It's not all that bad!?

In 1983 I came down to Cape Town from Namibia and was astonished by the beauty. For me it was a dream city! I enjoyed jogging on the contour path at the back of Table Mountain in the forest, I enjoyed the sea and SCUBA diving, I enjoyed the outdoor life, the sun shine (well, in summer; in winter there was none), the fresh air and the excellent infrastructure. I returned to Namibia in 1986, got work, got married, got frustrated in my work. Then my wife and I moved to Cape Town in 1989.

Cape Town is still a fantastic place to be and we enjoyed it very much. However, over time the air has become so polluted that many days you can taste the sulphur in it. There is a very high incidence of allergies and respiratory problems amongst the people living in and around Cape Town, esp. amongst infants and the elderly. Most days there is a thick brown layer over the city, the density/transparency varies but it is almost always there. I always say “It's a nice day in Cape Town when the sun shines and the wind is blowing gale force.” If the wind is still for a day or two you get that thick layer of pollution hanging over the city again. It fills the entire basin from the Paarl mountains in the north to the Gordons Bay mountains in the south. You can't get away from it unless you travel 50 to 100Kms and go over the mountains. Here is a pic I entered for a photo competition at the hight of my disgust at the state of the Cape Town air.

When it is a clear, sunny day, why not take a walk on the world famous Table Mountain? Well, because you are very likely to get mugged there! Even cyclists have been stopped and mugged by people living in the bush on the mountain. Being an amateur photographer, I'd love to walk about Cape Town and photograph the old buildings, the sunsets over the city, the unique people of the Cape, but you dare not walk about with your mobile phone in hand or you are likely to get mugged. What if you take a leisurely stroll with R10 000's worth of hardware hanging around your neck?!!

With news of all the above (this & the previous 2 entries) raining down on you day after day, interviews with security specialists, mates emailing anti-hijacking precautions and target cars of the month, you eventually develop a bunch of preconditioned responses. I have a set drill for when I leave the garage, another drill for when I approach my house and pull into the garage, another for when I drive in town, another for when I approach my car in public parking, another for when I approach a stop street or traffic light, I avoid certain places after dusk (and I'm not talking about back streets and slums!), etc. etc. And so we adapt our life style around the threats we face every day. What we don't realise is that the persistent pressures take their toll, both on our health and our mental well being! Now you can say: “Stefan, you are being paranoid and ridiculous.” You may; my wife does every now and then, but I am not willing to take any chances! Just one violent encounter will change you life forever! I am not willing to take that chance!