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Last Update: August 26, 2001 |
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South Africa's Big Brother South Africa proved that it isn't far behind the rest of the world on Sunday night when, with pizzazz and razzle-dazzle, the country's first reality programme blasted off. Electrifying yet tense is what the atmosphere was like outside the entrance to the Big Brother house in Randburg on Sunday. Someone in the crowd kept on muttering: "This is history in the making for South African television. Our very own reality programme. Can you believe it?" More than 400 people lined the entrance of the house - and some even sat perched in trees - with flags, balloons and banners, screaming for their favourite contestant. And with the red carpet not far away, one could have easily mistaken the launch of M-Net's reality television show for Oscar night. For the 12 men and women who had been chosen, it was time to say goodbye to their friends, families and the rest of the world for the next 106 days. The support and cheers from the crowd were unbelievable, and emotion showed on some of the faces of the contestants. While contestants such as Janine, Nina and Vuyo lapped up all the attention, others looked more subdued and hung on to those last moments, filled with hugs and kisses. One thing is for sure: all 12 contestants won't forget the sendoff they received. Janine's family, who flew in from Cape Town to wish her luck, couldn't contain themselves. Each family member might have been standing with huge grins, but that didn't stop the tears from rolling down their cheeks. While her little son Shane, 3, sobbed for his mommy, her older son Reece, 11, was confident that mom was definitely going to win. "Although I'm going to miss her, I feel very excited. She is a winner, just wait and see," he said. Janine's mother, Dorothy Manchest, 61, said although Big Brother was just a game, she was a bit heartsore that she wasn't going to see her daughter. "My daughter is a survivor. She is very straightforward and outspoken, and I don't know if that is a good thing. I feel very sorry for her two boys. The three of them share a very close bond and I know that it is going to be hard for all three of them," Manchest added. Nobesuthu's mother was just as concerned for her daughter. While everyone around her was shouting and screaming their lungs out, she stood clenching her fists, trying to fight back the tears - but it eventually became too much. "I'm so nervous and worried about my child. I wonder if she is going to be okay. She doesn't like vegetables and doesn't drink milk. How is she gonna live? "Aish, I just don't know," she added. A few seconds before the contestants walked into the house, they turned around and looked back for a final glance. From now on it's pure survival for them, dozens of cameras and Big Brother. Thanks to IOL.co.za [ Top ]  Kytie Koekblik ColumnKytie Koekblik Washington D.C. - DISCLAIMER: hierdie kytie koekblik word met ‘n knypie sout geskryf hierdie week…. EK dink dit het my getref. Big Brother Paranoia. Laasweek het ek geskryf oor die Conspiracy Theories wat in die omloop is in Amerika. Hierdie week dink ek daar is meer loonies in hierdie land as wat ek ooit kon vermoed het. Hierdie land het selfs die vermoe om oopkop-denkende mense so te verwar dat hulle loonies word. Imagine nou, jy kom uit kleindorp Kuilsrivier of Volksrus for that matter, en almal beskuldig jou nog altyd daarvan dat jy ‘n rockspider is wat in ‘n insular omgewing grootgeword het. Jou tipiese stereotipiese kleindorp girl is dus naief, ignorant en idealisties en jy hoor gereeld dat jy actually close-minded is. As jy swot is dit ‘n BA MANS graad en as jy nie swot nie stel jy net in kook, kinders en trou belang. Is jy ‘n boykie van daardie wereld, is jy chauvinisties en op uitkyk vir ‘n vrou wat kan kook. Wat doen jy as jy in Amerika aankom? Jy maak mos die koppie oop vir nuwe werelde. Jy trust nogsteeds almal en stel jou kop so oop vir nuwe idees en opinies dat jy within ‘n flash ‘n mal, deurmekaar loony word met geen opinies nie. Antwoord byvoorbeeld die volgende vrae vir jouself: 1) Is jy anti-globalisation of is jy pro-globalisation? 2) Weet jy wat globalization behels? 3) Is jy anti world bank of pro-world bank? 4) Is jy anti-IMF of pro-IMF 5) Glo jy in UFOs of nie? 6) Is jy gekant teen die militarization of space of nie? Ek en my housemates baklei redelik gereeld oor al hierdie vrae. My een housemate kom uit die South. Hy werk vir ‘n republican lobbyist en hy glo vas die child labour wat ge-exploit word in Mali moet net dankbaar wees dat hulle ten minste ‘n werk het - ten spyte van die indecent wages en kondisies wat sy eie regerings as ‘n infringement on basic human rights sou sien. My ander housemate is ‘n soort apathetic hippy wat glo deur op die couch te sit met ‘n goeie hart, gaan die wereld red. Hy steun verskillende liberale causes maar verkies pret bo sy social consciousness. Dan is daar ek, ‘n loonie in wording, ek kan dit voel. Ek vermoed my e-mail word