S.Africa: Where have all the Whites gone that I used to know?

I have worked in the computer industry in South Africa since 1983. And I've worked in Johannesburg in particular since 1985. There has always been a traditionally high turnover of people in our computer industry. Even in the 1980's they said the average person only held on to his job for 2 years before moving. I used to move around a lot in my younger days in order to gain experience and exposure. Furthermore, I did a lot of contracting (temping/consulting) work which meant I moved around even more. And when I worked for myself, I had several clients at once.

So I've been around the block a couple of times. And I've met stacks of people in Johannesburg, during the course of my work over the years.

Recently, I made contact with an old friend I'd last spoken to 5 or 6 years ago. We reminisced about the people we knew. And then we had an interesting discussion: Where have all the people gone that we once knew?

It was quite common for me to run into people I'd known every now and then. But I remarked to my friend that during the last few years, I've NOT been coming across anyone, anywhere, that I used to know, even if I work in circles where I used to work in the past.

South Africa's computer industry is small. At its height it probably only had 20,000 people in it, most of them in Johannesburg. So it was quite common for us to meet each other as we circulated and changed jobs.

But its actually been a number of YEARS since I've last met anyone that I'd known previously.

And this leads me to believe that either those people have lost their jobs and moved out of computers, or, they've left the country. Its making me wonder just exactly how many people have left the country, especially those who were qualified in the computer industry.

I know a bunch of my more recent co-workers (from the last 5 years), left the country last year. There was an enormous exodus last year.

The only conclusion I can reach is that either:-
1. The South African computer industry has shrunk tremendously
2. AND/OR: a heck of a lot of whites in the computer industry have left the country for good.

I would think it is a combination of both, with the preponderance being the latter. There are lots and lots of computer companies that used to exist, which have disappeared. Even large ones have disappeared by going bankrupt or having merged or having quietly shut their doors.

Like I've been saying for years now, I know of nobody who is making any money. All the businessnes just chug along. I can't remember when last I heard a "success story" told by any of my friends. When I first came to South Africa, I used to hear success stories all the time. I used to be told about this guy who became a millionaire or that guy who started a business and got wealthy, and so forth. I was running into people who were making money and hear from their own mouths their success stories. When I did consulting work I consulted to people with small growing businesses. People used to be optimistic and they had plans for the future, and people were alive.

I am pretty certain that every single one of the businesses I used to consult to, except for a division of a large bank, have *ALL* ended up shutting their doors. Not one of those businesses exists any more.

You would think one would hear lots of "black success stories", but I also don't come across those either.

South Africa today is a very different place to what it was when I first came here. When I first arrived here, it was vibrant and alive. Now it just chugs along from day to day. The only businesses that are still surviving are the few monolithic corporations with big markets. But the day of the "entrepreneur" (be he white or black), seems to have disappeared.

As for the people I worked with, I suspect that most of them must have left the country for good. Unless of course some of them changed careers or found themselves unemployed and they were never able to get back into this industry. That too is possible.

It is sad what this country has come to, despite all the great positive publicity and hopes people had for it. But wait, we'll see some really shocking stuff when the ANC wins the 2009 election and starts implementing real lunatic, hardcore communist policies. Then you'll see these crazies finish off this fine country for good. Of course, they are telling the blacks: "We're going to help you..." but I've heard that garbage and nonsense many times before. It is when "they try to help" that the real lunacy kicks in, and you'll see them "help the blacks" while destroying the country. And when the dust settles, the blacks will be far worse off. That is not far away any more.
Posted By: Jan
AfricanCrisis Webmaster
Author of: Government by Deception

“Political language is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.”
(George Orwell)

My all time favourite movie quote is from the Dwarf in Lord of the Rings: "Certainty of death, small chance of success... what are we waiting for?"

Date Posted: Wednesday 11-Feb-2009
Affirmative action, BEE, blatent racism towards whites and an entire parliament that couldn't jointly pass a matric exam...To assume your friends left the country would not be a million miles away! It's a pity though as S.A is about to have a govenment like no other, a government over qualified with regards to current south african mentality. I'll elaborate... Mr Zuma completed his education and left school with an impressive standard three certificate. He then later went on to meet the infamous judge in the high courts with rape and corruption charges. Zuma is in essense, the perfect role model as south africa already has the highest rape, corruttion, murder and violent assult statistics in the world! Mr Zuma is therefore overly qualified in this field. I can't even begin to express my emotions in terms of losing my country, i am deeply sadened. It is quite ironic though, in that African countries seem to be determined to push whites out. In the end, white people leave and the country rapidly deteriarates as they slowly realise they have not got the skills to run the country. It is then contradicting that they vote more monkeys into parliament, the economy takes a nose dive and they then blame evrything on the white man and at the same time, stick out both hands in the begging fashion we are all so familiar with. You have to look no further than Zimbabwe to see that incompetent people which seems to be most of the population as most of the skilled have left, make their own beds. Only in a country so corrupt can government officials infiltrate the very same system they are paid to enforce! Unfortunately, it would appear that our dream of racial harmony is still very much a dream.

