South Africa - Its History, Geography, and People

[@GEOfocusChannel]

Hi, everyone! I hope you like the new video. ►Check out my video "Languages of South Africa": kzbin.info/www/bejne/goaZlX9ve7KYf7c

[@dncrht]

Singapore? South Africa!

[@GEOfocusChannel]

@@dncrht Yes, thanks! The next country profile is on Singapore, so I had that on my mind when I posted the comment.

[@njabulonxumalo6532]

I am half South African and half Canadian. But I am South African first before anything. I grew up and currently live in South Africa. I recently had the privilege to live in Canada for 6 years. But I decided to come home, because I love this place flaws and all. When asked by South Africans why I returned, I tell them for the aforementioned reason and they are puzzled (some look at me crazy). My fellow black South Africans argue "why leave a surplus of opportunities" (of the financial type) and my fellow white folk argue "why return to an unsafe environment". These two arguments (issues) are rooted in the impact Apartheid had, and the impact of it remains until this day. I have seen and experienced different levels of standard of living in South Africa; lived in a township, suburb, attended a public school then a private school and I often visited my extended family in the rural areas of the Eastern Cape. And it's obvious the black population is the subset receiving the short end of the stick. Therefore they are the more desperate group, they are more likely to commit crime. What is disappointing is the privileged (overwhelmingly white population) do not connect the obvious dots. One of the points they bring up "why doesn't 'your' party do more for its people?", and because the party in power is predominantly black this question they pose disqualifies all black South Africans of being able to govern. Because the current party is mismanaging resources and the country in general, the privileged who are mostly oblivious to the lives that the millions of the under-served live project the characters of the ruling party onto the black population. There's a Western Cape (WC) movement that wants to separate WC from South Africa. Essentially the movement believes that the WC is well governed by the controlling provincial party, and does not want to be brought down by the rest of the country. The Western Cape undoubtedly does some things better than the rest of the country, some public services and maintenance of public areas. But again under served communities (Khayelitsha, Joe Slovo, Cape Flats, Mitchels Plain ,Gugulethu etc ) in the WC live in poor conditions still. Which means the minority, of which are well off or in the upper middle class, are the main benefactors of this so called superior governance. If it is superior, it should work for all its constituents especially the struggling communities. And if Cape Exit movement believes so much in WC governance why separate? Why not help lift other South African communities to this level? Because it is a selfish movement. Cape Exit has no real interest in the improvement of the impoverished, they claim that it will benefit all in the Western Cape but its a vale they hide behind. This vale is somewhat similar to the ruling parties habit of leading-on black South Africans election after election cycle re-promising what they have in previous administration to secure their vote. I appreciate this video. It listed the facts and does not try to say more than it should. But South Africa is not really going in the right direction, it is stagnant. But it will go in the right direction, I believe in South Africa and its people. Huge investment in struggling communities is the biggest way to turn the outlook of this country, with a focus on making these communities self sustaining. Businesses and individuals should consider pooling money together for physical improvement of their environment and long term social goals. This is more likely to change South Africa than any ruling government. You should still vote though.

[@dirkkotze384]

Hey Nxumalo, google the news video "Cape Town aims to be more inclusive" by eNCA. They report that their infrastructure budget surpasses the other cities and that this will be allocated to improving poorer communities in Cape Town

[@GenericUsername1388]

As a South African I would like to add that even though South Africa is one of if not the most dangerous places in terms of crime and gang activity, etc. It is an extremely divided society. You will find one suburb that is extremely safe and very peaceful and the next full of gang activity. I fortunately live in one of the very safe bubbles and it is not too different from what you would find in any first world country If anyone is curious about my country please feel free to ask👍

[@vinskilindqvist4554]

Where should I travel there? I've been studying afrikaans and I want to use it. To Cape Town I presume?

[@GenericUsername1388]

@@vinskilindqvist4554 Cape Town is lovely. Just don't go to the Cape flats like Khayelitsha. It has a lot of things to do but if you're looking for a place to swim or go to the beach I'd recommend langebaan which is about half an hour drive north of Cape town. Durban is also a great choice, the district of Umhlanga has a lot of tourist attractions. Johannesburg and Pretoria, where I live don't really have many interesting attractions but they are also nice places to visit if you have the time. Port Elizabeth and East London I haven't been but they are also nice cities

[@steven1000000000]

​@@vinskilindqvist4554 Afrikaans is spoken throughout the country, varying only by frequency, I think that in Natal they speak less Afrikaans that other places though with the North West Province, spoken the most. If you're interested in travelling, Capet Town is an awesome place to visit. Depending on what you're looking for, Johannesburg is a big city with lots happening, but a bit less "touristy" than Cape Town. However, it could be a gateway to game farms/ safari's, especially the Kruger National Park in the north.

[@steven1000000000]

​@David Garcia It's a complicated answer. Given that certain crimes are underreported, I think the best proxy for determining safety is by looking at the murder rate per 100 000 people (as these are always reported). Even within cities, you'll find areas which are very safe and others which are to be avoided. The bad areas within some cities, skews the data where at first glance, you'd think to avoid a place, but in reality the areas where you'd want to be are perfectly safe. Saying that Johannesburg is safer than Cape Town is technically correct, but it depends on which areas within the city you're looking at. Of the big cities, Cape Town is technically the least safe, followed by Port Elizabeth, Durban and Johannesburg. I think Pretoria is even safer than the above. Putting it into perspective, Johannesburg is safer on average than St. Louis, San Juan, Detroit or Baltimore in the US. To be honest though, you mostly shouldn't be worried if travelling there. In general - whenever you're in a "touristy" area, it will be reasonably safe. As with travelling anywhere in the world, you need to be cautious, street smart, don't walk around unknown areas at night alone, don't flash valuables etc. Following general common sense goes a long way. South Africa is an awesome holiday destination and well worth a visit.