gemonitor. Ek dink ek is op die Kubaanse regerings se hitlys. Ek dink Intelligence wil my recruit. Ens. Ek glo nie in Friday the 13th bollie nie maar ek stuur nie meer e-mail met woorde soos KKK of FBI of CIA of PAC of BUSH na my vriende nie. Ek is bang die covert wereld-regering (alias die World Bank/CIA/IMF/Republican/Sadam Hussein geheime alliansie wat die wereld se oorloe en geldsake bepaal) se file oor my raak al hoe dikker. Ek vrae meer en meer en meer vrae sonder om enigsins nader te kom aan ‘n OPINIE. Is ek ‘n global citizen? Is ek ‘n ware Souf African? Sal ek stem in enige verkiesing? Vir wie sou ek stem? Sal ek gaan protest vir die een of ander cause? Is ek Suid-Afrika se eerste vroulike rockspider president? EK WEET NIE. So gaan die lysie aan en aan. Ek weet nie of ek kapitalisme steun of daarteen is nie, ek weet nie sosialisme en kommunisme meer van mekaar onderskei nie en ek het gehoor van die Washington Consensus en neo-liberalisme en SAPS maar op hierdie aarde, ek weet nie meer watter kant toe nie. Wat is conspiracy en wat is nie conspiracy nie? Wat is teorie en wat is realiteit? Wat is idealisties en wat is realiteit? En as jy in conspiracies en die unreality of reality glo, dan kick die paranoia mos in. So weet ek byvoorbeeld elke nasie monitor e-mails en foon-oproepe. Nou dink nou mooi daaraan, die oomblik as jy begin praat en skryf en selfs net bel word jou stem dalk vir ewig ge-record. Nou die dag het iemand my juis gewaarsku: Veral joernaliste word gemonitor en dopgehou. Se nou maar hulle hou my wel dop, wie dink hulle is hierdie 23 year old girl wat rondhang in die SA ambassade en al hulle lekker kos opeet tydens offisiele funksies? Hulle almal dink seker ek is die een of ander lunatic conspiracy theory soort persoon. Soos byvoordbeeld: 1)Ek het toevallig op die Ku Klux Klan se mailing list beland toe ek besig was om ‘n storie te research vroeer in die jaar. 2)Ek is ook op die lys van die een of ander aards-anargis wat chain e-mails stuur, en hyself glo hy word deur die Big Brother agtervolg. ‘n Radical soort loonie. 3) Ek het kontak met covert organisasies wat anti IMF/World Bank goeters reel. Ek het ook vriende en kontakte in die World Bank. 4) My Baas is na gerugte deurmekaar met die Bethesda mafia. Ek is dus die WARE JOERNALIS met een voet in die een organisasie en my ander voet in die ander. Ek sit op die draad, ek observe, ek speel die game aan altwee kante. Net ek speel nie. Ek vra soveel vrae dat my kop spin. Ek skryf, ek is mos ‘n joernalis. Al ooit gewonder hoekom ons dink soos ons dink? Hoekom ons koerante skryf wat hulle skryf? Ek is ‘n joernalis in wording… Kytie K. Kytie Koekblik would like you to respond to her tongue-in-cheek running commentary on suburban life in America in this editorial. Fresh off the boat, she is ready to explore and experiment with American bath plugs and to drive on the other side of the road. You can contact her here. © RSA-Overseas & Matheson Communications [ Top ] Mbeki to declare flooded Cape 'disaster area' President Thabo Mbeki is to declare Cape Town's flooded townships disaster areas to alleviate the plight of thousands of people driven from their homes by the heaviest rains in 40 years. Some residents have sought refuge at community halls for more than two months since the heavy rains began. Mbeki's spokesperson, Bheki Khumalo, confirmed on Sunday that the president would make the declaration on Monday once he had received the necessary papers. On Saturday, representatives of the provincial government, South African National Defence Force, SA Police Services, local government, the Red Cross and the Salvation Army compiled a report, supporting the request for disaster relief, for the National Disaster Management Centre. The report was passed on to Mbeki's aides. The declaration, under the government Emergency Act, means a committee, comprising members of local, provincial and national government, will be set up. The committee will assess the situation and decide what measures must be taken to ease the residents' plight. For the 15 000 residents of Kosovo, Brown's Farm, KTC, Phola Park, New Rest, Marcus Garvey, Monwood, Sweet Home, Oscar Mpetha Square, Samora Machel, Tambo Square, Egoli, Miller's Camp, Lusaka, Heinz Park, Gqobasi, Europe and Joe Slovo, the declaration might mean they will be moved to another area and the red tape shortened if they have applied for government housing subsidies. Another measure might be to supply them with blankets and food. The residents, however, want to move from the area permanently. "There will be immediate measures to improve their lives," said a source close to the President's Office. Meanwhile, conditions in the flooded areas are getting worse and people are becoming impatient. Disaster Management workers have been distributing food parcels and feeding more than five thousand people a night at nine locations. More than one thousand blankets have been distributed. Several truck loads of sand and rolls of plastic sheeting were delivered to the stricken areas at the weekend. Sam Dodgen, deputy