The Other Africa
By now you’ve probably enjoyed the treasures God left behind in Africa. You’ve seen the lions, the cheetah, the seashore, the sunsets. But there’s another Africa, hidden from the tourist magazines and the Western media. It is the other Africa that will bring me back. It is the Africa of enormous poverty, extreme racial prejudice, violence and danger to all life. There are about 3.5 million Caucasians in South Africa. There are an estimated 70 million Blacks. No one knows for sure because of the huge volume of refugees flooding across the northern border escaping from the regimes of slaughter and tribal genocide. Unemployment among this vast majority is probably near 90%. The South African government provides “free” electricity and water for people living in the “informal settlements” (a PC name for slums). Of course, it isn’t free. 5% of the population of South Africa, mostly White, pays all the taxes. By any stretch, this is unsustainable.
Some other information never makes the news. Since the end of apartheid, the murder rate has been about 23,000 people per year. More than 60,000 White farmers have been murdered. Violent crime such as rape and assault makes South Africa one of the most dangerous countries in the world. There are large “informal settlement” areas where police do not go. Disease, AIDS and other issues plague the country. What is most disturbing is the apparent lack of comprehension and the blatant gross corruption of the current government. Afrikaners live with the daily reality of Rhodesia. The tension is very real. Many have left the country for good.
These pictures will show you why I must return. In my humble opinion, there is little time left before an almost inevitable racial uprising. The prospects do not seem good for many followers of YHWH. Most of the Black culture continue with tribal ancestor worship and idolatry, if they have any form of religion at all. Perhaps the reason I was received with such enthusiasm is simply this: life is South Africa is extremely fragile. These people know what it means to be persecuted in ways comfortable Americans cannot imagine. These people know that without the reality of a God who cares, there is very little hope for South Africa. What the media portrays is far from the real picture.
Now you know why I need your help to go back.
Skip – South Africa has a way of getting to you. We lived in Johannesburg for 5 years and I would go back in a heartbeat. We were fortunate enough that my husband’s company provided us with a bodyguard – because it was the “murder capital” of the world. I met Rory Steyn who had been Nelson Mandela’s chief bodyguard. (He wrote a book “One step behind Mandela”) Rory is a Christian and we were able to get him to speak for Stonecroft Ministries (Christian Womens Clubs.)
My husband taught classes in both Alexandra and Diepsloot (black townships) on “Working God’s Way.” He taught them how to make a resume, do a job interview, etc. He taught classes on starting their own business. Their most basic need is to get a job – so they can feed their extended family.
It was a wonderful chapter in our lives – and one that changed our whole family. It is easy to be blind to what is happening in the rest of the world.
Thanks you! Thank you! Thank you, Skip! What a powerful portrayal of a country, like so many others in the world, that GOD loves so much that He gave His only begotten Son. May GOD bring real deliverance-transformational revival that impacts every fabric of the life and culture of this land.
Skip, what exactly will you and your team bring to S. Africa to change the situation?
Your question reminds me of the people who said, “What’s the point in going to Haiti? Most of those people will die anyway?” I am sure you didn’t mean it this way, but it is so easy to become complacent to the misery and suffering – and the corruption and violence. To answer your question: There is no TEAM. There is just me. On this last trip I spoke to more than 500 people, showing them that God’s instructions about life are the true basis of living anywhere, especially in places where the way of the nations runs rampant. They want me back for more – and for teaching in cities I did not reach, plus teaching the small group of believers in Mozambique, an even more desperate place. Here’s why I need to go. Very few people there are getting real Hebraic based education, instruction or example. If I can affect the lives of even a few, this will spread righteousness instead of racial enmity. That is a good thing in a country where believers are far outnumbered and in constant danger. As you can see, living conditions are tragic. Faith is all most of these people really have.
EVERY CITY in South Africa has slums. EVERY CITY! The slums for the 55+ million are everywhere you turn. Who will do anything for these people? Who will care about reaching them for Yeshua? Of course there are many churches and many organizations working there now. I cannot replace what they are doing, nor would I try. But I can offer teaching and insights into God’s view of the world and what to do with what we have. Just like Haiti, the goal to to save some, to rescue some, to life up some. One man can do nothing more. But one man can do nothing at all without help from true followers like you.
Skip, I read the above from you and agree that you have to return. Yest to get the word to people but also get a better perspective of my country. It makes me unhappy to se a man of God painting such a negitive picture and in many way a false picture of our country. Yes there are poor areas ans Townships. The people that live there call it townships, it is other people that want to call it slums. Our people have pride and goodwill, we love God our father and are 90% christian nation. You will make a muck bigger contrabution by reporting on the kind spirit of our people in Africa, the smile and the generosity. And yes we do realise that there is a lot of work to be done. But don’t tell the world what we are not as you have a single world view. Africa. Is a fantastic place, many people come here to change africa and its people, many leave having been changed by Africa’s people.
Thank you for adding this observation from someone in the country. You are right. There are probably many Christian believers in South Africa. However, even if you call the areas “townships,” just looking at them convinces anyone they are slums by any other standard. That’s just the reality of having millions of people with no place to live. It is also difficult to come to terms with the unsustainable economic condition of South Africa. If 3.5 million people are paying the taxes that support 50 million people, this will eventually collapse. And since unemployment is very high, it is unlikely that the government will be able to gain revenues from the unemployed. As for crime, the statistics speak for themselves (not mine but from the worldwide studies). South Africa is the size of Texas. If 23,000 murders a year occurred in Texas, the entire USA would be up in arms! I am sure there are many smiles. I saw them too. But smiles do not change the conditions that continue to expand daily. How many illegals come across the borders? What will be done with them? What will be done about the “affirmative action” that displaces existing workers with less-skilled replacements based on race alone? How can you justify the claim that 90% of South Africa is Christian when it ranks close to the highest in crime, corruption and poverty? Does Christian mean nothing more than claiming Jesus as savior? Does it not require CHANGING your life and your neighborhood? And what can you say about the millions in South Africa who still participate in ancestor worship, in rituals that promote prosperity, in support for a government that allows its president to have 7 wives and deny the reality of AIDS?
I realize that South Africans will want to defend the good of the country. And there is plenty of it. I loved South Africa. What God made there is amazing. But what men have done to God’s treasures is also tragic. Until we admit that there are significant problems that cannot and are not being fixed by government, that can only be reversed by repentance and crying out to God, none of this will really change. Power corrupts. This is very obvious in South Africa, as it is around the world. Let’s start by agreeing that things are not well, that people are suffering in many ways, and that only a return to God can save South Africa. That’s why I must go back.
Go, Skip, Go! This video is from one of my favorite music artists, Sara Groves. She wrote this song after a visit to Rwanda. She was touched, as well. Reminded me of what you wrote above.
http://youtu.be/JPy2l4FYabU
Glory