[@yodorob]

@@steven1000000000 From what I understand, the non-white areas of Cape Town are more dangerous than their Johannesburg counterparts, while the reverse is true with the white areas of each of those cities.

[@ahmadrafsan]

My takeaways are elevation and climate, by the way, I am a Bangladeshi cricket fan and South Africa is one of the Test-playing nations, i.e. it is one of the top cricket-playing nations and some South African cricketers are favourite to me

[@kgosimagano8966]

South african here, and I'm very impressed with your video about my home country, Paul, accurate all the way. 100% If you guys want to know anything about SA from a local, I'm your guy. Feel free to ask

[@GEOfocusChannel]

Thanks, Kgosi!

[@kgosimagano8966]

@@GEOfocusChannel Anytime 😊

[@marcinzarebski9089]

Hi Kgosi, I'm wondering if black people from different regions who grew up speaking different languages from the Bantu family tend to talk with each other in each own's native languages when they meet (given that many of them are mutually intelligible) or would they rather use English? How easy is it to pick up another Bantu language and become fluent in it if one already has a background as a native speaker in one of them? Last question - are there any government programs to promote Bantu languages for those who don't know them? Let's say, if I find a job in South Africa, would I be able to study one of the Bantu languages easily as a hobby? It would be cool to learn how to click and be able to learn such a language!

[@ahmadrafsan]

Are you a fan of cricket or rugby?

[@kgosimagano8966]

@@marcinzarebski9089 1st question:Usually they would use English, as a lingua franca. For the sake of convenience if two speakers' native languages aren't mutually intelligible 2nd question: That'll depend on your native language. For example, I'm a native Tswana speaker, and I can understand both Pedi and Sotho (they're mutually intelligible), I can learn to speak the latter two languages, but imo it's unnecessary. I can speak Zulu to a conversational level, but I try improve when given the chance 3rd question: You can learn all the languages in South Africa, it would look good on your CV/resume giving you more employment opportunities if you plan to work in South Africa. If you want to learn a South African language, go for it!

[@ngmn5402]

This was the best summary of SA ever.

[@kevincasey2947]

I visited SA in 2004 and toured with friends for 6 weeks. It blew my mind, every second of every day was totally cool! This brought back a ton of memories. I love this channel! 😁

[@dannyarcher6370]

Yeah, it's not the same place as you remember.

[@kevincasey2947]

@@dannyarcher6370 I believe you. Change is constant, I'll have to accept it I guess but man, I totally enjoyed the time I was there.

[@dannyarcher6370]

@@kevincasey2947 Natal in the 90s was heaven on earth.

[@kellynbotha]

@@kevincasey2947 don't listen to Danny. He is one of those people who can't see past the negative stuff and spends his days commenting to bring down anyone who thinks positively about the country. He literally told me he thinks the country is a "failed state". There are serious problems in our country, but people like him seem hellbent on making sure nobody ever comes back and has a great time the way you did in 2004.

[@kevincasey2947]

@@kellynbotha Well than maybe we should ask Danny to go a few rounds with Gerrie Coetzee! ha ha😄

[@tertiusgreyling9955]

Paul, kudos for a concise and accurate summary. As a South African this video is a great reference point for me. I knew you put a lot of effort into researching your content but until one sees a topic one is familiar with you just don’t know. This is a video I would recommend to anyone interested in a brief overview of SA. As for something I would like outsiders to know about SA: as you mentioned, the systems in place still tend to group people by the ethnic groupings designed under apartheid. In my experience this means that many SAens tend to still think of themselves through that lens and unfortunately creates barriers between people. I was unaware of this until my wife (not from SA or from any of the defined ethnic groupings) pointed out that SAens appear to classify themselves by racial category first and nationality second. Hopefully this will change for the younger generations. Great video! Thanks again.

[@suh-guy]

Hey Paul, thanks for not butchering the names of the locations. Gauteng, Mpumalanga, KZN and Lesotho.

[@stevedryden803]

I cannot imagine the amount of work you put into all of your videos

[@javlonbekmurodov4062]

Paul thank you for great content . And I will wait such kind of video from you about my country Uzbekistan .

[@Juarqua]

One big thing is missing in this video though: Namibia (former Deutsch-Südwestafrika / German Southwestafrica) used to be governed for a very long time by South Africa, namely already since 1915(!) when it fell under British rule due to WW I. It only gained full sovereignty in 1990(!) - 75 years(!) after becoming a somewhat part of South Africa. As this is by all means a very long time it should have at least been mentioned in this video as another historic fact and former part of South Africa.

[@GEOfocusChannel]

Fair enough. I considered including it, but the information needs to be very compressed in a video like this, so I thought I'd save that information for a video about Namibia.

[@GEOfocusChannel]

I can't add anything to a video that's already live.