director of Social Services and Poverty Relief, said the declaration of a disaster area would allow the department to make a meaningful contribution in improving living conditions for those affected. "Our funds are depleted and this declaration will make more funds available to us," he said. "We have the Red Cross and the Salvation Army doing the work for us and we pay them for what they have done." In KTC, houses are flooded and the streets dotted with pools of green, stagnant water. Councillor Gladstone Ntamo said he was worried that the water would spread disease. He said the local day hospital had long queues of people who had developed skin rashes and there were several cases of tuberculosis. "People appreciate the help they are getting, but they want to know how long are they going to survive on bread and sleeping in the hall instead of in proper houses. They are running out of patience and it is becoming difficult for me now. I have told them not to occupy land and have made promises that things will be okay - but when will that be?" The weather bureau has predicted the rain will continue, with a break on Tuesday. It predicts a 20 percent chance of rain on Monday, 90 percent on Wednesday and 70 percent on Thursday and Friday. Thanks to IOL.co.za [ Top ] Wolmarans begs for forgiveness in court An emotional Frederick Wolmarans on Monday begged the Durban High Court and his family to forgive him for killing his adoptive parents last year. Twenty-one-year-old Wolmarans and his four accomplices Lily Manbodh, 27, Ronald Manbodh, 23, Brian Manbodh, 19, and Eric Ntsakantsaka, 27, were found guilty of murdering Jacobus and Erna Wolmarans at their Westville home in western Durban. They were also found guilty of robbery with aggravating circumstances. Testifying in mitigation of sentence, Wolmarans told the court that he hired Lily Manbodh, her two nephews and her boyfriend to kill his parents because he did not see eye to eye with his father. His father had told him that he was sick and tired of his ways and that he should pack his bags and leave. "I did not know what to do. The only way out was to do what I did," he said. Thanks to IOL.co.za [ Top ]  Nel's KitchenRagel Nel Ragel Nel Washington D.C. - There are some things, I think, that modern technology will never be able to erase. One of those things is the old-fashioned-yet-still-going-strong Communication Gap. Despite the invention of faxes, scanners, memos, e-mail, SMS's, etc., especially designed to shrink the gap, people still manage to get the messages wrong (if they get it at all!). Thus meetings are missed, files are mislaid or simply vanish (Ever noticed how darn easy it is to press Delete on the PC? Even if they ask you "Are You Sure You Want To Delete This File?" and you get so impatient and upset because who do they - whoever 'they' may be - think they are dealing with? Because of COURSE you are sure! After all, YOU are the human in this relationship and the one with the real brain and you never would've said so in the first place if you didn't mean it. So YES, and you POUND the key several times, only to realize too late… And there, quite by accident, is a classic example of the Communication Gap between the Homo Hominis and the sometimes all too personal computer.). And then chaos ensues. Then there are those fancy computer programs allegedly able to type the words on your document as you dictate. (Following the above-mentioned computer's behaviour, can you blame some people for withdrawing the personal touch from their keyboards?). The same program is then also supposed to translate the contents of the document into virtually any known language. Except, it seems, the one language you want/need it to be to translated into. Which leads to the eruption of a Babel-like perplexity. But this isn't about where and how computers lack, or the way they can sometimes be more harmful than good. So just in case something like computer karma does exist and before I get cursed with a cyber stalker or the Mother Of All Viruses, I'll move on to a safer but equally frustrating Communication Gap example: The Language Barrier. Those of you who are immigrants in non-English speaking countries probably have firsthand experience with this one. But Eengleesh or not, even those of us in places like the United States occasionally encounter obstacles with basic communication. I have since decided to dub it the Accent Barrier. First of all, there is the psychological Accent Barrier, when people assume that just because you speak with an accent, you probably think with one as well! You don't believe me? Next time, my counterparts on American soil, try and eavesdrop on an English conversation between a South American Spanish speaker and an American. (Of course, the other language doesn't have to be Spanish, but it's just so much more commonly heard in the U.S.) The less the Americans seem to understand the foreigners, the slower they address them and the stranger their own way of speaking becomes. One can almost compare it to those people who have no speech impediments