denis

Date Posted: Saturday 31-Jan-2009
All the people that you used to know have left to either New Zealand, Australia, Canada or the U.K. I live in New Zealand and I don't go a day without bumping into a South African. They now estimate that 8% of New Zealands population is South African, and it is is a similar number in Australia.

I went back to South Africa for the first time last year since 1994 and could not believe how far the country had fallen since I left. I also noticed that life for a large number of black africans had not improved since apartheid, infact some of them are probebly worse off. Sure some are doing very well for themselves driving around BMW's but for the majority life is worse off.

As I was leaving Jburg we got delayed by 4 hours because there was a power cut at the airport. South Africa was a first world country, but now it is just another third world country. This should answer the question of where all your friends have gone.

GRB

GRB

Date Posted: Sunday 18-Jan-2009
Bob The Aussie.

Somalian and Ethiopian men are amongst the most violent on the African continent.They always form hangs.Infact,one Somalian on his own is a thief,two=a robbery,three= a gang,four=it's war.I could go on.I have a friend who lives in Plumstead here in London,he's moving out of the area because the Somalians there have made life hell.
Of all black people i've met..The most violent are:
(1).Somalians
(2).Jamaicans
(3).South Africans
(4).Black Americans
(5).Nigerians
(6).Somalians
(7).Somalians
(8).Jamaicans
from 8 to 17,its still Somalians..
I'm yet to meet aborigines and the Maori from New Zealand.
The blacks from Botswana & Malawi were the most peaceful.I'd have liked to say Zimbabweans but now some have turned to crime because of the situation..

Genius Gza
London SE15
UK

Date Posted: Friday 16-Jan-2009
It is a sad indictment of the ridiculousness of the ANC's affirmative action policy that it now has to resort to brining professionals in medicine, IT,education, Construction, electricity management, etc, from around the world at great cost to the economy, to provide the skills the country is lacking.

In the meanwhile the country's best minds are now sitting in countries from the US and Canada through Europe and the Middle east to Australia and Japan.

All these professional from foreign countries are only interested in getting their pay in dollars, serving out their contracts and going home. They have not intention of passing on their skills to the local blacks.

Had the ANC not had such a racist mindset and agenda, it would have allowed the whites to keep their jobs and built in a program of skills transfer to ensure that in the course of 10 to 20 years blacks would have been able to fill all levels of employment from the bottom to the top.

The economy would have grown at a much greater rate than it has over the last 15 years, with the result that all qualified South Africans, black and white, would have been able to be accommodated in the economy.

What you sow, so do you reap!!!

Peter
Johannesburg

Date Posted: Friday 16-Jan-2009
Hi Clive,
Happy 2009 to you too.

Interesting to hear other people's stories on this.

Bill, you're wrong about De Beers. Be Beers, has largely and quietly dumped SA and moved out. All the big money has left. What's left is a small skeleton that can be rejuvinated another day. The big mining companies all pulled their money out and saw that there was no money to be made here.

Nic, with regard to successful IT companies - well, they are a handful that are left compared to the masses there once were in Johannesburg. I knew a number of people personally who became millionaire 20+ years ago from successful companies. The industry was thriving. Compared to the few around now, its very different.

Re: Indians and out sourcing.
Yes, I'm sure a lot of work is going to India. I didn't know they were that expensive though!!

Sad about Standard Bank. They always used to have the best IT dept of any of the banks in SA. I wonder where Standard is heading to now.

Jan Lamprecht
Johannesburg
South Africa

Date Posted: Thursday 15-Jan-2009
We will it seems forever tiptoe daintily around the completely out-in-the-open reason for the failure of this once world respected nation South Africa. Black Rule. There is not now nor has there ever been a successful black government of any consequence anywhere on earth. South Africa is destined to collapse into something resembling all the other black administered states of that vast continent, and all the white bashing and all the sophomoric social theories of all the liberal fools on earth will make little (if any) difference. The conditions in Soweto have gone from bad to deplorable, the state of the vast white owned farms in other parts of black Africa that once helped feed the entire continent and were taken from their owners and given to blacks are now all but useless, aid sent there by the civilized world is taken by warlord thugs and used to support their armies while their women and children are starving to death by the thousands even as you read this. And on and on. But still the foolish liberal crows sit on the fence screaming it's all the white mans fault. They have no answers and will listen to none that does not conform to their socialist convictions. The situation deteriorates, and the children continue to starve.

