By Peter Vermaas
 
 It would still be dark in London when Bianca Brebnor's alarm sounded in the morning. She would tiptoe around the house not to wake up her flatmate, as she dressed warmly before wriggling her way into the crowded train to get to work. "What a miserable life that was," said the 29-year-old, who returned to South Africa last year. "I always thought the entire world outside of South Africa would be better than here, but that is just not true."

Like many of her white compatriots, Brebnor emigrated to England, in 2006. Disappointed, she moved back to Johannesburg, the city she grew up in, three years later. "South Africa has its problems," she said. "But the quality of life here is much better than in Europe."

The white exodus from South Africa began after the release of Nelson Mandela, 20 years ago next month. An estimated 800,000 white South-Africans since left for countries like Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. They all had their own reasons: the high crime rate, insecurity about the economical and political situation, or affirmative action favouring black South Africans on the labour market, which made it more difficult for some white people to find work.  
 

Many people were also sick and tired - gatvol, they say in Afrikaans – of unreliable public service delivery. The well educated in particular, doctors and chartered accountants South Africa needs so much amongst them, were lured abroad at special emigration fairs in Johannesburg and Cape Town.

Deepest recession kept at bay

But now they are moving back. No exact statistics are available, but Alana Bailey of ‘Kom Huis Toe Veldtog’, an organisation that encourages South Africans to return and helps them find work, said she has helped 6,000 people move back in the last six years. The 'Homecoming Revolution', a similar organisation, said it receives between 60 and 120 requests for help a month since the global economic crisis erupted. A special information fair held in London this March is expecting hundreds of South Africans eager to return home. Moving companies report the same trend.

Many South Africans abroad have lost their job as a result of the recession, Alana Bailey said. Finding work in the UK and Australia has also become more difficult. Besides, many people are disappointed by their experience abroad. According to Bailey, many were lured by offers of high salaries, but few realised the cost of living would be much higher outside of their country. The upcoming football World Cup organised in South Africa has prompted some people to return with pride.

The World Cup tournament has also kept the deepest recession at bay for South Africa. The government invested billions in new infrastructure before the crisis hit, hence developing a stimulus package before any other country. Partly because of that, recent numbers from the national statistics office have shown, the recession in South Africa lasted only three quarters.

Account for apartheid

White people who have been living in South Africa for generations still like to see themselves as European, said former emigrant John Weber (41). He himself had never left the country before he was offered a job by an IT company and moved to the Netherlands in 1998. It was to be a rude awakening. Not only because many Dutch people demanded he account for the apartheid regime, but mostly because of what he called "the cultural difference". "If you are a bicycle repair man in the Netherlands, people expect you to repair bikes for the rest of your life," he said about the lack of upward mobility. "People pigeon-hole each other and shy away from ambition. And all those rules and regulations ... I was brought up much more open and liberal."

Weber moved back, but chose the more relaxed Cape Town over the hectic Johannesburg he grew up in. "I am still not wildly optimistic about the future of my country, but if nothing else, the Netherlands has proved I am nothing but South African."

To vent his frustrations, Weber wrote an online book titled Living in Europe Sucks about his experience. "I have come to take a slightly more nuanced view since then," he said. "But I recommend every South African who thinks about leaving to read my book. That way they will know what to expect." One thing he learnt was that it is "practically impossible" to make Dutch friends. "You only see your colleagues on the job and if you want to meet someone outside of the workplace, you have to make an appointment weeks in advance. I let my South African family come over because I yearned for conversation that was about more than the morning traffic. The only real friends I made there were fellow South Africans."

'A permanent state of fear'

A Canadian immigration and refugee board panel last year granted political asylum to South African Brandon Huntley who claimed white people had to fear for their life in the new South Africa and the government was unwilling to protect them. At the request of South Africa, the Canadian government is appealing the ruling. A federal judge will decide in April whether the board must revise its decision.

"Obvious nonsense," said Bianca Brebnor about Huntley's plea. "Crime is certainly a major problem and I have invested in my own security, but statistics show black South Africans are victimised more often than white people." Huntley's argument that it is impossible for white people to find work in South Africa is also false. While over 25 percent of black South Africans are out of work, less than 5 percent of whites are unemployed. Brebnor, who is an accountant, worked for the American investment bank JP Morgan in London and had no trouble landing a job at Absa Capital, a subsidiary of Barclays Bank, when she returned.

Crime, especially violent robberies and burglaries, is the most important reason for South Africans of any colour to consider leaving, according to Alana Bailey. "Some people live in a permanent state of fear," she said. "If you feel unsafe in your own bed, I can imagine you would want to leave."

A chastening experience

She doesn't feel inclined to discourage those who really want to go. "But because we have learnt they are often disappointed and because South Africa can only move forward if educated people apply their knowledge here, we try to give people the opportunity to make an informed decision. They should know the grass it not always greener on the other side of the fence and won't be easy to pick up all your belongings and move back. Many people sell everything they own and empty out their pension when they leave South Africa. When they lose their job in Europe or Australia, they get in trouble."

Brebnor said her three years in London were a chastening experience. She now feels privileged in South Africa. "I was extremely negative when I left. I really believed I would only come back to South Africa on holidays. But I really wanted to get away from England last year. I missed my friends and family. Unlike people in Europe, South Africans are so friendly." Also, by European standards, her average salary makes her a rich woman in South Africa. "I was able to buy a beautiful apartment here. In London, I couldn't afford so much as a shoe box. Plus: I never have to take a train again and the weather is always good. Wonderful."

Peter Vermaas is NRC Handelsblad's South Africa correspondent
http://www.nrc.nl/international/Features/article2472801.ece/Whites_return_to_South_Africa_with_pride