Well I was asked a question on my intro comments section by @jamtaylor a fellow minority man that comes from a majority type skin colour! His question was "as a white minority in a black majority country myself (Barbados, born and raised) I'd be interested in hearing what it's like for you in Zambia."
FYI I'm Josh Isaacs, a fifth generation African. My father's side of the family were peasant type (read fiddler on the roof, sans a violin) Ashkenazi Jews from Lithuania who fled the constant strife and pogroms of the time in search of a better world. Mum's side were super posh English & Scottish stock, direct line to Sir Adam Gordon, Cock o' the North and HRH Princess Louise of England. Super weird combination right?
Life in Zambia as a white dude is pretty much a life of privilege (I'm trying to be honest always). That's not to say I grew up with a silver spoon in my mouth, my success thus far has genuinely been entirely my own, barring from parents giving me a cracking educational foundation which helped me be who I am, though not what i am. I'm also still in something like £40,000 worth of debt thanks to a very pricey, drug filled adventure known as university in Cardiff, Wales! That said, as one can probably imagine, white poverty in a place like here is an incredible minority, in fact I don't think I know of any homeless, or otherwise financially troubled white people. Oh sure we have our fair share of hillbillies, I mean some of the farming communities have populations of like... 100 people. Naa mean?
Onto the real stuff, what's it really like here? Well, there's a lot of positives. Firstly, I took a bunch of guys who worked for me as casual labourers to build my pub which looks like this...
And turned them into chefs capable of making food that looks like this...
We also have arguably the best climate on earth. Yearly median temperature is a balmy 24C (75F), Our winter in 2 months, June and July in which I am currently freezing!! Yes ok, it's 11pm and it's 14C (57F), I should shut up. We get an average of like 1.25m of rainfall a year - the joke is you could throw a toothpick out your window and grow a tree. Oh yeah we're real funny in Zam. Also coincidently 2/5 of sub-saharan Africa's water flows through Zambia! So yeah, Zambia is super dope, now for the 'areas of improvement'.
Zambia has a fast growing middle class, now that may seem like a good thing, but in a country where there is 40%+ unemployment it's actually more indicative of government and/or other corruption. A few people make huge sums of money on shady deals related to mining, road building, infrastructure, licensing, taxation and imports. You can tell it very easily as all government vehicles get the registration GRZ. And boy, are GRZ cars nice. Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Honda Accords, Toyota Land Cruiser VX Limiteds and TX Prados, limited edition Ford Ranger Wildtracks, Nissan Patrol LEs and the like. If it don't cost $40,000+, they don't want it. All the while their brethren consume a staple diet of ground maize and shredded leafy greens. Racism is rife, I have increasingly frequently been told to f*ck off to where I came from as well as other equally eloquent statements. This is in part thanks to total failure of NGOs to make any change other than increasing the amount the corrupt few have in their pockets (yes, you are all wasting your time, and your money) if you don't believe me feel free to read Dead Aid by Dambisa Moyo, one of the most fantastic accounts of the first world's delusions around. It has created what is now known as White Saviour Syndrome - read #LintonLies for a recent example. On top of that, the constant desire of US Police officers to bust a cap in just about any black dude they don't like the look of has engendered and fueled the feelings of resentment toward whites that has been festering like a sore pretty much since Jan Van Riebeck and the brits stuck their flags where they didn't really belong. Education is a disaster, and I think it's all part of the plan. Stupid people don't make intelligent political observations. The serfs of Russia didn't create the revolution, it was learned men, men who studied, learned of Marx, and then went to the beer houses and taught the common people. The Arab Spring was much the same, albeit intensely assisted by social media and the world wide web. Zambia, is a country of brain drain, smart people leave, moderately educated people enter government and pillage their own people, the uneducated, they vote for whoever drops 10kg bags of sugar at the village on the eve of the election, (serious statement). As such everything has suffered, infrastructure is a joke, no sewers, no water mains, power cuts of up to 16hrs a day - we all have septic tanks, boreholes and fuel/gas powered generators. Driving is hilarious, worst drivers I've ever seen! Value After Tax sits at 16%, my bank loan I took out to open my restaurant has an interest rate of 45%, yep, you heard me. Import duties are 60%. Income tax 40%.
So yes, being here, even though I consider it home is not without its frustrations...but it's also why I'm still here. Most of us are inherently positive about the fate of Africa, and are privileged to a part of the ride. I think with tolerance and patience, it is certainly the place in which the future of humanity may reside!
Very interesting, thanks for sharing. There are some similarities, of course.
I've been thinking of doing a post on being a white boy from Barbados (it's kinda my schtick, as they say) but I'll need to sit and work it out first. I already made one here
Downvoting a post can decrease pending rewards and make it less visible. Common reasons:
Submit