South Africans Worldwide Newsletter

As before in my life, I suddenly have received a urgent call to do relief flying.

This time it’s to fly to Harare in Zimbabwe, where a UK company [MARS] operate a ambulance aircraft, which does humanitarian Medical Rescues all over the region [in Zimbabwe but also to Zambia, Malawi, Mocambique from where patients are often transferred to Johannesburg for further treatment]. Who knows? Maybe that is worth writing about too!

Therefore I ask readers to be patient whilst I sort out my life there, as well as collating stories/articles for the SAW Newsletter.

Watch this space for more news...

‘Till next week.

Theo

Letters to the Editor TOP

Letter # 1 in reply to Miss Naidoo

Oh how my heart goes out to you Miss Naidoo.
Though English born, I grew up in East London, SA in the 50's and 60's.I visit SA as often as I can but nowadays the friends still there are few and far between.
Many have left, mostly for the UK for the same reason –
unless you're the right colour, there is just no place for you.
We all know the past was reprehensible but the present, that's no way forward either. As you say, what happened to the 'Rainbow nation'? I was last in Durban four years ago visiting a school friend who has since relocated to England.

Have you considered coming to Australia?
I came in the late 60's with my now late ex-husband, my mother was already here. We are crying out for doctors.
If you would like to email me, I could maybe give you more information if you're interested.
I live very far North in the tropics, blue skies, very hot and humid, mmmmmm a bit like Durbs! Though even more tropical, you can almost watch your garden grow! (Though it is 'winter' now, 16 degrees - wonderful! Am sitting here rugged up, wearing Ugh boots.)
I don't work in the medical section, this is just a friendly letter to an expat.
I will find out anything you wish to know. Just ask.
Hope you get to read this and I hope to hear from you.
Sincerely,
Carolyn Marriott, Australia
Email: camdar@artlover.com.au

Letter # 2 In reply to Miss Naidoo

Dear Sir

I loved the comments by Miss Naidoo.

Please forward my particulars to her for a possible job in the USA. I am an expatriate medical doctor working and living in Kansas.

Thanks!

Johannes Heyns

Radiology and Nuclear Medicine

Topeka

Kansas

jheyns@juno.com

Quote/s of the Week TOP

Forget injuries, never forget kindnesses. - Confucius

Either you decide to stay in the shallow end of the pool or you go out in the ocean. - Christopher Reeve

The future is an opaque mirror. Anyone who tries to look into it sees nothing but the dim outlines of an old and worried face. - Jim Bishop

True friends are those who really know you but love you anyway. - Edna Buchanan

The truth is the kindest thing we can give folks in the end. - Harriet Beecher Stowe

Life Recipes TOP

Moments of Love

I had a three dog couch waiting on me when I got home this morning. As I came through the front door I saw that each cushion on my couch had a little, furry ball curled up on it, sleeping peacefully. I smiled when I saw this and petted each of them lovingly as I walked by. It only took a few seconds of my time, but it filled my heart with joy.

As we go through our often busy days it is funny how the best parts of them seem to be those little moments we make for sharing love. They take so little of our time and yet the rewards they bring us are beyond belief. They strengthen our hearts, uplift our souls, and energize our bodies.

They make our lives a joy to live and a delight to share. They bring us peace, happiness, goodness, and most of all oneness with God. Three of the most important words in the Bible are: "God is love." Every moment we spend living in love then is a moment spent living in oneness with God.

Try to spend and share some moments for love in your own life today. Pet your dogs, cuddle your cats, and feed the birds. Hug your loved ones, look them in the eye, and say: "I love you."

Smile at the cashier in the store, give a compliment to a friend, and share a good laugh at work. Open a door for a stranger, help an elderly person with their bags, and do a few random acts of kindness when no one is looking. They only take a few seconds each day, but they bring you joy for a lifetime.

It takes so little time to live in love.

It takes so few moments to share that love with the world. It is these moments, however, that join your heart to God's and fill your life with light. Don't miss out on them. Make time for them and choose them everyday of your life. Moments of love lead to a lifetime of love and a lifetime of love leads to an eternity of love.

The Author is Joe Mazzella who is a happily married father of three who lives in the mountains of West Virginia. Various dogs and cats have adopted Joe and his family for their own. Joe likes to take the time to smell the roses and enjoy the beauty around him as he goes about his daily life.

His web site is http://www.angelfire.com

News from Ozzie TOP

Part 2 - by DanielJan le Roux from Perth

I ended my previous posting by stating that I do not wish to "cleanse" myself of my African blood. Allow me to elaborate.

