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Christianity Today, June (Web-Only), 2008 |

Dispatch from South Africa

Siege from Within: Day and Night in Johannesburg

South Africa is not an easy place to minister, despite the apparent normalcy.

Mark Galli in Johannesburg | posted 6/06/2008 10:03AM

I was driving through an area of Johannesburg that, a week earlier, had burned during riots, when I realized I had a flat tire — and I wondered if I should get out and fix it. The fear that grew ...

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Jana	Posted: June 14, 2008 9:44 AM


We live in a country where we all are growing. God, the Father, Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit WILL be proclaimed by all South Africans. We are not given a spirit of fear but of love, power and a sound mind.

Olwen Carson

Posted: June 11, 2008 2:15 PM

While I agree about the level of crime in Jo'burg there are many other parts of this beautiful country where peple feel safe & lead a more normal life.I lived in Belfst until 1983 & used the same safety precautions there as I do here when outside of the home. I coordinate an AIDS project & spend a geat deal of time in a townshp.I am careful but do not spend my life thinking that I will raped, murdered or hijacked. God is alive, well & very active - I see many people coming to faith in Jesus Christ.Like others I have decided to stay and build.God is in sovereign & therefore in control. It issuch a priviledge to serve Him here in SA.

Ian Gough

Posted: June 09, 2008 3:16 PM

I grew up in Johannesburg and now live in Dublin in Ireland. Ireland too has its problems especially in Northern Ireland. Howecver Irish problems are tame compared to those of Johannesburg. I am a Christian but left due to the violence and corruption. Both my sons have friends who were killed for their possessions and my Johannesburg employer's father-in-law was killed at a SPAR Supermarket during a hold-up. He had gone to buy bread!! I now live in relative peace, go out at night drive through the streets and can look forward to a stable future. I am of British background so I have a UK passport and am able to work legally in Ireland. I do pray for those less fortunate than myself; those who cannot leave, but I cannot advise anyone to visit a corrupt violent society.

Holly Walton

Posted: June 09, 2008 4:15 AM

I was sad to read your article on South Africa. This is our home and we love living here- problems and all. It isn't always easy I agree, but it isn't all crime and violence either. We don't all have mugging stories and there is so much good and so much grace here- it is a pity you did not comment on that. Apart from crime, we battle negativity on a daily basis, particularly from the media. To read such negativity in a Christian publication came as a surprise.

We're still here

Posted: June 09, 2008 3:47 AM

Even in the midst of all the negative news shown worldwide, it always moves me to see how generous we South Africans are. During the recent xenophobic violence, people opened their homes and cupboards and gave of what they could to those who had lost everything. So yes, bad things happen here - to those who deserve them and many who don't. But in the midst of all of this, I have seen the good in people come out so many times. What saddens me is that we probably won't stay here. I don't want my children growing up behind electric fences with armed guards in parking lots. In the mean time, I do go out at night. Lots of us do. Just not to Jeppestown...

Les Nordman

Posted: June 08, 2008 3:42 PM

Mr. Galli wrote: "And I don't mean black/white hostilities, as in the apartheid era. There is still residual racism on both sides in the country, but that is sadly to be expected after so many years of institutional racism." Mr. Galli, you need more accurate information. The South Africans I have been in conversation with (since the early 1970's) tell me that the problem in South Africa is not racism, but tribalism. The Boers and the English in SA are as African as the Xhosa and the Zulu. The hatred goes all ways: the Zulus vs. the Xhosas vs. the Boer/English tribe vs. the Indians. When the Boer/English tribes controlled South Africa, they were more successful at controlling crime than the Xhosa tribe, who succeeded them. Not travelling at night; not stopping to fix a flat tire; high walls; private security: those are standard security precautions for the rest of sub-Saharan Africa. Rejoice, Mr. Galli: South Africa has risen to the standards of the rest of sub-Saharan Africa.

WSAM	Posted: June 08, 2008 3:48 AM


"the strongholds that are over South Africa due to apartheid " How long are you still going to ride that horse? apartheid worked weather it was PC or not. You people just dont learn do you? None as blind as those who refuse to see. If you want to help, PREY! Stop blaming an incompetent governments failings on apartheid, its getting old.

Steve Skeete

Posted: June 07, 2008 6:57 PM

The article is the experience of an outsider, and while accurate may not reflect the whole story. I spent two years in a country in the Caribbean notorious for crime and violence. Although I heard horrendous stories about muggings and murders, I never, in all my two years encountered the slightest difficulty even though I travelled the length and breadth of the country, including many of the hot spots. Maybe I was fortunate, but I think it necessary to not give in to fear and live life as normal as possible. One thing I noticed is that residents of the Island seemed much more comfortable than visitors. People who cannot get away, or who have no desire to do so find ways of adjusting and coping which visitors and persons intent on leaving do not. However, we need to pray for South Africa, that real and lasting peace will soon descend on a country which has had more than its share of troubles and tribulation.

Sybil

Posted: June 07, 2008 6:36 AM

I am a South African and have lived all my life here in South Africa. I do not plan to leave. Why, considering all that has been said before, all of which is probably true? Because surely, God is the ONLY answer to the current crime problem. A team of us have decided that instead of leaving we will be pro-active.We have thus starting working with offenders in local prisons to bring the good news of the Gospel to them too. Surely we should not be selective in our choice as to who should hear the Gospel? Amazing things are taking place in prisons! Young men are coming to know God in a personal way and walking with Him. This is the ONLY answer to the crime problem. Pray for us!

Sadly, we left SA

Posted: June 06, 2008 5:03 PM

Praise God for those that are busy in South Africa still trying to make a difference. The article was very fair and a good description of the current reality there. My husband and I left ministry there because we were too stressed out by living on the edge of safety all the time. Our prayer is that things will turn around. South Africa is too beautiful a place, the people and God's creation, to be held hostage by the criminal element and the racial tensions. Pray for radical change in attitudes and for more people to come to Christ. Pray that the strongholds that are over South Africa due to apartheid will be smashed and that God's children will witness effectively in every situation.

ex-pat Sotuh African

Posted: June 06, 2008 4:02 PM

Residual racism on both sides, black and white, is too much to handle. Whites spend every moment moaning and blacks regard every white with suspicion about their racial opinions. Hundreds of unemployed black men hang around the streets sitting on the kerbs. Too few are employed and those that are employed are paid too much so that inflation is very high. Although there are many hundreds of positive people in South Africa, having to be a peace-maker and run the tightrope of racial opinions is very stressful and tiring. I would recommend all those who have the opportunity to leave should leave South Africa; they will be refreshed by the low levels of racism in the United Kingdom. However, in Britain the political mood is that the government is becoming securocratic like the apartheid government was under South African terror laws. George Bush is also a securocrat and the world is becoming less democratic. But overall I found South Africa too tiresome after my recent month-long trip home.

65 y.o. widow in SA

Posted: June 06, 2008 3:22 PM

I feel that you are reflecting the negative side of South Africa. I came here by choice 33 years ago and have a European passport so I can leave if I want to, but I don't. I am a Christian and God is in control of my life. The country is very beautiful and so are all its people. I travel extensively throughout the country often as a National Tourist Guide, have been for the last 10 years, and I have not experienced any crime or unpleasant situations. I am aware of my surroundings and I do know of people who have had very bad experiences, but I will not run away and give in to criminals. Yes, we have security in place but the only way to live is to give each day into the Lord's care, and do our best to be a witness for Him in all that we do. God bless Africa!

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