Exodus on the rise

THE South African Jewish Board of Deputies is quite correct in taking Black First Land First’s leader, Andile Mngxitama, to the Equality Court for his outrageous anti-Semitic tweets last week.

But South Africa’s remaining European population should not be complacent, as the poisonous drivel that Mngxitama now feels confident enough to tweet applies equally to them too.

As South Africa is now a despotic state and Grace Mugabe’s mantle of post-assault diplomatic immunity shows our elite’s affinity for the “Zimbabwe Option” – literally anything could happen. Not that this hasn’t been clearly understood for some time.

I estimate that, in the 27 years since 1990, more Europeans have emigrated from South Africa than left Ireland at the height of the Irish famine between 1840 and 1860. BEE has made qualified graduates feel unwelcome. Young families want to give their children a better chance at la dolce vita, and for the retired it’s a combination of overseas grandchildren and a fear of crime.

While the tempo has ebbed and flowed over the years, emigration has certainly picked up recently, with companies like AdvTech now blaming it for reduced revenues. One friend’s wife mentioned that 30% of her Milnerton shop’s regular customers have simply disappeared.

It’s not that Europeans want to leave. But BEE, crime, horrific farm murders and corruption have become something of an interminable Kristallnacht with no prospect of dawn. James Cunningham Camps Bay