In much the same way that the Voortrekkers ‘packed their bags’ and moved on into unknown destinations, I find myself in a similar position. Perth is certainly not as unknown to me as the land across the Drakensberg was to the Voortrekkers, but in a more civilised sense, it was and at times, still is an unknown entity to me. Yes, we live in modern times where the 'other side of the world' is merely half a day away by aeroplane. But this does not mean that 'the other side of the world' is a more 'known' factor! And even if it was, I believe that our heritage plays an important and very emotional part in where we find ourselves at any point in time – in my case, currently in Perth.

As mentioned in my previous editorial, I am very happy in Perth, and I luxuriate in the fact that I have very few concerns and day-to-day worries about my safety. But what do I do about my heritage, about the African blood that pulses through my veins? I feel that the act of immigrating is very much the same as what the Voortrekkers did: I/we/they made a conscious decision to move from somewhere that was intimately familiar, to another place that was unfamiliar. Accordingly I feel that the act of immigrating is very simular to the act of ‘trekking’ as the Voortrekkers did.

Today I feel 'familiar' in Perth. I go about my daily life as if I have been here forever. That is on the practical side. But emotionally I struggle at times. I do not find nurturing in the sounds of Perth, nor in the sights and smells. Yes, we have superb beaches and most attractive scenery, and the sky is bluer than I have ever seen (this is due to the fact that no 'heavy industry' is allowed, and subsequently pollution does not exist). But when I look up at the blue sky, I am often reminded of the smog that I encountered as a young child growing up in the Witwatersrand - and the smell of coal-fire and diesel locomotives.

In summer, when we have sweltering hot days and head off to the beach, the life-savers could warn of 'rough' surf: In Perth-terms that means that the waves could be about a metre high! I miss the massive dumpers that I grew up with along the Natal coast, waves that rolled me over and over and grazed my elbows and knees! In winter the warm school bus collects our children from outside their homes (or very close by). And I find my memory wandering... to days when I cycled to school in winter, and arriving at school with frozen fingers and a red nose and ears. In Perth we do not know the sound of crunching frostbitten lawn, neither are we familiar with breathing out deep breaths of vapour!

Often I have heard the saying "Rugby is nie vir sissies nie" (for the English readers: Rugby is not for sissys). I want to say the same about Africa: "Africa is not for sissys" ... and I am not a sissy!

Africa. It calls me frequently to remind me of its existence. Yet it is close, it is in my blood.

Ad Hoc Article/s of the Week TOP

'I believe in SA democracy'

Former Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) MP Roy Bennett was last week denied asylum by South Africa’s department of home affairs, which found that he does not face persecution in Zimbabwe. He has appealed against the decision to the Refugee Appeals Board. Bennett, an avowed pan-Africanist, who speaks deep Shona with a Manyika accent, is affectionately known in Zimbabwe as Pachedu (“We can do it on our own”).

Read more here... http://www.mg.co.za/

Kabila's cheap tricks backfire

Joseph Kabila, the interim president of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), has shot himself in the foot with the coup-plot fiasco he engineered two weeks ago.

Internationally he has infuriated two of his principal backers — South Africa and the United States — by unjustifiably holding 22 of their nationals for 10 days, claiming they were planning to topple him.

Read more here... http://www.mg.co.za

'Native Club for Afrikaner too'

Afrikaners should join the Native Club recently set up by representatives of South Africa's black intelligentsia, said President Thabo Mbeki on Thursday.

He would have no problem approaching the club to seek to take part in its activities, the president told MPs during Wednesday's presidency budget vote debate.

Read more here... from:- http://www.mweb.co.za

DA blasts 'Dr Garlic'

"By the time, the Soccer World Cup comes to South Africa it will be too late for five million of us who will have to watch the games from a garlic- and beetroot-induced afterlife," says Democratic Alliance MP Dianne Kohler-Barnard.

She was referring to Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang's repeated "recipe" for defeating the Aids pandemic - eat garlic, beetroot and lemon.

Read more here... http://www.mweb.co.za

Foreign visitors to SA up 13%

The total number of foreign travellers who visited South Africa, arriving through all ports of entry, during January 2006 was 729 249 - up 13% compared with the January 2005 figure of 645 432, Statistics South Africa said on Thursday.

Read more here... http://www.fin24.co.za

Manuel pours cold water on loan reports

South Africa is not in talks with Zimbabwe's cash-strapped government for a financial package, Finance Minister Trevor Manuel said on Tuesday.