No Matter

Date Posted: Thursday 15-Jan-2009
G/day Jan
I was lucky enough to semi retire at age 52 and spend my time travelling around Australia. I think I know where your mates have gone, they are HERE. Wherever I go I meet White South Africans how have either settled here or are considering moving here.
It's a shame that these highly skilled people have had to leave the home of their birth because of the mess that your black govt. is making of resource rich South Africa.
Unfortunately along with the good comes the bad we have also been accepting African refugees from Somalia & Sudan who have formed into ethnic gangs. Both Perth and Melbourne are having a lot of problems from these people. If you have any friends considering moving here I would advise them to go to Queensland as the police there don't muck around with idiots.
Regards
Bob

Bob the Aussie
Sydney
Australia

Date Posted: Thursday 15-Jan-2009
South Africa now consists of two extremes: the enormously rich DeBeers-types and the unfortunate poor Blacks who are controlled by DeBeers who also own most of the businesses in S.A.and the stock market. Money talks big in S.A. and the separation of the rich and the poor will continue for the foreseeable future to the detriment of S.A.

Bill G.
Columbia, S.C.
USA

Date Posted: Thursday 15-Jan-2009
I've never been to SA, but it seems like a place filled with exotic beauty and wonderful climate. Being a person connected to the alternate electronic media outlets, I find out how things are developing there of late. And it doesn't look good.

A reading of the Good book in Genesis will show that in 1:27 male and female (land gatherer) were created on the 6th day. Then after the 7th day (2:7) God formed Adam, a tiller of the ground...or farmer.

I beleive racially that we all have different strengths and weaknesses. All races were good in the sight of the Lord, but I think that when you force a race to do different work than what their gifts are, you get in trouble.

Speaking in generalities, perhaps the white man gets his structure and traits from the infusion of the first city builder Cain (4:17)...not always to our benefit. Contrary, the black man harmonized with his enviornment and enjoys a natural creativity of life on a closer level.

It's not really between black and white but that third party agitator that is hidden behind the scenes to capture all the wealth when the dust settles. Find that third-party and you have your criminal.

Some call them The Powers That Be, others call them illuminati, but make no mistake, they are not either black or white but of another (hint above).

Cheers

FNFAL
Dayton
USA

Date Posted: Thursday 15-Jan-2009
Yes, I am non-black African from East Africa, another place where blacks reign crazy and have turned that once haven of learning, peace and prosperity into a hell hole. But you know something - its their hell hole, let them live and die in it. Who gives a stinking cahoona what they do with it. As long as we get paid, get what you want out of the place and go on making money there -don't get robbed or killed, keep on keeping on.

Cheerio.

African non-black

Date Posted: Thursday 15-Jan-2009
Perhaps you are just in the wrong IT circles. I am currently working for a small IT company (retail space), ... and right now we got more work than we can handle. Other IT companies in Joburg are also still doing well (I have friends working in there)... anything in the cell phone space, corporate banking space or accounting space is still doing okay as far as I can tell.

On that note, what is interesting is the mass influx of Indians into the banking sector of IT. I know for example that Absa bank has hired something like 200 IT developers from India... and then when they need to cut jobs they first cut South African's... funny thing is the Indian resources cost about 4 times as much... and can hardly speak a word of English.

Nicolas Milicevic
Johannesburg
South Africa

Date Posted: Thursday 15-Jan-2009
Yes, South Africa today is a very different country to what it was 25 years ago. It is pretty much dead and I only realised it when I went overseas. I knew one person who was without a job despite having 30 years IT experience. I also knew a coloured IT entrepeneur who became a self-made millionaire during the 1980s and even had his software published in the U.S. I left SA because I was under the impression that white males are no longer welcome in the IT industry.

Oh, and as for boggled comments, I find them offensive. The bigot has obviously never set foot on African soil.

