Is Racism In South Africa Behind The Increased Immigration To Canada?
Prior to the advent of democracy in South Africa in 1994 the exodus of white South Africans to other countries was known as the Chicken Run. With the new democracy only twelve years old a new exodus is evident and is now being captioned as the Brain Drain.
Whatever the caption might be, surveys published in the press (Sunday Times of 20 th August 2006) show that top academics and scientists are leaving South Africa supposedly for better salaries, better work opportunities and to gain further experience abroad. Furthermore, over 5,000 former South African teachers are currently employed in the UK alone when there is a shortage of teaching staff back home,
Is this a genuine brain drain or is there an underlying reason? What has emerged during the honeymoon years of the new democracy is the perception that the serious crime rate has increased, that fraud is prevalent, that vehicle hijackings are everyday occurrences, that some state officials are riding the gravy train and that affirmative action is racism in disguise.
Reports published in the weekend newspapers (Sunday Times of 20 th August 2006) show that racism is alive in South Africa if the survey is to be believed. The survey reported that nearly 50% of the respondents had experienced discrimination from black Africans which included blacks on minority groups and blacks on blacks. This is not the image of the Rainbow Nation the world has come to know.
While the results of the surveys can be debated and interpreted in a variety of fashions, a simple search on the Internet attests that more and more South Africans are considering immigration. Canada, in particular, as a prospective destination ranks the highest. Records of the keywords most frequently searched for on the Internet in respect of immigration are testimony to this. In July 2006 the key phrases relating to Canadian immigration recorded over 50,000 hits. This is a very good barometer about the sincere interest in immigration.
To this end a website www.immigrationcanada.co.za that caters primarily for South Africans who want to immigrate to Canada and partake in an immigrant investor program is worth a look. This immigrant investor program has been operating since 1986 and its innovation has helped over 5,000 immigrants from all over the world to establish themselves and take up residence in Canada.