[@GEOfocusChannel]

I have other things to pin, and cards need to link to something. You're going to have to let me do it my way. After 7 years of this I have an idea of how much can be done, and how effective different things are.

[@GenericUsername1388]

I'm an 18 year old South African but I only learned Namibia was joined with us last year

[@Juarqua]

@@GenericUsername1388 Well, better late than never ... 👍

[@idraote]

Great video, Paul, thank you! The idea I've made myself of South Africa is that of a land that is still growing into its own clothes which is understandable, considering how recent it is as a fully democratic nation. Issues connected to race appear not to be solved yet, especially if we consider that what Westerners call "black" is a puzzle of different African peoples. From what I've read, administration is also not as smooth as one would wish.

[@suzygirl1843]

The old need to retire or die off for real change to happen.

[@claudianowakowski]

Whenever I think of South Africa I think of Nelson Mandela. I really enjoyed learning about the geographic diversity of this country. It looks like a very beautiful place. Thank you for another great video.

[@suzygirl1843]

Nelson Mandela is an idea, Bruh. Just like Martin Luther King and The Founding Fathers of USA

[@petes9524]

​@@suzygirl1843an example dear, much more than an idea.

[@suzygirl1843]

@@petes9524 Nope, they're not as advertised. They're a mythos

[@petes9524]

@@suzygirl1843 Suzy,Suzy wth are you babbling about? " Not as advertised"? "Mythos"?😄

[@Comrade_Jason]

Some perspective on the racial classifications: My great-great-grandfather was considered Coloured, while the rest of my family were classified as White. He basically couldn't leave the house because if anyone saw him he would be reported. We have since done a DNA test and it's revealed we have Khoisan, Cameroonian,Bantu,Malaysian,Indian and various European ancestries.

[@GEOfocusChannel]

That kind of thing boggles the mind. I once heard a story from a South African about her mother needing an ambulance, but they sent an ambulance for the wrong race and wouldn’t take her, so she had to wait for a second ambulance while she was lying there in critical condition.

[@amylynnhunt55]

@GEOfocusChannel I am a fifth generation Oklahoman, and my beloved Grandfather died in the ambulance because the - then called "Indian" hospital refused to take white people. The irony? He was the darkest skinned of any of us. It's awful that we cannot just be people. How deeply sad that a human being's life STILL matters less than the colour of their skin. I believe we are all created by a loving God to be equal. Are equally loved. Someone will yell at me for that. Talk about mind boggling.

[@tshepangmugandi8174]

Great video Paul. One thing I'd like to add unto what was said regarding our history and how its eminence predates European settlement and colonization. None of the tribes, be them Bantu, Khoi, San, Boer, Brit, Indian, Chinese, Kushite, etc aren't indigenous to the land between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. However, their united history is ever repetitive. At some point in time, the tribes of modern day South Africa contributed to foreign exchange, i.e Mapungubwe which encompasses modern South Africa, Botswana and Zimbabwe traded with Arabs, East Africans, Chinese, Indians and most definitely each other. Thanks for the video

[@nilesmouser6670]

You do good work Paul. Keep it up. Fan of both channels.

[@dan_leo]

Thank you Paul for both your channels. I love geography and languages and you create great content. Moreover, it’s a way for me to watch content in English (which is not my first language).

[@Comrade_Jason]

Your "iSandlwana" pronunciation is kinda great. Not perfect, but way better than I could have expected for someone who isn't living in KwaZulu-Natal (Zulu kingdom+Natalia/Natal)

[@Bighawkeye46]

I was surprised to learn about the vast range of geographic diversity and how it affects the climate! I always imagined the interior of SAfrica to be flat, dry, and filled with scrubgrass

[@GenericUsername1388]

As someone who lives in the interior of SA I can confirm

[@ArunGoyal2007]

Thanks Paul, I was searching this one afrer your classic ones on SA languages

[@CraftsmanOfAwsomenes]

I understand most Namibia stuff would be saved for a hypothetical future video on Namibia, but imo it would have still made sense to include its bantustans. Also the South African Border War was culturally significant so it does feel missing. That said, good as always.

[@donaldklopper]

Almost 12 official languages... Sign language has been approved very recently as our 12th official language, and it's going through the final stages now to be added officially.

[@Macieks300]

Main takeaway from this video is that the concept of race is very important in the history and still the current situation in South Africa. Though I already knew that.

[@donaldklopper]

Well researched and presented, so concisely, thank you! Hope you see my two other comments.

[@ostaroryan4719]

South African here, please can you do a video on your other channel about south african english dialects, or a comparison of Afrikaans, Flemish and Dutch

[@GEOfocusChannel]

No.

[@marcinzarebski9089]

@@GEOfocusChannel Why not? It would be super interesting.

[@NJ12345413]

If memory serves me, the LangFocus channel already has a video on Afrikaans.

[@GEOfocusChannel]

I don't take requests for Langfocus at all, and the reasons should be obvious. Think about why it takes me weeks or even months to make a single video. It's not because I'm on the beach relaxing. Getting requests for Langfocus here on this different channel, which is my escape from the circus of Langfocus, is somewhat annoying.

[@NJ12345413]

@@GEOfocusChannel Very understandable. I find your language videos quite enjoyable. I’d much rather you stick to doing well researched content rather than frequent surface level videos. I’ve learnt quite a lot from what you’ve put out over the years. Cheers.

