Sean Thorburn Posted March 26, 2018 Posted March 26, 2018 Greetings all, I am a white male, born and raised in South Africa. I am of Irish and British decent, although because my mother was born in Uganda, I am stuck here (for now). I am a programmer, IT professional and entrepreneur. 29 years old at the time of this post. I would classify myself as a "realist" - growing up in South Africa does that to you. Very excited to find that Stefan has a forum. I have been following him for a few years now and watch almost every new video on YouTube.
MercurySunlight Posted March 26, 2018 Posted March 26, 2018 Greetings Sean. Yeah, I was pleasantly surprised to find this forum too. I also started out following him on YouTube. Lots of great brains and good conversations here. South Africa. Things sound pretty volatile and dangerous there right now. I'd be interested in your take on things, if you're comfortable talking about it. Stay safe man.
barn Posted March 26, 2018 Posted March 26, 2018 Greetings, @Sean Thorburn Welcome. I don't envy you or anyone having to face such a challenging situation. Please, make arrangements for securing your (relative) present&future safety. Best of luck to you, Barnsley
ludera Posted March 26, 2018 Posted March 26, 2018 Hey Sean. I wonder... why do you say "I'm stuck here" ? Is it bad living there? Were are you willing to move, then? Cheers!
Sean Thorburn Posted March 27, 2018 Author Posted March 27, 2018 On 3/26/2018 at 4:14 AM, MercurySunlight said: Greetings Sean. Yeah, I was pleasantly surprised to find this forum too. I also started out following him on YouTube. Lots of great brains and good conversations here. South Africa. Things sound pretty volatile and dangerous there right now. I'd be interested in your take on things, if you're comfortable talking about it. Stay safe man. It's very dangerous here and it's just getting worse. I don't mind talking about it and giving my take on situations. Feel free to ask me specifics. I am somewhat safe where I live. I have a metal fence with spikes, then a full sized (jurassic park like) electric fence, followed by a brick wall with metal spikes and outward leaning electric fence on top with patrolling security. I have also had additional metal bars installed over all the windows and "slam lock" gates added to all the doors. You cannot walk outside or you will be targeted. Every single traffic light in my area has an aggressive beggar - it's almost like they compete for the territory. They harass the women if they don't give them anything. As a man, they are a bit more wary of me. We have delayed having children, as we cannot have children in South Africa due to the safety and education system. Hopefully we can make our way to a safer country, if not - we have decided regrettably not to. There is nothing constructive to do here to keep busy. If you ask anyone what they do for fun it will be one of 3 things - Drinking/Smoking/Partying, Braai'ing (barbecue) and going to gym. We do none of these. We especially don't like the "white" culture here as it doesn't appeal to us at all. I stay as far away as I can from the city and densely populated areas, in order to not be targeted. My wife doesn't wear any jewelry in fears of being attacked and often has nightmares of being attacked. (myself as well but it doesn't bother me as much) Luckily we have only been robbed and had attempted hijackings - nothing too serious. We knew people that have been killed etc. There is absolutely no future here for us and we have been trying for the last 6 years to find a way out of the country. My grandfather on my mothers side was born in Dublin, Ireland - so luckily I can claim Irish nationality. Unfortunately the South African government is unable to print his death certificate which is required for Irish citizenship. I have tried 2 attorneys, 4 companies and 3 referrals (other than the SA standard government requests) in order to try get someone to print the death certificate - with no luck. (I have every other required document) According to the SA government, it can take up to 10 years to print a certificate and I must "just be patient." I have been to the United States of America twice and in comparison, I feel as if we are just playing around in a large sandpit here, just keeping ourselves busy. Nothing here matters or works, and anything that does function in some way or another - is just a poor sub-standard attempt of something created of a first-world mindset. The west feels like fantasy world out of a video game. I remember walking around in Disney Springs in Orlando, Florida when this initially hit me. It is very difficult to keep positive. What ever wealth we do accumulate just draws a target on our backs. People often say that South Africa is great because of the weather and wildlife. Honestly, if we never see another animal for the rests of our lives, and have to live in arctic cold conditions, we will. With stats of a country at war, the moon seems like a safer option (plus I hear they have faster internet) On 3/26/2018 at 6:45 AM, barn said: Greetings, @Sean Thorburn Welcome. I don't envy you or anyone having to face such a challenging situation. Please, make arrangements for securing your (relative) present&future safety. Best of luck to you, Barnsley Thank you for your kind words. Luckily the fight-or-flight survival instinct has been deeply instilled in us both. This was very evident when I was in the USA as I found that wearing the hoods on clothes actually makes me feel very uncomfortable and insecure as it blocks peripheral vision. On 3/26/2018 at 10:46 AM, ludera said: Hey Sean. I wonder... why do you say "I'm stuck here" ? Is it bad living there? Were are you willing to move, then? Cheers! ANYWHERE safe, where we can have some sort of future as a white European couple. 1
MercurySunlight Posted March 27, 2018 Posted March 27, 2018 Sean, I just found this: http://usa-television.com/donald-trump-signs-a-visa-free-travel-policy-for-south-africa/ I know it's not much, but it's a start. Sure would love to see help for folks like you and your wife as part of the USA's immigration reform. Maybe even set up a sponsorship by US families willing to help displaced SA's get on their feet in our country. I can't imagine the stress you are living under right now. You have a friend in me.
