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I had a coworker who fled South Africa for the Netherlands 5+ years ago. I remember being surprised when he said it was the violence he was fleeing.
by lardo 3y ago
I had a coworker who fled South Africa for the Netherlands 5+ years ago. I remember being surprised when he said it was the violence he was fleeing.
- zo1 3y agoIt's not so bad - just don't go to dodgy areas. Everyone that lives here knows not to go to those places or to be alone when vulnerable. Violence wise, I'd rather live here than in places like London or most of the places in America with high thug-culture populations.
- atonse 3y agoIronic that you say that second sentence after saying the first :-) Because that's _exactly_ what we'd say about those other countries. Stay out of the dodgy areas etc, the gang violence etc is typically hyper local and worst in certain neighborhoods.
- dash2 3y agoEh? South Africa murder rate 2022/23: 46 per 100,000 (https://www.groundup.org.za/article/how-bad-murder-in-south-africa/ https://www.groundup.org.za/article/how-bad-murder-in-south-...) England and Wales murder rate 2021/22: 11 per million (https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeandjustice/articles/homicideinenglandandwales/march2022#:~:text=Longer%20term%20trends%20in%20homicide,the%20year%20ending%20March%202022 https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/crimeand....)
- zo1 3y agoStats don't say everything, and doesn't negate my opinion of the place where I currently live. Most of those murder stats are unfortunately from poor areas and affecting the poor populace. Us in the middle and upper class don't get affected as much by the crime, we live in protective cages, gated communities, have private healthcare, don't use public transport and have 24/7 security. I'm not saying SA doesn't have crime, I'm saying it's easy to avoid and I prefer it this way vs what is present in supposedly western countries.
- nradov 3y agoI live in the USA with no protective cages, gates, or private security. The murder rate in my city is literally zero most years.
- dash2 3y agoYou're stuck in a "protective cage", you can't get on a bus, and you think that doesn't affect your life? There is nowhere in London, or in the UK, that I cannot walk. I'm not sure how you are imagining Western societies.
- darth_avocado 3y ago>It’s not so bad Ohh it is. Racially charged farm attacks are in the news, but apart from that, violence is very high in the country. Murder and rape crime statistics are some of the highest in the world. And that is after allegations of corruption and underreporting of crime.
- zo1 3y agoOh I'm not negating the farm attacks. It's a big problem. Race in general is a big problem in South Africa, especially how it affects the minorities.
- mrguyorama 3y agoWhat the heck is "thug culture populations"?
- zo1 3y agoExactly what it says? A population that is composed of individuals that are thug cultured.
- rootusrootus 3y agoThat's a tautology. Define thug culture.
- filoleg 3y ago> Violence wise, I'd rather live here than in places like London or most of the places in America with high thug-culture populations. If you have a preference for living in higher violence areas, that's your choice, but I don't think many will share that view. As one other comment had pointed out, the murder rate in SA is about 40 times that of England. It isn't even comparable, so I don't see how one can make a solid argument for "but violence-wise, SA is better despite having an x40 murder rate".