Racists, traitors and treason

Submitted by Jessica Scott

Reading some of the responses on Sarah Britten’s blog titled “Is it wrong to feel relieved that I left South Africa?“, I was shocked by the vehemence of some of the responses.

It is not surprising that the subject of emigration evokes heated debate among those who want to leave and those who are determined to stay, but what does surprise me is the terminology used.

The word “racist”, for instance, is thrown around a lot. This term has been used so loosely in our society for so many different reasons and in such varying contexts that it is beginning to bear little resemblance to its meaning of “somebody who hates others who are not of his or her own race”.

Any white, would-be emigrants are accused of leaving because they cannot hack it in this new rainbow nation where those peoples of colour are no longer deprived of their dignity and human rights. I would suggest that there are many more racists, both black and white (oh, and coloured, Indian and Chinese too — I apologise for leaving anyone one out, how “racist” of me!), still in South Africa than those who have left, and that this is not the primary motivation for the majority of emigrants.

However, the word that is almost always implied, but rarely ever uttered, is “traitor”. Synonyms such as turncoat, defector and deserter spring to mind. Anyone with the slightest hint of emigrant tendencies is viewed as a coward and a cop-out, someone who is betraying his or her country by running away instead of staying and helping to make it a better place.

Being one with emigrant tendencies myself, it is this term that most offends me. My question to South Africans who use such accusatory words is: At what cost? I, like I am sure many of you, have friends who have been raped, I have had family members hijacked, I have been robbed on many occasions, and I just thank God that I am one of the lucky few who has not had a loved one murdered.

I am not advocating emigration. It is a personal choice. The decision to leave one’s family and friends behind, as well as a lifestyle, culture and country, all of which is familiar and much loved, for another land that can only ever be foreign is a heart-breaking one to make. But, when one’s peace of mind and very life is at stake (which, in no dramatic terms, it could very well be), the decision to leave does not sound so unreasonable, “racist” and “treasonous” to me.

So, before you enter into a heated debate about emigration and begin accusing friends and colleagues of bigotry and insurrection, consider our Constitution’s mandate to “establish a society based on democratic values” and to ensure that all citizens “have the right to life” and “to be free from all forms of violence”. Then and ask yourself who in this country is treasonous (definition: “an act of betrayal or disloyalty”).

Jessica Scott is a communications manager at a financial advisory business in Durban, with aspirations of becoming a writer. She graduated with a BA in English, history and media from UCT, and is currently in the process of studying further. She is passionate about South Africa, the environment and politics; in her spare time she enjoys reading, horse-riding and watching good films