Letter from Jeremy Mansfield
I have just received the following e-mail. It was forwarded to me and is apparently an original letter from radio personality Jeremy Mansfield. I can’t confirm the authenticity of it but the content is fair comment:
Dear Mr Mbeki
As a citizen of this country who has recently returned from abroad I would like to raise a concern.
I would have written a similar letter in the 1980s at the height of apartheid oppression to the government of that day then but did not have the platform then that I have now.
Almost every time I was introduced as a South African during my travels last week, I was berated for my country’s stance on Zimbabwe, much the same way as during my travels in the 1980s when, as a South African, I was berated for the apartheid legislation of the time. It seems the more things change the more they stay the same.
For the second time in my life as a citizen of this country I was embarrassed to be a South African based on the principles of the ruling party of the day. Then, the apartheid government and now the ANC government.
Shame on you for your lack of leadership. Shame on you for failing the region you serve. Shame on you for failing the country you serve. Shame on you for your action and your lack of action. You have placed your citizens in the same situation the apartheid government, which you are so quick to blame for all the ills of today, did in the 1980s. A position where they are ashamed to stand up and proudly say they are South African.
You should hang your head in shame, the same way we are inclined to do.
Yours sincerely
Jeremy Mansfield, a citizen
One wonders if Thabo Mbeki and the ANC leadership will take heed of this and finally take a firm stance against the situation in Zimbabwe.
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Filed under: Uncategorized and tagged Jeremy Mansfield
http://www.highveld.co.za/planet947/raw/raw_letter.asp
This letter certainly voices the feelings of many of us citizens. I wish it proposed some positive action.
I could not write it better. JM certainly stands out from the crowd in terms of his patriotism.It is really difficult being pushed away from the country of your birth because of sins of the father. As a white professional I left RSA as I could not find work and I could not guarantee my families financial security.
I applaud Jeremy for the stance he takes and i am certain there are many many South Africans who feel the same. Perhaps one day we can return and feel welcome.
God bless
Chris
Now that is an honest opinion!
Indeed! It is not always easy to be enthusiastic about the country when things are looking bleak, but if one person shows the rest of us that we have things to be grateful for then hell yeah we have to support them!