghanistan, the Gaza Strip? Because this is my land, these are my people, my tribe.

I will stay, and I will fight and protest for a better life for everyone in this country.

Sorry I feel this is too offtopic for HN, but I couldn't help but reply.

[disillusioned]

This is a fantastic, powerful response to the question a lot of us without the context frequently ask ourselves. It must be so difficult to reconcile your love for your homeland, its culture, and your family, with the reality of a pervasive worry that the worst can and does happen with frightening frequency. We take for granted that we can typically feel safe here in the US, and I hope you stay safe and continue to contribute to making your home better for everyone.

[Mandatum]

It isn't all peaches and cream in the US. You guys have some pretty rough areas too, it's just they're known as ghettos. And of course there's Mexico right next to you, which even I felt unsafe in many areas (and I grew up near Soweto).

[buyx]

And of course there's Mexico right next to you,

Based on impressions created by Hollywood movies, people I've spoken to in South Africa express opinions that Mexico is some kind of hellhole. Here's a sobering comparison:

https://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=mexico+south+africa

In most measures, Mexico is way ahead of South Africa.

[omegaham]

What's surprising about certain cities is how close the ghettoes are to rich areas. Most people expect there to be a gradual decline in quality from the rich part to the poor part, but there are often dramatic cutoffs. You can literally take a wrong turn and go from zero crime to "Keep your doors locked and don't stop at red lights or stop signs."

[omegaham]

Are things getting better? I can definitely understand this mindset, and I feel like once momentum starts building, people get behind it and start believing in a better tomorrow.

I'd feel a lot more hopeless if things were stagnating or getting worse. I can't imagine being a Syrian right now, for example.

[Mandatum]

Yes and no. It's better than it was 30 years ago, definitely! Has an entire generation been wasted, and thousands of lives needlessly lost in that time? Yeah.

I think the biggest change we've seen recently is English becoming more popular among the youth. That and technology which brings about education and positive influence from developed countries.

I'm very supportive of subsidized and ultra-low-cost smartphones and laptops. I think a lot of our issues won't be solved in the next 30 or 50 years, but as the world becomes more connected and social issues are democratized, ideas and efforts are spread through passion and action rather than advertising budgets..

Money will eventually no longer run this government and people will start to think for themselves.

Look at China, they employ hundreds of thousands of people to save their public image, they have a walled garden which they pluck and trim to fit their needs. But only half of their country (excluding rural and unregistered jurisdictions) has access to the internet. Is that going to be feasible long-term?

This is why things like Reddit, albeit very American-centric, have such a positive affect on the world. I want to see more countries get their "own" Reddit which is free of corporate interest and censorship. A medium that everyone has access to and uses.

[zamalek]

> Are things getting better?

That's not really what it's about for us. South Africans have become experts at making the most out of a bad situation so things are always "good" in a way that's hard to describe out of context.

When you ask if South Africa is improving you have to qualify that with: which class? Anything that the government controls is going backwards. The middle and upper classes, however, have in a way created their own functioning infrastructure.

* The police force is complete ineffective. Solution: build a fortress and hire private security.

* Continuous controlled blackouts because the power infrastructure is inadequate. Solution: buy a generator.

* Hijackings, muggings. Solution: lojack all cars (car insurance now requires it) and don't walk anywhere.

As I said, we make it good.

[buyx]

The South African government has improved the lot of the poor in some ways- child support grants form the basis of a welfare system that protects people from utter destitution. Sadly, as you point out, the public healthcare and education systems are dismal, and the failure of the education system means that human capital is being wasted.

[random778]

Some things they do means well, but doesn't deliver as much as you would think. Having a single parent with no job, no education and no support means that frequently that money goes into buying alcohol. If you think the majority of the poorest have been uplifted significantly, you haven't been in the streets in really poor areas.

[cstrat]

Amazing reply.

Couldn't stop my brain from reading it in a SA accent. :)

[random778]

Hollywood's white Afrikaans accent?