Last week we took to the road to investigate altruism in South Africa.
We read tabloid articles from Europe and America sensationalising the state of crime in our country; punting the need for bulletproof vests (all available in your team colours) and bodyguards (all available to non-South African citizens). There is one thing all South Africans can’t abide and that’s people bad mouthing our nation. Filled with a sense of national pride, we were inspired to prove them all wrong.
We decided to hitchhike from Cape Town to Johannesburg during the World Cup.
Although we were doggedly determined to prove the tabloids wrong, our typical South African fear crept into our thoughts and this became a central theme in our preparations. The fact is South Africa has more assaults, rape and murder per capita than anywhere else on this planet, with over 200 sex crimes and 50 murders taking place everyday.
We bought padlocks and mace, left our wallets behind, and even had a system where by we would sms the license plate of the car picking us up to a friend. I even had the flying squad on speed dial.
The night before we left I had dreams of drugged up psycho-hippies with chainsaws and my face on a milk carton.
But from the moment the first car pulled over, something happened. All the fear seemed to evaporate like ether. We leapt into the first car like eager lambs to the slaughter. There was no sense of threat.
We have had over 10 lifts so far and have never once encountered problems. From day one, I forgot to sms licence plates, forgot about police assistance. The mace is now enveloped in a mould of lint at the bottom of my bag.
The people we have met so far consistently eradicate any sense of fear we may have had.
Every person that has given us a lift, has driven out of his or her way to drop us off exactly where we need to be; some driving as far as 40km from their original destination. A journalist in Knysna picked us and took us to his house for coffee. A Xhosa hotelier took us to meet her family. A taxi driver from PE drove for an hour, picking up six other people on the way and refused to take money from anyone.
Maybe it’s the amazing people we have met, maybe it’s the miles and miles of magnificent landscape, or maybe it’s the vast amount of fireside conversations, but the universe seems more connected and harmonious than ever before.
Are we all really connected? Is there an overwhelming growth of Altruism in this country? Or are we just been lulled into a false sense of security before the universe turns on us? Have we become too complacent?
But after 1400km we refuse to believe that disaster is waiting on our horizon. We will dive into the Transkei with confidence and hang onto the beautiful sense of altruism we have encountered so far.
But I think I’ll hang onto those numbers.
Just in case…
