Hugh in South Africa.
You may have heard Hugh reporting from South Africa last night. Now he's bothering us again, with some photographs, and a few choice words.
It's so quiet here in the Free State (south of Johannesburg) - apart from distant thunder, and fabulous birds, all you hear is the wind in the grass.
This is Dirk Steenkamp and his wife Miekie, at their farm near Vredefort (it means the fort of peace). Dirk was badly injured three weeks ago - a whirlwind removed heavy branches from a tree, and one of them hit his chest; he suffered six broken ribs, and one rib punctured his left lung.
Simon, a civil servant, and his 5-year-old son Lokhlonono ('Lucky') getting a lift home. At the end of the forty minute journey, Simon offered to pay me. That's happened to me several times here. Of course I refuse.
More than two million new homes have been built, but most black South Africans still live in very basic homes in what are still effectively townships.
And many still live in shacks like these, with shared outside 'bucket' toilets in huts, and shared public water taps."
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I enjoyed Hugh's report last night, he always seems to get to the nub of what 'ordinary' people think, and with empathy. Excellent, as always. Has he published any of his photos, I wonder?
Hugh's report yesterday interested me greatly, having spent several years of my childhood in South Africa. It is sad that conditions remain so poor for many black South Africans, and also that the attitudes of some white South Africans remains so entrenched in racial bigotry, as his report illustrated. It will take many more years, I'm sure, for the wrongs of the past to be put right.
As was the way with all white households in those days, we had a 'housegirl' who lived in her own accommodation at the end of our garden. It was a concrete structure, roofed in corrugated iron, with a hole in the ground for a lavatory. We rented the house, and the housegirl came as part of the package, but our family did not like the arrangement. Of course, we were aware that we were providing employment for somebody, and we did all we could, given the political climate of the time, to ensure our dealings with her were equitable and to make her a part of the family. But her living accommodation always troubled us, and although we introduced some refinements to it, the memory has always left me feeling very uncomfortable. Seeing the pictures on the Ten o'Clock news last night put me in mind of this.
Esther, who later had a baby (who also came to live with us) was a wonderful person. Life in apartheid in South Africa was dismal, though, for black South Africans, and it sounds as though things have not greatly improved in recent years. Let's hope Umbeke's successor can hasten the rate of change.
Eddie, I greatly enjoyed Hugh's piece last eve as I drove back to Norfolk. His verbal skills painted a very vivid picture of a side of S Africa that usually quite poorly reported.
I especially enjoyed the comments and conversation about the comparison with white farmers in Zimbabwe. And how the speaker realised that in reality forcing the experienced owners and farmers off of the land was tantamount to just destroying the agricultural industry and therefore probably the country as a whole. Something I suspect that His Excellency R.G. Mugabe hasn't twigged yet.
Keep up the good work Hugh, and yes, maybe you should publish your travels!
Excellent reporting - as always.
Dirk looks remarkably well considering what happened!