Paradise...?!?

50 million people live in South Africa.

31 million are between 15 and 64 years old.

22 million of those do not have a job.

Out of the remaining 9 million, only 2 million people pay tax.

In South Africa, one should say 2 million people are fortunate enough to pay tax.

I feel very privileged to have a secure income, a nice flat, a car and enough money to never have to go to bed hungry. In a country like South Africa these things should not be taken for granted.

But even though we – the fortunate tax payers - are confronted with South Africa’s growing inequalities and poverty on a daily basis, it is very easy to forget that there is a completely different world outside our bubbles.

Yesterday morning I went to work earlier than usual. On my way to the office, I walked past a pile of cardboard that was lying in the middle of the pavement. It was a man who was sleeping there – lying on a layer of cardboard, covered by another one.

A few metres further lay another man who had wrapped himself in plastic to stay warm. He looked like a caterpillar in a cocoon…

The encounter moved me deeply.

I have walked past pallets before, but there is a big difference between actually seeing someone sleep in the streets or only seeing the “remains” of their sleeping place.

I couldn’t stop thinking about it all day long.

It was another day for me in paradise. But there was a whole different world right at my doorstep, which was very far away from any paradise.