Litigium

It has often been asked of me, especially by those in my new homeland, why I chose to leave South Africa , a country that enjoys “such marvellous weather” and commands “such breathtaking natural beauty”, to live in Western Europe . The short-version knee-jerk response is “if you have to ask, you’ll never know”. However, taking into account that many (dare I say most?) Europeans have an image of South Africa gleaned from travel posters, or TV bytes of Nelson Mandela being welcomed into freedom by ecstatic multi-cultural crowds, the answer demands more explanation. But how does one condense the feelings, emotions and cold, hard facts that contribute to a decision to uproot oneself and leave the country of one’s birth for the uncertainty of self-imposed exile? After all, unlike some of my fellow non-European expatriates, I was not fleeing a war or political persecution. Granted, I had lost my job due to the post-apartheid policy of 'affirmative ac...