[@kwaaikat100]

Thanks Paul! It is obviously impossible to give a real idea of a country with the complexity of South Africa in 12.5 minutes, and a lot of the things mentioned are more nuanced in reality, but this was a very good intro. You balance what is relevant and the level of simplification very well! It is a long topic, but the ANC that lead the resistance to the old dispensation, has not really covered itself in glory after coming to power, not even in terms of serving it’s specific constituents well. But the electorate did eventually wake up to that, which is turning up the pressure for results over self serving. Things are tough economically for people that lack good education or skills required by the modern employment market. For labour there is such an oversupply vs demand. It is no longer strictly race, but if your stuck in it, chances are children won’t be in a good school, so it is difficult to break out. Even so, many migrants from countries further north in Africa, and neighbouring countries, have seen opportunity and settled here in recent years, often outcompeting locals. But after spending a few years abroad, I can say that if you have enough education for a reasonable job, it is a much more pleasant place to live than given credit for, even, perhaps especially, compared to England where I lived for a few years. It is not only climate (that was the least of the things that made me miss home) but the vibrancy of everything, cusine, the beauty of the country, and warm people, often worlds removed from, and much more bridge building than, the politicians that “represent” them.

[@NJ12345413]

I wonder what the food in SA is like with so many diverse groups

[@kgosimagano8966]

Quite diverse, South African btw

[@LB_die_Kaapie]

Changes depending where you are in the country and what cultures cuisine you're having.

[@fatimakay9488]

Very good​@@kgosimagano8966

[@omrivol]

Great video!

[@ansosboy8687]

Fun Fact: Javanese Surinamese Still can eassily Comunicate with Javanese Indonesian meanwhile Cape Malay can't Comunicate with people from Malay Mainland mostly from Malaysia and Indonesia

[@samsungsarsamsungsar7792]

Another nice video 👍

[@anunnaki_ent]

As a South African, I would like people to know that we created Amapiano music🇿🇦🔥

[@amylynnhunt55]

I will have to look for that, I don't think I've heard of it.

[@BaldiTheBully]

I'd love for the channel to cover Puerto Rico one day :D

[@jiraiya.13]

Notable sportsperson: Kork Ballington (multiple GP350 and GP250 champion) Jon Ekerold (1980 GP350 champion) Brad Binder (2016 Moto3 champion) Darryn Binder (multiple Moto3 podium finisher) Jody Scheckter (1979 F1 champion)

[@talkcommonsense]

Too bad they are still separating people by color... they are all South Africans! Great job Paul... : )

[@Parjesh888]

What I learned was all this ended really recently. Humans have been messed up towards each other for a long time and it's only more recently that things have changed, or the problems have just shifted into other categories. Like we was still Doin this stuff in the 60s. Internet and speed of news has changed everything.

[@rosebogert6047]

I've spent a few years of my life in this country and, sadly, the legacy of apartheid is still very much alive. Politicians actively promote racism, even though it is no longer mandated by law. People from different ethnic backgrounds have slow started integrating and many are getting along well, but this is happening naturally because government propaganda spreads hate, not love, for other racial groups. There is, sadly, still a lot of racism in South Africa, and I'd go as far as to say it's one of the most racist countries in the world. "Rainbow Nation" is also a bit of a misnomer because if you compare the diversity of countries, South Africa probably sits somewhere in the middle. That said, if you visit South Africa, you will generally feel quite welcome as the people can be very friendly. Just don't be too surprised if many of the friends you end up making look somewhat similar to yourself.

[@azu_rikka]

I think it is important to mention the high crime rate. Because of the past, South Africas society is very unequal, Cape Town being the most unequal city AND rape capital of the world. Also, just because I find it very interesting, Coloureds, especially in Cape Town, are peoples of most mixed ethnicities and there are a lot of muslim Coloureds. Afrikaans was first written in arabic. It was the slaves who spoke Afrikaans first and the ones that could write were muslims. Throughout the 18th century, male slaves outnumbered male settlers 3:1. I think that is rather unique in history.

[@davidjames3787]

No mention of the Mfakane, which was one of the most important events in the history of SA. It still resonates today.

[@GEOfocusChannel]

Feel free to add something about it here in the comments.

[@juanpedronardin8596]

I knew about Apartheid but not with that detail. Pretty crazy that only in some little space could live the 70% of the population (forced of course), and that was only one of many atrocious measures against black population. Fortunately the quality of life changed radically for good (still much to improve, like many other places).

[@LB_die_Kaapie]

You must remember that most of the country is semi arid desert and uninhabited. So those stats are a little skewed.

[@kellynbotha]

The majority of black people didn't actually live within the tiny "homelands" - but those areas were the only places they had some semblance of equality and self-governance. A majority still lived in the white-controlled areas as second-class citizens for various reasons. Many didn't want to leave the areas they knew and so found local menial work, and many more had no choice but to work on the mines and in cities because the "homelands" didn't have any realistic way for them to support their families. The backbone of the South African economy was migrant labour - people who came from far away and put up with the apartheid abuses because the only money they could make was in the mines.

[@mazambane286]

You forget that the black population are not indigenous to Southern Africa. Yes South Africa has been occupied by various peoples over thousands of years. But these people were not of Bantu origin.