until they come across a person who does have one, and then they suddenly adopt the impediment whilst speaking to that person. Then there is the real Accent Barrier, when something you (or other foreigners) say will be misunderstood, or not understood at all. Of course, there is always body language, but sometimes even that is susceptible to failure. What may go across as a friendly wave to the Italians, might just be a gross insult to the Arabs. I actually find these barriers and gaps quite comforting. It's good to know that technology doesn't yet prevent some members of the human race from signing up for foreign language classes in an effort to understand - and be understood by - their fellow man. It's also (somewhat sadistically) nice to know that some people will struggle to comprehend your version of their language past your accent, while others will be charmed by it. As, I'm sure, some Americans were probably both charmed and perplexed by the following South African. Boetman was the son of a wealthy, VERY Afrikaans sheep farmer. After he matriculated, dad decided that it was time for Boetman to go and learn the tricks of the trade in the United States. That way, the father figured, it will take care of two birds with one stone: Boetman will learn to stand on his own two feet AND he will get to see a bit of the world outside the borders of farm and country. No problem, except that Boetman's knowledge and command of the English language was rather limited (to put it mildly). To be exact, his vocabulary didn't extend far beyond "Good day", "Goodbye", "Please", "Thank you", and "Hungry". There was no time for any emergency crash courses, but ignorance is bliss and Boetman was quite content to make do with that and thus he departed. (Now, for the sake of the English speaking readers, it has to be said that the word for "sky" and "air" is the same in Afrikaans.) Forward to a few months later, during Boetman's first great solo American road trip. Word has it that he arrived at a full service garage (gas station) somewhere in the Mid-West. When the attendant came closer to find out how he could be of assistance, Boetman rolled down the window of the rental car and - full of newfound confidence - responded: "Please put some gas in the tank and some sky in the wheels!" © RSA-Overseas [ Top ] Cosatu defies Mbeki to go ahead with strike Despite President Thabo Mbeki's public attack on Cosatu, there were indications on Sunday that the labour federation plans to go ahead with its anti-privatisation strike planned for this week. Cosatu and its affiliates were due to meet on Monday to finalise plans for the two-day stayaway on Wednesday and Thursday. For the past few days, the ANC-led government and Cosatu have been exchanging fierce blows over the privatisation of state assets. One of the blistering attacks on the labour federation, which has called for a two-day nationwide strike for Wednesday and Thursday, came from President Thabo Mbeki, who accused the leaders of Cosatu of waging a misinformation campaign. Public Enterprises Minister Jeff Radebe has accused Cosatu of hypocrisy by publicly opposing privatisation while its investment wing had sought to acquire a stake in some of the privatised assets. In response, Cosatu has issued vitriolic statements against the government, accusing ministers of lying in pursuance of the interests of the rich. Cosatu on Sunday said the proposed strike had received backing from the South African Communist Party, the South African National Civic Organisation and various student organisations. The Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union has come out in support of Cosatu, condemning what it called "the government's onslaught on Cosatu". "This broad alliance of working-class formations will make the statement that the working class should not bear the cost of the transition through job losses and denial of access of basic services," a statement said. "The working class has borne the brunt of the transition while the rich, including the newly enfranchised black bourgeoisie, benefit, including from privatised state assets. "The three organisations wish to warn the elite, which is campaigning for privatisation so that it can push its interests, that the working class is united behind its demand for strengthening of the state's role and building a strong public sector capable of making necessary interventions to improve the living standards of the working class and the poor." The general strike seems to be unavoidable following failed attempts by the ANC top brass to talk Cosatu out of the protest action. In terms of the agreement between labour and the government, the trade union federation can call a nationwide legal strike to highlight socio-economic needs. The government even tried to persuade Cosatu to delay its protest action to ensure that it did not coincide with the World Conference Against Racism scheduled for Durban on Friday. However, Cosatu has remained defiant. Thanks to IOL.co.za [ Top ] |
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