Re: As I have mentioned repeatedly, my family and I are being discriminated against by anti-white legislation enacted by the ANC government allegedly in reaction to crimes committed by people who I, too, regard with contempt, namely the Afrikaner Nationalist government. ... I can assure you that if you were in my shoes, you would feel the same way.
Y'know, Searle, you almost shamed me! And I thought I was aware of all of Africa's miseries!! Damfool that I was! But now, thanks to your personal, poignant, eye-opening testimony, I know that, in addition to the bane of locust swarms that ravage the crops of Saharan countries (Morocco, Mali, Niger,...), the famines that plague the Horn of Africa (Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan), the tropical diseases and warfare that cripple Central Africa (Congo, Angola, Rwanda,...), there is the PLIGHT OF THE SENNETT FAMILY in racist South Africa! Indeed, the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse....
Now allow me to cast a ray of hope upon your dire straits: China! As the article below shows, your best move might be a new life in Shanghai:
China's lure for young professionals
By George Zhibin Gu
SHENZHEN - Regardless of how one feels about globalization, it has unquestionably led to an unprecedented level of international interaction around the globe, as national economies become increasingly interwoven. And as the world's biggest developing market, China has become a top destination for foreigners to work and live: expatriates in China now number in the hundreds of thousands.
These latter-day Marco Polos come from anywhere and everywhere. They generally value their China experiences highly: being in a rapidly developing society such as China can often expand their horizons in many ways. Equally significant, they act as bridges between China and the world. At the same time, the Chinese public is, by and large, delighted to have them here. The Chinese people are well aware that China has departed firmly from its past isolation and entered a new era, and the expatriate presence shows that China has taken a giant step in joining the global community. Overall, China's foreign workers are a great blessing both for China and for the world. The change from 20 years ago has been dramatic.
From here, there and everywhere
It is becoming easier and easier to find foreign-run firms in Chinese cities. One such case is the import-export business of Ibrahim Othman, a Syrian consumer products merchant. A veteran China player, he has maintained an office in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, for several years. His business model is straightforward: he buys made-in-China products and ships them back to the Middle East. To Othman, Chinese products are cheap and quality is fast-improving. He said China has "a fast-growing market in [the] Middle East" and "selling Chinese products has better profit margins" than selling other products.
Other foreign nationals are experienced professionals. One of these is Sam Woollard, a native of Cambridge, England. Previously he worked as a marketing and media specialist for British Airways and several other companies in Europe and Australia. Nearly two years ago, he landed in Shanghai. Now he works as publications manager for the German Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai. He finds his new environment "stimulating and fun ... filled with daily interactions with local Chinese ... [I] especially enjoy chatting with my 80-year-old Chinese neighbor."
There is also a large contingent of entrepreneurs, who have found plenty of work to do in fast-changing China. Steve Kuhn, from the US state of Minnesota, exemplifies this group. After graduating from Harvard, he worked as a bond trader for Goldman Sachs for many years. Beginning one year ago, he started new ventures of his own in Beijing, while remaining a consultant to Goldman Sachs. He has given lectures at Peking University and Tsinghua University, two top Chinese schools, on his investment knowledge. "These Chinese students are very bright and I had a great time," he said.
Another Kuhn project is a new website called BeijingLives.com. This website is somewhat like a Yellow Pages for the city; local businesses and organizations can freely announce their events there. It goes further by providing general news coverage and analysis on China. He wants to bring the best possible information on China back to Americans: "Americans need to get [accurate] information about what is happening inside China."
Kuhn's team members come from Canada, the US, Australia and China. Nicknamed "can do" by his friends, Kuhn has found Beijing a perfect place for his ambitions. In particular, he attaches a long-term perspective to his website: "In 50 years, when people look at our archives, they will see how we really lived in Beijing back then."
Another business consultant is Melbourne native Les Lothringer, already in China for 20 years. Lothringer has traveled to more Chinese cities than most Chinese, and now divides his time among Australia, China and the rest of Asia.
Culture shocks
This writer can well remember his culture shock after moving to the United States in 1981 - the independent lifestyle of Americans, the absolute need for a car, the way even 80-year-olds often need to drive to get groceries. Visiting the UK was the same: the British treated afternoon tea like a religious ceremony, repeating everything the same way at the tea-table every afternoon. But culture shock is a double-edged sword. What shocks foreign nationals about living in China?
Thomas Podvin, a Frenchman now working as a writer and editor for a US magazine based in Shanghai, has been surprised by the openness of the Chinese around him. He noted: "Chinese people can be more open-minded than what we think, especially the older generation [who were] said to be conservative. They are warm-hearted and also can show their feeling easily. They can cry for happiness or sadness without any shame."
[...]
atimes.com
The tagline sums it up: "They can cry for happiness or sadness without any shame!" As I said, you won't feel alienated among 1.3 billion shameless crybabies, will you?
Gus |