[@manuelsolana1429]

Gran vídeo. Muchas gracias 👍

[@billberndtson]

01:19 Perhaps I'm wrong here, but isn't the "San Man" here the dude from The Gods Must Be Crazy? Oy yoy yoy.

[@mzwakhemagabane6724]

Hello The GeoFocus Channel. I would like you to do an episode of Niger. It's an amazing and interesting country. It's one of the oldest countries in Africa and it's crucial to know about it. Thank you.

[@marekjanik9962]

Segregation was brought to South Africa by the British, with the annexation of the British Cape Colony in 1806. Every major Apartheid law was enacted in British territories under British hegemony by a British Administration. It was the Nationalist Administration that tidied up the horrific mess of British apartheid, a coiling, stirring mass of conflicting rules to each colony & annexation from 1806 to1910. From 1948 they tidied up, ameliorated, & item for item, law for law, ultimately worked it out of existence by 1994. Take note: They worked Apartheid out of the Constitution. They did not abandon the country, as the British did their colonies. They did not surrender the country to a general massacre & genocide, unlike so many British colonies.

[@victorsamsung2921]

Well said ... and *hard* to understand why the South African Republic, including under Verwoerd, decided to keep this whole mess going that was caused by the British. Referring as an example to redrawing and partioning the borders. For example, making the Orange River the boundary for the original Dutch Cape Colony and call it Orania or something. The homelands for the Afrikaner people, including Khoisan natives and coloureds and asians. Whilst the original pre-Boer War Republics (Transvaal and ORF) would be restored to its rightful and lawful state as well. Then, give Natalia to the Zulu and other Bantu import tribes. Whilst up North beyond the Orange River remains for the Khoisan etc.

[@dan_leo]

And I’d like to add: Geofocus channel, aka a way to travel around the world when you can’t afford it 😂 Thank you again, Paul! 😊

[@anti-minorizeranti-shita4249]

At least, north europeans are in love with nature and land while french came to Algeria and devastated the land with nukes and chemicals then left. Many areas in Algeria are unfarmable like before. My grand-father was professional farmer in many arid areas without simple tools. Todays, farming 🧺 is sub-impossible even with techinques and ultra-intelligence.

[@daptydeduck3998]

I'm South African 🇿🇦🇿🇦🇿🇦😁👍

[@andrewford1033]

The Portuguese territory of The Azores also has three capital cities to represent the Executive, Judicial and Legislative divisions.

[@dbuc4671]

I literally just realized, it's probably just a coincidence but the name of the owner of the channel GeographyNow is also Paul. two pauls that both have extremely similar youtube channels on the same topics. very interesting

[@GEOfocusChannel]

I’ve never seen his channel (aside from thumbnails), but I doubt our channels are extremely similar, beyond the fact that we talk about countries. From what most people say, the focus of the videos, visuals, and style of presentation are quite different. We’re both Paul I guess, but that’s a common enough name that I’m never surprised to encounter another one.

[@reformational]

Seems like a good demographic, political, geographic summary!

[@Robert_St-Preux]

Two things I did not know is first, _black_ and _coloured_ are two separate categories; and second, that they even still maintain racial categories today. But I suppose if they didn't, problems could sneak back in.

[@LB_die_Kaapie]

Well the racial categories were supposed to have ended in 1994. Thats what us Coloureds fought for at least as well as the end of apartheid but alas the black majority decided that it benefited them so they kept it. Now there are even laws which are based on race. Go figure..

[@YourCreepyUncle.]

Eh, most countries still maintain racial categories of some kind. Many are hopelessly inaccurate, though.

[@soundsoftranquility2300]

How exactly would problems sneak back in?

[@Robert_St-Preux]

@@soundsoftranquility2300 Well, it's counterintuitive, but maybe if the government did not maintain such definitions, racial discrimination might become harder to prove if someone felt their rights were being violated.

[@yodorob]

My main takeaway, besides everything else, is that the truly indigenous Khoisan (yes, more so than the majority Bantu blacks) were subsumed under the Coloured category (along with the Cape Coloureds, Cape Malays, etc.) during apartheid.

[@Limpi43]

80% black, 9% white, 9% colored, 2.5% indian = 100.5% Hmm... South Africa must be very overcrowded. 🙂 Just kidding, Paul. Obviously number(s) been rounded up. Great video, as always. And to answer your question: the three capitals was a surprise.🤔😲

[@GEOfocusChannel]

I knew someone would bring that up. lol

[@Limpi43]

@@GEOfocusChannel Sorry, I'm a math nerd. When I see percentages I add them up. 😀

[@sandramary4]

I was born in South Africa, I lived there until I was in my mid 60s. I find this video to be extremely accurate in terms of describing the country. The only thing I missed was perhaps a little more about Nelson Mandela. He was extremely unifying and beloved. I will never forget the first truly democratic general election when he came to power - there we stood, for hours, in long lines waiting to vote, black and white people together, supporting one another and experiencing something almost miraculous when one thinks of how easily change could have come with massive bloodshed.

[@victorsamsung2921]

True. Getting to know more about Mandela's wrong past as well, before he went to prison. Like his earlier racist motivations and Communist, terrorist ties etc.

[@frassas738]

South Africa is known as a failed state. There are governments responsible for this. Apartheid has finished decades ago, once and forever, it can no more be blamed for the current situation.

