Why South Africans leave home

By JULIE MIDDLETON

South Africans immigrants hear the question from New Zealanders constantly: why did you leave?

And that can be tough to answer, say immigrants of all hues - because it requires allusion to the shameful past of their country, where 40 years of apartheid were toppled in 1994.

It has been a hard week for South African immigrants since inflammatory comments about New Zealand were posted on an internet message board for South Africans living here.

Since the comments became known, South African immigrants have sought to distance themselves from the negative and racist views expressed. Some have expressed outrage or embarrassment in letters to the Herald.

For example, Shari Hearne and Hayley Scnell of Milford wrote: "While we experienced a certain amount of cultural cringe over those comments, we don't believe these pathetic opinions are held by the majority of South African immigrants."

South Africans are "painfully aware" of their country's history, says Philip Langenhoeven, chairmaon of the 600-member Die Afrikaanse Klub van Nieu-Seeland, "and people tend to identify all South Africans with apartheid".

Some South Africans feel defensive, fear being judged, of being viewed in terms of their pasts rather than their present, he says.

The curly question is this: If you're not racist and South Africa is such a good place, why did you leave only after the fall of apartheid?

Such queries can prove "uncomfortable. Deep down, I think many South Africans hope it will never come up," says Mr Langenhoeven, 43, who came from Port Elizabeth three and a half years ago with wife Erika and three children.

"It is awkward," says lawyer George Deeb, 53, who arrived from Johannesburg nine years ago with his wife, Sue, and three children.

"South Africa has a history of being ostracised in the international community because of its political views and apartheid.

"Coming from South Africa, everyone has had to deal with that and has to bear the burden of having lived in that system."

South Africans were born into apartheid, says Mr Deeb, who is a trustee of the South Africa New Zealand Charitable Trust (Sanz).

"We didn't condone it, but there was little one could do ... Much as we wanted to make changes and tried to, that did not happen [immediately]."

Zimbabwe-born management consultant Michael Clements, 51, who arrived here 10 years ago, says: "We grew up with the system, but that doesn't mean we supported it."

Unfortunately there are some "white flight" racists among the South Africans here, says Mr Clements, but they are a minority.

South Africans here, says Mr Langenhoeven, should be sensitive to the impact on the collective New Zealand psyche of the Springbok tour - and even the 1995 World Cup in South Africa, which New Zealand lost after alleged food-poisoning.

Mr Deeb remembers a distinct "frostiness" toward South Africans at that time. To overcome what he sees as a Kiwi reserve, he encourages his compatriots to "make an effort to be involved".

New Zealand's everyday systems - education, medical care, banks and the like - are different, says 39-year-old insurance claims adviser Barbara Parker, who is of mixed Irish and black heritage and labels herself "a licorice all-sort".

Mrs Parker, who is ex-Durban and came here with her husband Barry and three children seven years ago, notes, with several others, that discipline in schools seems more lax than in South Africa. This can lead to discipline problems at home.

South Africans here are generally well-qualified workers, but in our small-business economy, similar jobs are less likely to be available - and many migrants are rejected because they lack New Zealand experience.

Mr Deeb says he received 100 rejection letters along those lines before deciding to set up his own practice.

Mr Langenhoeven says he realised before migrating that he would have to do some lower-status jobs before regaining his former career status.

So why do South Africans leave their homeland?

Mrs Parker says she could see that putting black and white South Africans on an equal footing would cause 15 years of economic backsliding, and she worried about her three children's futures.

Mr Clements was "looking for a country where I could live safely, get a job and educate my children and ensure their health. It's true of any other immigrant".

SETTLING IN

* About 35,000 South African immigrants live in New Zealand.

* They are mainly middle class white English and Afrikaans speakers, but other groups here include coloured (mixed race) people and Indian people, as well as Zulu and Xhosa speaking South Africans.

* Most South African immigrants live in Auckland, with large groupings on the North Shore and Howick.

* Most South Africans have been here for 10 years or less, but there are some who arrived more than 15 years ago.