The Week in Review – May 17, 2025

Buckle up, babes, it's going to be a long one. I didn't post last week because I went to the Overberg to visit my mum in Swellendam for Mother's Day. She's pretty much the only family I have left that I'm related to by blood that I still see or speak to, so it's kinda important for me to get out to see her. I love that stretch of road driving up – the Overberg is incredibly pretty, no matter the time of year. One of our favourite stops is at the Ou Meul bakery in Riviersonderend. We usually buy some of their famous pies en route home so that we can have extra gastric upsets after a day of eating stuff we oughtn't at our age.

Locus finalist, my dearests

So, last week I discovered that the very awesomesauce academic book in which I contributed a chapter has been made a finalist in the non-fiction category in this year's Locus Awards. Afro-Centered Futurisms in Our Speculative Fiction, Eugen Bacon, ed. (Bloomsbury Academic) is a fascinating deep dive into identity and the role speculative fiction plays in expressions of African culture. I'm absolutely thrilled, of course. The African speculative community is one that I'm championing, as I believe that we offer important insights to counter the traditional West-centric narrative that dominates much of the publishing industry.

South African Horrorfest Bloody Parchment Short Story Competition winners

And the, staying with speculative fiction, quite recently I decided to limit the South African Horrorfest Bloody Parchment Short Story Competition to African writers only, which does mean that we receive fewer entries. However I am adamant that we need to grow our offering as African writers. There is enough happening in the world at large for Western writers. So, I am pleased to announce the results for the 2024 competition: Xan van Rooyen for their winning story "Splinters of the Schism". Runners-up are Brett Rex Bruton for "The Hand on the Door" and Dera Udochukwu for "Alkaline Water". Do go check out more at the Bloody Parchment blog.

On Voetsekkers, and why their attitude sucks balls

By now, most folks watching the news will have heard about what we here in South Africa are now calling The Great Tsek (IYKYK). Forty-nine Afrikaners took the Naartjie Emperor up on his offer to claim refugee status in the US, on the pretext that there's allegedly a 'white genocide' happening in South Africa and that white people's land is being taken away from them.

This is all while an actual genocide is happening in Gaza, and millions of brown people who are actual refugees are being deported or refused aid, so that 49 smug, privileged and somewhat well-fed white South Africans can get a fresh start. This makes me incandescent, in addition to the blatant lies the Tangerine Palpatine has been spouting to mainstream media. Stuff that is patently untrue.

Here are the facts. There is NO WHITE GENOCIDE in South Africa. White people's land is not being taken away from them en masse. The problems we are facing affect ALL South Africans, regardless of colour or creed.

“Whites are far less likely to be murdered than their black or coloured counterparts,” Lizette Lancaster, who manages the Institute for Security Studies crime and justice hub, told Africa Check. This is supported by an analysis of a national sample of 1,378 murder dockets conducted by police in 2009.  In 86.9% of the cases, the victims were Africans. Whites accounted for 1.8% of the cases (although whites make up 8.85% of the population). (Are SA whites really being killed 'like flies'? Why Steve Hofmeyr is wrong, Africa Check 2013)

It's a grim picture, and in a decade, not much has changed in South Africa. In fact, according to data.worldbank.org the murder rate has spiked in rent years to 42 per 100,000 people in recent years. Which fucking sucks, to put it mildly. 

So, what to do about it? Firstly, instead of pandering to the politicians over the pond and our home-grown idiots, who seek to divide and destabilise us with their racist, bigoted ideas, we need to stand together. We are, first and foremost, South Africans, regardless of colour or creed. While I acknowledge that I, as a white South African, benefited from apartheid and continue to do so courtesy of the head start I had in life, I can also aim to do better than my ancestors who supported racist institutions that assisted in the wholesale systemic oppression and dehumanisation of the majority of dark-skinned Africans.

Which means that when I do see people pulling any BS strategies, I can use my position of privilege to call out their nonsense. I can pay my workers a better wage than most. I can sponsor their children's educational needs. I can assist with large expenses when I have the spare resources. These are small things, but they make a huge difference in the lives assisted.

South Africa is not all wine and roses. There's a lot that is wrong here. We have unacceptably high rates of unemployment and violence. Even though we transitioned to a true and robust democracy in 1994 without the benefit of a civil war (and that's a fucking miracle in and of itself) our politicians are... to put it mildly, either grossly incompetent or disgustingly self-serving and corrupt. There are certainly a few good ones in among the lot, but I can imagine that their work is often hampered by the numpties. We need to hold those numpties accountable for their actions (or inaction), and we need to work harder to foster a country where education, housing, healthcare, and job creation number among priorities where taxpayers' money is spent wisely.

I spoke to an elder in my community this week, and she said something that was profound. And I'm going to paraphrase here. She said, there are two types of South Africans, those who live in fear and those who live in love. Which South African are you?

So, instead of fear, where I allow myself to be manipulated by the likes of Afriforum and Magat frothings, I give myself over to love – love for the land, its people, and a future here. It's not easy. I admit that I am, as always, hyper vigilant. Violence and crime are a reality here that I will not sweep under the rug. I am privileged to live in a small, peaceful but tight-knit community far south on the urban fringe. More often than not, it feels like a small rural dorpie rather than a community encapsulated within the embrace of one of South Africa's major cities.

I do what I can, with the resources that are available to me and with the skills I can donate, to build rather than tear down. And wherever you are, I challenge you to do the same. If you can't change the awfulness of the big picture, then work where you can. Because dog knows we're going to need our neighbours in the years ahead.

Mini Review – The African Baobab by Rupert Watson

I love baobabs. I grew a few from seed when I was younger, and a few years ago, when I was on a media visit to Zambia (a beautiful country which I totally recommend you go visit if you're planning a trip) I got to see that typical view of Africa with its red earth, big trees, and small round huts clustered in tiny villages in rural areas. This beautiful book is a must-have for anyone who loves these majestic trees. Watson not only gives an overview of the tree's iconic status in history, but also discusses its importance within the landscape – the tree itself providing food and shelter to many species. He also looks at the importance of the tree on a cultural level and touches on its future (which is, predictably, vulnerable if not threatened). Although it's a concise book, it offers a wonderful, thought-provoking dive into the life and magic of this amazing denizen of our natural world, with lovey photos accompanying it.

Local is lekker when it comes to stories

With the general enshittification of publishing and the insidious creep of the technocapitalists into the wholesale destruction of All The Nice things, I'd like to remind you that South Africa has some amazing small presses that are doing the Muses' work. This is a shout-out to Karavan Press, Modjaji Books, and Mirari Press. If you're looking for quality, home-grown literature, do visit their sites and support them directly. I do believe that some of them offer loyalty or subscription programmes, which is a way that you can directly become a patron of the arts and help platform voices we need to hear.