[@stk.plantation2912]

It's good my friend knows a lot of countries

[@govindasharma3442]

interesting video

[@govindasharma3442]

Nepal to be followed up...

[@LizziePitsi]

Yes we like the video

[@Pat-Van-Canada]

You didn't mention anything about the ANC burning hundreds of people alive and dancing around their burning bodies

[@victorsamsung2921]

_Kill the boer!_

[@siyabongamviko8872]

I'm happy that you didn't repeat the apartheid and colonist myth that Bantu speakers came in 1500 but rather 2k years ago which is the more factual time estimate.

[@bonganingqoshela7126]

It interesting how we the dispossessed interpret the same history of this region😮

[@pachho808]

Johannesburg is the largest city not located on a river, ocean, or lake/sea!

[@mauricebatchoun2943]

Apartheid: South Africa before and Israel now.

[@fatimakay9488]

Bloody wicket

[@dawoodwilliams3652]

South African here, while the country is certainly headed in a new direction and there's a lot we can certainly boast about, such as in many sectors such as banking, it is incredibly advanced, more so than most European countries, as well as many of our industries, we also have everything at our disposal and can lead lives similar to that of people in developed countries. However we do still face rather alarming issues, such as incredibly high crime, which goes hand in hand with vast inequality, which unfortunately is still largely segregated along racial lines, most unemployment and high crime rates are found in Black and Coloured areas, most of the poorest areas are also Black and Coloured areas and this stems right back to the days of segregation, which most communities are still segregated along the old Apartheid racial lines. Other notable issues is the corruption in government, our illegal immigration problem , high unemployment rates and our energy crisis. However despite all that, the country has made strides in many key areas and is one of the most progressive countries on earth, and one of the best developing nations in many regards.

[@rosebogert6047]

While I agree with most of what you say, as a former expat in South Africa, I never understood why South Africans are always on a high horse over the banking. Maybe on a domestic level, it is so-so - not particularly bad, but nothing special. I come from a country with overhyped banking (Switzerland), but to be honest, despite the nice apps and apparently good technology, South African banking is very lacking. Apple Pay was only recently introduced and South African credit cards get declined abroad often for all kinds of arbitrary reasons. The banks are also highly bureaucratic and will often ask for all kinds of documentation before clearing a transfer. Even domestic transfers between local banks can take as much as a day. Things like Wise barely work and the banks will block anything related to crypto if they spot it. Stripe doesn't work and PayPal barely works. Europe is a bad benchmark, although we do have SEPA which is quite good, and products such as Revolut and N26 are decent for the average person. Nothing compares to banking in Asia, not even my home Switzerland which is so famous for its banking - you can generally open even a multicurrency account with just an ID or passport and funds move almost instantly all over the world. Try explaining to FNB or ABSA that you want an account that can hold 5 currencies, or you want your credit card to be denominated in US dollars.

[@mnmeskc848]

8:48 I think it'll help to understand that Coloured identities developed out of the creolisation of enslaved and Indigenous Khoekhoe and Bushman peoples in the old Cape Colony (see for instance the Apartheid sub-classifications "Cape Coloured" and "Cape Malay") rather than, what a lot of people seem to imagine, people from the accepted "white" and "black" categories randomly having children together. So, in terms of ancestry, most people identifying/identified as Coloured would likely find a range of enslaved (both African, e.g. Malagasy, so-called Mozambican, and Asian, e.g. Bengali, Balinese), Indigenous (especially Khoekhoe) and, of course, settler ancestors. Common Coloured surnames can typically be traced backed to slave names (e.g. Hector, Fortune, October, Balie, Afrika, Domingo, Cupido, Geduld), some might be Afrikaans translations of Khoe clan names (e.g. Links, Taaibos, Jakkals), others from European settlers and slaveholders. Being Christianised acculturated under the Dutch and then British, already dispossessed of their traditional lands and assimilated as a labouring underclass in settler society by the late 19th century (most living in colonial cities or tenant-labourers on settler farms), the various communities grouped as "Coloured" were arguably in a markedly different position under colonial power to peoples counted as "Natives" from beyond the colonial frontiers approaching the 20th century. The map at 2:35 for instance shows the short-lived Griqua states which were recognised as for a while by the British empire but then incorporated into the Cape Colony: the Griqua are a mostly Afrikaans speaking community today centered around the Griqua Church and traditionally politically organised under a system of Kapteins (possibly modelled on Indigenous Khoekhoe social structures) and was made a subcategory of Coloured by the Apartheid government. They take their name from a old Khoekhoe chiefdom which came to completely displace an older colonial self-descriptor "Bastaard"- a general term that was applied to free Indigenous people known or assumed to have European and/or slave ancestry (probably the most famous founding Kaptein, Adam Kok, was a ex-slave who bought his own freedom). Though much of Griqua culture recalls Indigenous Khoe heritage (moreso than other Cape creole cultures) and there's moves to revive the use of !Ora language by the community, but still, most South Africans would recognise them as being part of the Coloured cultures rather than the Black cultures- with both race labels indicating more than just mixedness or non-mixedness/lightness or darkness of skin. There's major historical and social contexts that distinguish for South Africans what is seen as "Coloured" or "Black" racially and most of it tied up with the colonisers' ~150 year practice of chattel slavery and the displacement and subjugation of Khoekhoe and Bushman peoples. Rarely do I see content creators covering South Africa make this connection and explore this part of our history.

