All roads lead back to colonialism. 

It’s my first thought whenever somebody tells me how lucky I am to have studied in England because I’m one step closer to ‘getting out’. The thing is though, I don’t want to get out. I want to stay.

Growing up, I wanted nothing more than to live in America and leave silly little South Africa. I had a little scrapbook where I’d make pages about things I loved and wished for. One page was dedicated to Los Angeles. I printed out pictures of the glamorous Hollywood sign, Venice Beach, the palm trees, and the walk of the stars, then stuck them on hot pink paper.

I decorated it with stickers of Hannah Montana (even though she lived in Malibu, not LA) and whipped out my special glittery gel pen to draw a heart as a replacement for the O in Los Angeles then dotted the page with tiny stars.

I had a vision. I was going to live there.

Now, however, I want nothing to do with Los Angeles. Or America, for that matter.

The West largely dominates our television and media. It’s made out to be a utopia where pumpkin spice lattes cure problems—big cities for people with big dreams. There are mesmerising taglines for all the famous ones too- New York City, the city that never sleeps, Paris, the city of love, Rome, the eternal city and of course London, a modern Babylon. It sounds seductive, sultry, better. It’s all you see on TV in South Africa too so the belief doesn’t come from nowhere. But as somebody who has had the privilege to travel a lot, I can tell you that the belief that The West is better comes down to propaganda and colonisation (as you’ll find most things do).

I’m going to break down three main points people bring up when comparing South Africa to The West. While The West consists of more than the US and the UK my focus is on them since our media centers them.

First on the list- crime. 

Yeah, we have a lot of it. Yeah, it’s bad.

But it’s naive to think this is specific to South Africa. London’s crime rates in the Underground, their biggest mode of transportation, were recorded to have risen to 83% in November 2023. Every time I used the tube my native friends there would tell me to keep an eye on my bag and phone. Ahem, sound familiar? Not to mention the fact that a man tried to go on a killing spree with a sword recently in the suburbs and killed a kid.

Let’s do America next. As a South African, when was the last time you heard about a mass shooting happening near you? As I write this article, on the 29th of May, I find a page listing recent mass shootings in America with the most recent one being the 28th of May. There are three on the 27th of May alone.

Then we have our violence against women.

South Africa has the highest rates of sexual violence in the world. That’s not something I’m here to argue about. I do want to point out that The West hates women too.

In April this year, multiple women in New York were punched in the face, in broad daylight, while walking the streets in Manhattan. There wasn’t a reason other than men could do it, so they did. While I was walking in London, two friends beside me, I was assaulted by a man in an area known for being a safe space for queer people. England and their love for football even has repercussions for women- “domestic abuse reports rose by 26% when the English national team won or drew and increased by 38% when the national team lost.”

The last thing I wanted to address is our corrupt government as it’s cited for all our issues. Is America and the UK any better? The same America that has elected racists, sex offenders and misogynists into power? The same UK government who only exists as a modern powerhouse due to years of colonisation and stealing from countries such as South Africa? The same UK and US governments that are sending billions of dollars to Israel for them to bomb children, instead of putting that money toward their increasing homelessness and student debt issues?

This article will be far too long if I dissect each problem we face and compare it to how The West have problems on similar if not equal standings. But I think it’s also important to tell you what we have here that we take for granted– religious freedom, tasteful food, culture that is our own, eleven official beautiful languages, Pro-LGTBQ laws, friendliness (which doesn’t seem important until you visit the UK), unmatched humour and so, so much more.

South Africa has issues that need fixing but it is not unlike any other country. The belief that we’re worse off than The West is only a result of years of being told we’re underdeveloped by the same people who are the biggest causes of our underdevelopment.

Do you think our crime rates would be high if more people were employed? Do you think our unemployment rate would be this high if Apartheid hadn’t happened? Do you believe Apartheid would have happened if the Dutch and British settlers hadn’t invaded and imposed their beliefs on us?

I understand the need to be elsewhere when elsewhere is marketed as better, but the grass isn’t greener on the other side– it’s green where you water it. If you’re upset at the state South Africa is in, put your energy into making it better instead of trying so hard to leave.

Was this article just a long-winded way to tell you how your vote counts?

Maybe so.