R8RCrazy
New Zealand

Date Posted: Wednesday 14-Jan-2009
I left South Africa 40 years ago, not for political reasons and have lived in America ever since. I know things have changed for the worse in SA, and that saddens me. But I want you to know things have not always been great for those who left. The worst decision I ever made in my life was to live in America, which is a s***hole now. Instead of bank robberies, which you cite, brokerage firms steal your entire life savings. I miss SA. One cannot even trust one's friends, but that's fascism for you. Everyone steals and defrauds everyone. I'm not going into a tirade about America, but the entire world knows what has happened here, and there are many ghastly things that have happened that we are not allowed to talk about. The internet has it all though. There was a time when I thought of returning but illness prevented me. Just thought of saying hi. My memories are so rich and beautiful though. What a lovely country I grew up in.

mystic
new york city

Date Posted: Wednesday 14-Jan-2009
Hi There Jan

First of all happy 2009.

After reading your article, I have a couple of comments to make.

As the new year started I got an email from a friend of mine who is an IT Manager at Standard Bank HQ in JHB. She told me that ALL the IT programming has been outsourced to an Indian Company called Wipro (you can Google it) and that she may soon be without a job soon.

My wife works for HSBC and all there IT Programming and Call Centers are based in India.

At our Hatch offices in Woodmead our IT department was growing at an alarming rate and they could not find enough IT people, so they started shipping stax of people over from India.

So it seems outsourcing for a couple of Rupees here and a couple of Rupees there, one can get cheap and good labour for nothing. Microsoft did it with Vista, know wonder it such a cr@p O.S.

Keep up the good work, chow for now

Clive
Canada

Clive Pratt
Vancouver
Canada

Date Posted: Wednesday 14-Jan-2009
You-ask:"Where have all the Whites gone that I used to know?"
Answer:They-were-smart-enough-to-LEAVE-South-Africa!!!
Come-to-Australia!You-will-love-it!!!
Why-stay-where-you-will-be-hunted-down-and-killed-very-soon?

Tom
Sydney
Australia

Date Posted: Wednesday 14-Jan-2009
great article, yea, the black will be far worse !!!!! the country is going backward fast. it seems like jungle mentality is taking over intelectual freedom. in america, they did "forced intergration" to allow blacks the same as whites. but, racism is alive nowdays, more than before ! i think racial riots will break out within this year or the next because of the financial depression setting in. in the pittsburgh, pa area where i'm from, many banks are being held up almost on a daily basis, and store robberies, burgularies, etc. things are going to get a lot worse !

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWyQOh64Qy8&fe...

goldieshouse.piczo.com

rich
pittsburgh, pa
usa

Date Posted: Wednesday 14-Jan-2009
Don't worry, there are about 10 or so 'whites' in your cricket team here at the moment. We will send them back after the last over.

12th man
Sydney
Australia

Date Posted: Wednesday 14-Jan-2009
At last the evil colonial powers are leaving africa ! It will be a time of afrocentric unity and peace, love and reconciliation. No longer will blacks fight blacks due to the cirucmstances created by evil white men.

One things for sure, the tourism industry is dead to africa. They are getting rid of their life blood to be FREE. so sad. The more I study africa, the more convinced that america will become more involved and power struggles between the old east and west will become more pronounced.

boggled
usa

Date Posted: Wednesday 14-Jan-2009
QUOTE "I used to be told about this guy who became a millionaire or that guy who started a business and got wealthy, and so forth. I was running into people who were making money and hear from their own mouths their success stories".

No Jan, No.....You mean to say you never heard about Mr Shaik?

aubrey

Date Posted: Wednesday 14-Jan-2009
Another sad, sad story in a long line of other, similarly tragic ones. Even worse, there is no light at the end of the tunnel. Such are the results of a stupid, racial, criminal, corrupt and at best a totally incompetent government.

Pierre
Paris
France

Date Posted: Wednesday 14-Jan-2009
Not only true for computer guys.
I'm an instrumentation and control technician, and most of the guys that were "appies" with me and after me in the Pretoria area are overseas. Some are running their own businesses but most are gone.
We have a high turnover where I work at the moment, and people with Olifantsfontein certificates and experience are as rare as chicken teeth in SA.
In fact I am willing to say that there is no more quality skill available in SA. Those who are left are too old and fed up with repairing others bugger-ups to care.

Grazy
Pretoria
SA

Date Posted: Wednesday 14-Jan-2009
Hi

On 31st Dec 1998 to 1st Jan 1999 I was at a new years party in Cape Town. There were 10 IT Guys in all
(including me). Now there are only 3 of those guys
left in SA the rest are in Auz(1), NZ(3), UK(2) and Canada(1).

And I am not really sure if 2 of the guys are still in SA as I have lost contact with them.

One of the guys was working here in the UK but was retrenched and unable to get work quick enough so was kicked out. He now lives in SA but works for UK Companies and is still planning to get out of SA.

There will never be a "homecoming revolution" for most who have left.

Peter

Peter
UK