[@suzygirl1843]

Black South Africans don't even call themselves black. They call themselves by their tribe

[@mnmeskc848]

@@suzygirl1843 Yes, they do. People say e.g. "umuntu omnyama" all the time. While, of course, they have specific clan names and other ways of identifying within and among Indigenous nations, most South Africans have no problem recognising that they are racialised as Black. Black Consciousness was an important liberation movement from the 1970s, but Black identities had been made part of Indigenous peoples' experience under European colonialism since at least the 1880s: the first Xhosa-language newspaper was even called "The Opinions of Black People" (Imvo Zabantsundu). In languages like Zulu and Xhosa words like "abantsundu", "abamnyama", "abampisholo" are used to describe Black identities- their own and those of others e.g. Abantu Abamnyama baseMelika "African-American".

[@suzygirl1843]

@@mnmeskc848 Black consciousness is now liberal lefty victim Olynpics. No thanks. It's best Africans just acknowledge they are Africans with a proud legacy and capacity to do things for themselves like they did before

[@am2dan]

Do you mean to say, the great grey green greasy Limpopo River all set about with fever trees?

[@wijpke]

Nothing has changed in South Africa you are still discriminated against on the basis of skin colour

[@Humancompassion1234]

One thing I learned was that it wasn’t until the early 1900’s that the British took it over. I thought it was much earlier.

[@kellynbotha]

As a South African, one thing I'd like people to know about my country is that it is nowhere near as bad as the media and expats make it seem. There are very serious social and economic issues here - I can't gloss over that - but many people (primarily white, middle-class folks like myself who benefitted from Apartheid) seem to spend their days telling the world we are a dangerous failed state. Take this with a pinch of salt. Come visit. It's really quite lovely here.

[@dannyarcher6370]

It _is_ a failed state.

[@kellynbotha]

@@dannyarcher6370 literally not, by any definition of the word.

[@dannyarcher6370]

@@kellynbotha The government, which is the state, is completely dysfunctional and ineffective in not only delivering services but maintaining law and order. That is what it meant by "failed state". Were you in a coma in July last year? Citizens were literally having to defend the police!

[@kellynbotha]

@@dannyarcher6370 I was in KZN last year. I saw it first hand. So if you're using extreme examples to prove your point then the US is also a failed state because of January 6th. But guess what, I just had my rubbish taken away by the municipality this morning, and got stopped by a police roadblock last week. My water is running and clean. SARS paid me a tax rebate last year. Driver's licenses are slowly but surely issued. Elections take place on the regular. SASSA payments are made monthly. The biggest hospital on the continent is state-run. There are serious issues in this country...but you can fuck right off with your "there is NO service delivery and NO law enforcement" failed state bullshit. It's simply inaccurate.

[@FictionHubZA]

@@dannyarcher6370 Bruh. I keep seeing you in other videos spreading negativity. Why can't you just stop being a doomer?

[@MrAllmightyCornholioz]

The most famous South African: Elon Musk

[@GEOfocusChannel]

Yes, he’s from South Africa originally.

[@PainterVierax]

he is only the most famous because Nelson Mandela and Johnny Clegg passed away.

[@bgggsht]

Well, Tolkien was born in Bloemfontain....not sure if it counts 😅

[@h.m.5724]

Elon is not South African he left the country when he was still a boy stop claiming credit for his genius. He's however American-Canadian

[@MrAllmightyCornholioz]

@@h.m.5724 He still has his South African citizenship and was raised there. Therefore is he is still South African.

[@emremehmetalin6147]

That it has three capitals, and segregation types.

[@olajong2315]

I don’t see Africans screaming that South Africans are called South Africans. Unlike somewhere in the world where if you call someone American, they flip saying they’re also American. No bud, you’re Brazilian, Mexican, Cuban, and you’re either a north or South American 😤😤

[@MasegoKgowane]

❤

[@minniesaab7255]

👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@jamiewashere]

9:15 100.5% of the population fit into one of these groups! 😀

[@JimmiAlli]

I am not sure they mentioned how awful the British were to the Afrikaners during the Boer wars. They put women and children into concentration camps. This is why, even today, the Afrikaners are not always super friendly to the British.

[@SuperTonyony]

Nations should boycott the USA until Indian Reservations are made independent countries with seats at the United Nations.

[@redacted7060]

Hmm apartheid sounds like what Israel did to Palestinians

[@mobo7420]

My main takeaway, or rather something that hadn't been that clear to me before, is the two waves of colonialism (Dutch and British) and how they interacted. By the way, I remember as a child in the 1980s being told to check the country of origin of fruit and to never buy anything from South Africa because of the Apartheid regime. I had one classmate who travelled to SA in the late 80s and brought back dried ostrich meat and books about poisonous snakes. He also claimed - probably having been told by his racist parents - that the problems came from the black people. I remember my dad being really angry about this, because he couldn't tell a 9 year old to STFU.

[@user-gu9yq5sj7c]

You claim to care about racism or hate towards races, but it sounded like you and your dad hated on a 9 yr kid who was probably misled. Because you said your dad and probably you wanted to rage at that kid.

[@mobo7420]

@@user-gu9yq5sj7c No, I didn't "hate" or "rage" on the kid, what makes you think I did? Please don't read stuff into a post that's not there. And the boy turned out to be a racist twat, and not because of me or my dad.