Sean Thorburn Posted March 27, 2018 Author Posted March 27, 2018 9 minutes ago, MercurySunlight said: Sean, I just found this: http://usa-television.com/donald-trump-signs-a-visa-free-travel-policy-for-south-africa/ Thanks man! However, that seems to be fake news.https://www.goodthingsguy.com/opinion/visa-free-travel-fake-news/https://www.iol.co.za/news/special-features/us-elections/visa-free-travel-to-us-not-a-chance-7662087https://www.thesouthafrican.com/nope-donald-trump-hasnt-signed-an-executive-order-for-visa-free-travel-for-south-africans/ I do have a 10 year USA VISA
MercurySunlight Posted March 27, 2018 Posted March 27, 2018 1 minute ago, Sean Thorburn said: Thanks man! However, that seems to be fake news.https://www.goodthingsguy.com/opinion/visa-free-travel-fake-news/https://www.iol.co.za/news/special-features/us-elections/visa-free-travel-to-us-not-a-chance-7662087https://www.thesouthafrican.com/nope-donald-trump-hasnt-signed-an-executive-order-for-visa-free-travel-for-south-africans/ I do have a 10 year USA VISA Yeah, hard to know what to believe without digging down ten miles under the articles. Does your wife also have a visa?
Sean Thorburn Posted March 27, 2018 Author Posted March 27, 2018 3 hours ago, MercurySunlight said: Yeah, hard to know what to believe without digging down ten miles under the articles. Does your wife also have a visa? Yup, we both have.
barn Posted March 28, 2018 Posted March 28, 2018 Hello @Sean Thorburn On 03/27/2018 at 1:43 PM, Sean Thorburn said: Thank you for your kind words. Luckily the fight-or-flight survival instinct has been deeply instilled in us both. This was very evident when I was in the USA as I found that wearing the hoods on clothes actually makes me feel very uncomfortable and insecure as it blocks peripheral vision. Just a bit more mate and good Missus! Just a bit more, you'll get 'there'! (...and I'll be very grateful for your persistence, with a broad smile on my face that not many will be able to comprehend. Even so, uncomparable with your(your team) joy for a well deserved achievement! ) I mean, these are just words mainly for you, I understand (I haven't offered any tangible, real help so far), currently I'm not able to offer more(me thinks). If you thought I could do something from (currently) Spain, let me know. Send a pm if sensitive, dunno. Quite happy to go and ask stuff for you if it made any difference. I mean it.
Frederik Posted April 2, 2018 Posted April 2, 2018 On 3/27/2018 at 1:43 PM, Sean Thorburn said: It's very dangerous here and it's just getting worse. I don't mind talking about it and giving my take on situations. Feel free to ask me specifics. Thanks a lot for sharing! That sounds like a genuine nightmare. I still remember a couple of years back I talked to a young woman who was born in South Africa and lived there with her family. I said "It's quite dangerous there, isn't it" and she said "Everybody says that, but really it's not bad. For as long as you stay inside when it's dark you're fine." I would imagine not all parts of the country are dangerous. Do you guys live in a dangerous area? Why is criminality so high and who what groups are criminal?
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