His statement contrasts with comments last month by Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Aziz Pahad that Manuel and Reserve Bank Governor Tito Mboweni were continuing to discuss the possibility of a $1-billion bail out to President Robert Mugabe's government.

"No, I am not currently engaged in any talks with my Zimbabwean counterpart regarding a loan to Zimbabwe," Manuel said in a written reply to a parliamentary question.

"Neither has the South African government made any loan to Zimbabwe," Manuel said, adding that the central bank was also not in talks with Zimbabwean officials.

Read more here... http://www.iol.co.za/

Zim runs out of TB drugs

Public clinics and hospitals in the Zimbabwean capital are running out of desperately-needed drugs to treat tuberculosis, as a worsening hard currency shortage hits state health facilities hard, according to reports.

Read more here... http://www.news24.com

SA prisons 'a death sentence'

A man suspected of being the mastermind behind a scheme that plundered nine pension schemes of about R213m is facing a battle to have his bail conditions changed.

Peter Ghavalas, 59, appeared in Johannesburg commercial crimes court to have his bail conditions relaxed so he could go to Australia until his trial begins. Ghavalas, who has lived in Australia since 1998, was arrested last year when he slipped into South Africa to visit a dying relative. He was granted bail of R1m and may not leave South Africa.

Read more here... http://www.mweb.co.za

Another World Cup for Cape Town

While controversy continues over the multi-billion rand upgrade of Cape Town's Greenpoint Stadium prior to 2010, another soccer world cup is coming to the city that will be held at the city's most historic square, the Grand Parade, which is about to go through a major revitalisation process.

The Homeless World Cup, a world-class street soccer event will blaze the trail for the 2010 World Cup, unites socially marginalised people from around the world. Forty eight teams will battle it out on the Grand Parade.

Read more here... http://www.property24.com/

Bits and Bobs TOP

Cape gene test spots dementia

A new genetic test for heart disease also helps detect a predisposition to Alzheimer’s and senile dementia, says a press release from Cape Biotech/Genecare. The molecular genetics company, Genecare, is the first to launch a genetic test in South Africa that links multiple risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD) with the development of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), the press release said.

Read more here... http://www.health24.com

Endangered mammal seen

There have been further sightings of the critically-endangered riverine rabbit, beyond its normal distribution, CapeNature said in a statement on Wednesday. "This is very significant for conservation as it means there is now a whole new area to discover, and a new distribution to the existing small and threatened habitat," read a statement from CapeNature's Natasha Rockman.

Read more here... http://www.news24.com/

PetroSA seeks gas reserves for SA plant

PetroSA, South Africa's state-owned oil company, is seeking gas deposits elsewhere in Africa to feed a gas-to-motor fuel plant in South Africa. The company will bid for gas deposits in Egypt, agree terms on extracting the fuel from fields in Sudan and complete plans to "commercialise" gas deposits it already owns in Nigeria, Sipho Mkhize, chief executive officer of PetroSA told journalists on Friday in Johannesburg.

Read more here... http://www.busrep.co.za

Save the whale's friends

Like a bloodhound on the scent of a crime, Kerry Sink enters Portugal Fisheries in Troyeville, Johannesburg, and heads straight for a freezer at the rear of the store. The 33-year-old marine biologist closely scrutinises a package of crayfish tails. “See the scalloped lines on the shell?” she asks. “Illegal East Coast rock lobsters. In KwaZulu-Natal, I’d have an army of epauletted wildlife officers here in a minute.”

Read more here... http://www.mg.co.za

When travelling abroad should be on the cards

A cashless overseas trip is possible - and even preferable if you want to foil thieves. Not only are credit and debit cards accepted in all but the most undeveloped parts of the world, but an innovation from two banks, in concert with MasterCard, now allows travel with a pre-paid card that has all the functions of a debit and credit card.

Read more here... http://www.iol.co.za/

How about a motor sport estate?

Golf estates continue to spring up all over the place, and various Cabinet ministers have expressed reservations about these high-class enclaves, notably for the way they squander resources such as water. But what about the rest of us, who don't play golf?

How's about a motor sport estate? Just think about it. You could have your own tar circuit, nice and tight and bendy, so you can cater for fun and skill rather than pure testosterone (after all, those who could afford to be there probably will have lost the killer instinct).

Read more here... http://www.wheels24.co.za/

New Houses smaller and cheaper

South Africa's five-year residential property boom is seeing the prices of existing homes playing catch-up with newly built ones. In fact, the price gap between new and existing houses shrank to a negligible 1,5% in first quarter 2006, the lowest price differential in 16 years.

