Story from Down Under

1997 was a very traumatic time in the lives of people who are very dear to me. This was a time that I had to share the exciting news with my parents and close family that I was leaving South Africa for good. For my wife and I, this was a new chapter in our lives and one that we were looking forward to. To the rest of my family, we were leaving!

As I had been planning this for some time, I could not understand why nobody else seemed excited for us. Those close to us did not share our enthusiasm and this puzzled us. Even our two daughters were not very happy. It was only then that I realised that my family leaving was not in everyone else’s plan. The last two or three months were very difficult. Nearly every engagement was to say our last goodbyes to friends and family. We would be leaving for Down Under and not looking back.

We had heard so many stories of people not being happy. We had heard so many stories of people returning home and having to start all over again. Things like this will definitely play on your mind. That is why we felt it important to sever many of our ties such as selling our home, etc. We were going to give this new chapter in our lives our best shot. Eight years on and I truly believe that we have.

My concern for the safety of my wife and children was the biggest motivating factor in contemplating a move to Australia. Added to this was the lack of opportunities for the youth, the sensationalising of events by the media, high mortgage rates, health and education crises and the like. Media was a very big problem for my 9 year old daughter. She loved reading the newspaper but this had to stop for obvious reasons. It was then that my wife and I sat down and spoke about emigrating to Australia, again…. I say again because we had gone through this talk about five times from as early as 1991.

Having young children made me now see many factors in a different light. What South Africa had to offer my children then was not what I wanted for them. We had a lovely home, cars and my wife and I had wonderful jobs. We were prepared for the fact that we might never have these things again. After all, is this not what people strive for? Luckily for us we knew that these material things are only transient and can be recouped in time. What we knew we would have to gain is a new society that is far more tolerant to the different cultures.

Never a day goes by when I don’t think of my family in South Africa. I always knew that sacrifices would have to be made and not seeing my parents and my nephews growing up sometimes tears me apart, BUT when I look at how our daughters have progressed in this diverse culture, I am positive that we made the right choices in 97.

It took me about 2 years before I gradually changed my allegiance to the Aussie national teams. This was the day I became an Australian citizen. I am proud to be Australian and refer to Australia as home. I now know that Down Under is On Top.