The Bad Old Days in South Africa

Submitted by Astrolab

When I was in the plane to reach South Africa, I was wondering what type of life I would find, what type of people and what type of future was there waiting for me and my girl friend. She was living there, she born there; I was born in Italy, Rome and we decide to move where she was said, life was much better…

I had my residence status granted by a common friend in RSA and money to afford the beginning of living in RSA. Was the 1980, and I find so exciting to be in RSA due to all was new, for me, and all was so easy – jobs, houses, cars, living… I start my business thank also to the RSA Government with the policy for immigrant of doubling their money imported to the Country – the Financial Rand, to be honest, was a real deal – my money was becoming all the time I was bringing it in to RSA, the double, and gave me the opportunity to buy a house, shops, cars, so it was a real bargain be in South Africa.

My daughter was born in the 1988, and all was looking fine, but we had to get more safety and security due to the ANC bombs and rumours of when all this was going to change… the world was complaining about apartheid and no one of my foreign friends was aware of the real life in RSA – all were saying, “but you have slaves there? you have freeways there? you have transport there?” Due to my culture and education, and origin, I never be a racist, and I never think to became one of those…I always treat my employers like any other European person and my respect for workers was the same as for all the others, but something happened, one day, the 1989, I remember so well – I kill for the first time a person…

In the dark of my property, four armed people were taking off part of the roof to come inside the house, where my wife was sleeping with my baby daugther. I had no dogs at that time and no very high wall around, so it was easy to jump inside the property and until that day, nobody had tried to come in the house for stealing or whatever. I was forced to alert the thief, by shooting in the air twice. They jumped on me and I shoot, I shoot until 4 of them die. I call the police and they come; they report the incident and they take the bodies away. I was in my right to defend myself and my goods…

After this story, I built a big wall, strong gate, alarm, and so on. Other friends were killed by people who take their cars on the roads, hijackings. It started all over – robbery, attacks and a new war between the black communities started, they burnt hostels, schools, houses, so this just few months before Mandela was getting out from prision…the violence between blacks spread all over the country, and also against white people…like me and many friends. I lost many friends – the last was my closest friend – he had a Travel Agency in Joburg and one son only – an Engineer, who just got his Degree, from Pretoria University. The boy was killed in Louis Botha Avenue for his car; they kill him like an animal with no reason, in cold blood, he never had any weapon. His father, my friend, after this, he lost his mind and he killed himself for the loss of this son. His wife now is alone…it’s a sad story similar to hundreds or thousands; it happened in a few years in RSA.

I was thinking to leave the country, but my wife was asking to try be there and maybe to find a safe place to stay, but there was no safe place to stay. I had a few Restaurants and I was busy running these businesses in the Johannesburg Sandton Area, when one night a gang of robbers come in one restaurant and held all the customers, taking all their money and goods; also they rob the restaurant cash when I arrived there and they were near the door to get out. Again I opened the fire, and a friend with me also, so we killed and wounded these criminals. I was also wounded in my arm, so, police came and “thanks” they said to me..the Officer and other people lost their life for living there. A day later, another criminal tried to hijack my car, in Rivonia – I shoot him and I kill him; I save my life and my car but I start to be worried of why this violence and why every day there are crimes all over?

Mandela was free, the country didn’t change in the better – it went down, every day, no safety and security anymore, I was sleeping with my weapons… carried my weapon for shopping, to see movies, for walking. Every corner was a worry….and not only for me..I remember what an old black taxi driver told me when I was going to the Airport for a business trip – he said, “man, I remember under the apartheid, was very hard for us, but I was feeling more protected and safe than now,” that time he said was much better than now… So in few years, all my dreams gone due was impossible for to live there, and to understand why be in a place where we don’t know what can happen tomorrow…and where life became more cheap than a packet of chips.

After many other friends die by criminals, after I’d been attacked so many times, and thanks to my military background I save my family and my life.. we decided to move, so I rented out and sold a few business and we took a plane. Now we live in between Italy and Spain where we have houses …I missed RSA, but not this day. I miss a paradise where life was special like the South African people, the best people I’ve ever met. South Africa is gone, and will be exacly the same as all the other African countries – poverty, violence, unemployement and crimes, thanks also to the people who running the country, without any form of knowledge…

One day may be, one day…