Single white male

Nambitha is a restaurant situated in the heart of Johannesburg’s Soweto township. The township, famous the world over because of its former status as the major launch pad of the South African freedom struggle, has become a popular destination for culture seekers and tourists of all nationalities, both local and International.

Soweto’s fame and tourist attraction has spawned a strong local industry. Entrepreneurs with foresight have seized the opportunity and set up a range of businesses related to tourism and hospitality. Most of these businesses are bearing fruit for the owners and are fuelling a growing local economy that attracts foreigners and locals alike.

Because of the growing tourism industry in the townships of Johannesburg, it is commonplace to see tour groups or guided individuals immersing themselves in the culture and way of life of the township-dwelling Africans. However, sometimes you get the special individuals who are not in the hood for sight-seeing. They don’t have a camera around their neck, they don’t speak English with a funny accent and they don’t seem lost and amazed at the way of life of the township. It is in one of these well-equipped, five-star, worthy establishments in Soweto where I saw the individual who has sparked this piece I’m writing today.

He was a very handsome young man — I pass that comment in the most heterosexual way you can imagine — probably in his late 20s. Well dressed in a casual, blue-striped shirt and a pair of designer jeans accompanied by a pair of comfortable loafers. The look was completed by a pair of square-rimmed reading glasses. His slightly curly blonde hair was stylishly unkempt, which indicated a shade of attitude to this fellow.

What brought my attention to him first was that he was alone. It was Saturday afternoon and the early-evening drinks crowd was in full attendance, with plots being hatched for the evening’s entertainment and raging debates in full swing on all manner of topics from football to politics and crime eradication. Yet he sat at his table, quietly perusing the menu, which he seemed very familiar with, trying to find something interesting to eat.

This guy wasn’t in the hood for the experience of township life. He was there for one specific reason: to have a late lunch. Maybe it’s the most obvious thing for any person to do at a restaurant, but this was different — a single white male, seemingly not a tourist, sitting and eating alone in the hood was quite extraordinary to me.

It seemed to me that this guy was at Nambitha for one reason only and that was to eat — in the literal sense of the word. He was there in the same manner as when I take a short walk to Feel at Home at the Berea Centre for some samp, beans and tripe when the mood moves me. I must admit that maybe this is a common occurrence for those of you who live in the forward-thinking Gauteng region, but for the Sumo, hailing from the socially backward KwaZulu-Natal province, was (for lack of a better word) fazed by this sight.

A single white male having a late lunch in the hood — for seemingly no other reason than satisfying his hunger and maybe quenching his thirst with whatever he picked from the extensive liquor selection on offer. The Sumo sat enjoying his bucket of six beers on ice and watched this man very closely for the rest of the evening; watching to see if there would be a tour guide who joined this fellow as the evening wore on, maybe a black friend from work who was showing him around S’weeeto had just popped into the loo and would be right back. But there was nothing. He was there all by his lonesome, and comfortably so too.

More than this being unusual to me, it was encouraging. It is encouraging to see that not everyone has decided to quit our country, their country, and head for greener, maybe less darker pastures — whatever the case may be.

I’m talking about those among us who decide that actually the crime problem in this country will never be solved, having not participated in any forum that would look to find workable ideas to decrease the levels of violent crime in the country. They pack their bags, sell the microwave and leave.

Affirmative action is often blamed for the exodus of our skilled Caucasian counterparts to the land down under or to the rainy city up north. They ask why is it that they should stay in a country that has a formalised policy which they perceive as marginalising them in the workplace based on the colour of their skin. They say affirmative action is formalised racism and they even go as far as to say that it is reverse racism.

Come to think about it, if I were a white male I’d probably be considering a sojourn of my own out of the Dark Continent. I’d probably think that a move anywhere else in the West would secure a future for me and my future family, in safety and with almost guaranteed employment assuring a comfortable livelihood for us all.

But it would probably sound a lot like an excuse even to myself. So I don’t get my way, therefore I’m going to storm off down under and get myself a plot in Klein Suid-Afrika and farm sheep for a living in the peace and safety of Oz, thousands of kilometres away from those pesky robbers, hijackers and smash-and-grabbers, and that annoying, good-for-nothing government of national unity.

You’ll be happy to know that the Sumo is not considering a move out of this country any time soon. Crime affects us all in this country, but only a few have the privilege of just packing up and leaving because things are not exactly perfect. Don’t get me wrong; horrendous crimes are perpetuated against innocent people daily in this country, so I do not take this issue lightly at all. The Sumo himself has been a victim of countless inhumanities.

Growing up in Kwa-Mashu, you best believe the Sumo has been exposed to enough violent crime in his time — and a few times directed at his person. I lose count of the number of times I have been beaten and threatened at gun point, robbed and shot at. With the Sumo being a naturally wide and slow-moving target, it’s a wonder that he is still among the living today sharing these thoughts with you.

The lure of financial gain is also one of the major reasons sighted by those who join the exodus out of the country. Now there’s a reason that would have even the Sumo all itchy-footed and trying get to the going. But I’d always come back, always! My plan would be to go overseas, work for about three years and come back and buy a fast-food franchise. This is home, ladies and gentlemen, and there is no place on earth that would ever make me feel completely at home. I could never have peace anywhere else, my peace.

One of the biggest concerns for those who are left behind in the country is the brain drain that is felt when a talented, highly skilled individual is poached by other countries, with money and security being the common bait. I guess one has to work out for oneself whether personal gain is more important to these individuals than staying behind, facing the odds and being part of something as special as revolutionising a brighter future for all in this country, a safer future.

Thinking back to the single white male having a meal and a few drinks alone at Nambitha, I think I can safely say that he isn’t going anywhere. It gives me hope for the future to realise that there are people who are as open as he is to change and embracing that change completely, pros, cons and all that goes with it. It gives me hope for our future and the future of those we’ll leave behind. I just hope that this generation can leave a good enough foundation for those who will come after us to lead the new struggle after we are no longer here to build a better South Africa — a unified, successful and safe South Africa.

As I struggled to my feet, the beer having done its work on the Sumo, and before I staggered out of Nambitha, I took a glance at the single white male and threw a smile his way. He gave me a knowing smile back and it seemed we understood exactly what each was trying to communicate to the other.

The Sumo: I’m glad you stayed

SWM: Thanks for having me.

I rest
The Sumo