Absa figures show that three years ago homebuyers still had to pay on average 31% more for the privilege of owning a new home. The sharp decline in the price difference between new and existing homes can be ascribed to house prices rising at a faster pace than that of residential building costs.

Read more here... http://www.property24.com/

The Legal Beagle TOP

Nobody seems to require help

Help Desk TOP

No-one has requested help this week.

Where are they now? TOP

Nobody's looking for anyone this week.

Club and Other News TOP

No news received this week.

Humour TOP

This from Matthew Green...

Once you've seen one shopping centre, you've seen a mall.

Those who jump off a Paris bridge are in Seine.

When an actress saw her first strands of gray hair, she thought she'd dye.

Bakers trade bread recipes on a knead-to-know basis.

Santa's helpers are subordinate clauses.

Acupuncture is a jab well done.

This from DanielJan le Roux...

Classic definitions

Cigarette - a pinch of tobacco rolled in paper, with fire at one end & a fool at the other.

Love affairs - something like cricket where one-day internationals are more popular than a five day test.

Marriage - it's an agreement in which a man loses his bachelor degree and a woman gains her master.

Divorce - future tense of marriage.

Lecture - an art of transferring information from the notes of the lecturer to the notes of the students without passing through "the minds of either".

Conference - the confusion of one man multiplied by the number present.

Compromise - the art of dividing a cake in such a way that everybody believes he got the biggest piece.

Tears - the hydraulic force by which masculine will-power is defeated by feminine water-power.

Dictionary - a place where divorce comes before marriage.

Conference Room - a place where everybody talks, nobody listens & everybody disagrees later on.

Ecstasy - a feeling when you feel you are going to feel a feeling you have never felt before.

Classic - a book which people praise, but do not read.

Smile - a curve that can set a lot of things straight

Office - a place where you can relax after your strenuous home life.

Yawn - the only time some married men ever get to open their mouth.

Etc. - a sign to make others believe that you know more than you actually do.

Committee - individuals who can do nothing individually and sit to decide that nothing can be done together.

Experience - the name men give to their mistakes.

Atom Bomb - an invention to end all inventions.

Philosopher - a fool who torments himself during life, to be spoken of when dead.

Diplomat - a person who tells you to go to hell in such a way that you actually look forward to the trip.

Opportunist - a person who starts taking bath if he accidentally falls into a river.

Optimist - a person who while falling from Eiffel Tower says in midway "See I am not injured yet."

Pessimist - a person who says that O is the last letter in ZERO, Instead of the first letter in word OPPORTUNITY.

Miser - a person who lives poor so that he can die rich.

Father - a banker provided by nature.

Criminal - a guy no different from the rest... except that he got caught.

Boss - someone who is early when you are late and late when you are early.

Politician - one who shakes your hand before elections and your confidence after.

Doctor - a person who kills your ills by pills, and kills you with his bills.

Recipes TOP

Beef steaks with spicy rub

Ingredients
4 sirloin steaks
MARINADE
90 ml balsamic or herbed vinegar
sherry or red wine
90 ml olive oil
4 cloves garlic, crushed
2 onions, sliced
RUB
250 ml fresh thyme and origanum, chopped
5 ml coarse salt
7 ml coarse black pepper
2 ml mustard powder
15 ml paprika
5 ml cayenne pepper
5 ml fennel seeds, crushed

Method:
Shake all the marinade ingredients together in a screw-top jar. Pour over the steaks and marinate for 2 hours. Remove the steaks from the marinade, reserving it for basting, and pat the meat dry with paper towels. Mix the rub ingredients together and rub onto the steaks. Refrigerate overnight and bring to room temperature about 3 hours before cooking.
"Braai" or grill the steaks until done to your liking.
Source:- http://www.food24.com/

Sports News TOP

Strong field for Comrades 2006

The Comrades Marathon Association announced on Wednesday there would be a top-class field of South African and international athletes for this year's Comrades Marathon on June 16. Missing from the women's field in 2006 will be two top competitors of recent years.

Read more here... http://www.news24.com/

Advertising on South Africans Worldwide TOP

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Reader's Interests or Hobbies TOP

Nobody contributed anything - Come On Readers-this is your column !

Credits and Contact Info TOP

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Disclaimer TOP

The editors, publishers, directors and shareholders of Maesti Web Consulting (being the holding company that publishes SAW) place on record that opinions and comment published in this newsletter are those of the authors, contributors and correspondents.

It should not be construed that we agree or disagree with any of the material. All information about events is published in good faith as received from the correspondents.

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