[@Comrade_Jason]

Twelve official languages. Sign Language is also an official language.

[@Alfredo78666]

It pronounces CHEHANESBER

[@imel4592]

🇮🇩

[@MrTrevorrrrrrrr]

Khoisan are a completely different race from the majority Bantu. They are the only race that can claim to be native to South Africa.

[@azu_rikka]

Agree- and the descendents of the slaves, as they had no say and no rights until 1994 and no country to call home besides South Africa

[@MrTrevorrrrrrrr]

Seems to me the Khoisan still have no rights in ANC South Africa, where the Bantu have usurped their rights.

[@kingelizabeth7361]

@@MrTrevorrrrrrrr Xu! Khoe & San nations are blacks & many were absorbed into what is now Xhosas , Tswanas & in small amounts to Zulus & Sothos. Whilst others were integrated in communities' parts of Namibia, Botswana and Zambia. For so many years whites tried to dislodged them from their African identity, on their attempt to spur segregation & disunity among blacks. Those people are proudly African black like us, not contained European, afro-eurasian nor something in between genes. The fact that 84 led men detachments of slave masters, met their deputation first @ so called Cape colony. Changed the narratives & stripped them off their rights of being blacks. Now I understand fully on what based black historians butchered, tormented & walloped indeed was to execute swayed facts & promote fallacy which is still being maintained by non-African minority by birth. NB: Khoe & San are black like us their DNA is still being carried by Xhosas, Batswana & some Namibians and you cannot detach that from there

[@MrTrevorrrrrrrr]

@@kingelizabeth7361 To this day the Bantu refuse to acknowledge Khoisan rights and continue to oppress them, including working to erase their identifies and uniqueness - like you are here doing - in that regard the Bantu are no better than the colonizing Europeans.

[@santodiablo_pma]

It is a socialist country, not democratic. The same party governing since 1994

[@GEOfocusChannel]

If a socialist government is elected democratically, is the country democratic?

[@santodiablo_pma]

@@GEOfocusChannel that Can me rigged. Many socialists countries elect “democratically”. The same political party since 1994 and not recognizing Juan Guaidó as the Interim President of Venezuela 🇻🇪?????? Fishy

[@kgosimagano8966]

As a South African, I respectfully disagree with you

[@aleikava]

Changing the party regularly in the goverment is not a necessity to be considered democratic. Do you consider that conuntries like Japan, Italy or Sweden democracies? In Sweden the Socialdemocratic Party ruled from 1932 to 1976. In Italy, Cristian Democracy ruled from the end of WWII to the 90s or in Japan the Liberal Democratic Party rules since the WWII ended. Some other examples can be found in a smaller scale in the most consolidated democracies in the world. In Viena the Socialdemocratic Party has won every single democratic local election in its whole history, before and after the WWII. A system can be democratic and have the same party at the government for decades (sometimes longer than some dictatorships) as long as this government is democratically chosen by democratic elections.

[@kgosimagano8966]

You sound very ignorant, I'd recommend you to do your research before making a fool of yourself

[@saratov99]

South Africa pre 90's was a first world country, now it's firmly third world.

[@GEOfocusChannel]

Well, it was first world for a sliver of the population and third world for the rest.

[@saratov99]

@@GEOfocusChannel And now it's third world for everybody. That is how socialism works: makes everybody poor, but hey as long as they equally poor...

[@GEOfocusChannel]

There are no wealthy people there anymore?

[@sicko_the_ew]

@@GEOfocusChannel There are some fabulously wealthy people! For example, the leader of the Economic Freedom Front lacks for nothing. (It's not just ANC politicians who have enriched themselves.) There are far more palaces (those things aren't just "houses") in the country than there ever were before, and at least a significant proportion of those were obtained by corruption. (The search term "Zondo Commission" should give some idea of the scale of this.) Look, I don't go along with the idea that a society based on discrimination can be "first-anything", but that doesn't make what's happening today right. We had a previous bad government, and it turns out that we've replaced it with a current bad government - to the point where it's becoming difficult to tell who's worse (although that doesn't change the fact that they're both _bad_ ).

[@petes9524]

It's officially a middle income country ranking 37th in world GDP table.

[@sicko_the_ew]

I suppose the most neutral fact to add to your nicely balanced overview ("longer-term facts", one could call them) is that the word "trek" is a Boer word. (So there's a little piece of reasonably widely used English that comes from South Africa.) A bit less neutral is the matter of there being "conflicts within conflicts" - the downside of such ethnic diversity (but you'll probably find better examples of this kind of thing in India). Diversity is great when coupled with, at a minimum, tolerance, but it also makes it very easy for the parasitic variety of politician to put salt in wounds, remind people to be angry, then remind them to be "tribal" (in a broader sense than just "African-tribal"), and to overlook said politician's little faults when voting. It can make intelligent people stupid, even. A few details of those other "conflicts within conflicts": Maybe I'll start with something that might be slightly surprising at first glance, but makes sense when you think about it a bit, namely, that a lot of the soldiers who fought against the Zulu Empire (I'll need the E-word later) during the Zulu War were members of the Natal Native Corps. There was a distinction between "Natal Natives" in the old parlance - originally a simply descriptive term, not denoting race in at least an explicit way, but just place of birth - and the Zulus. As with many peoples, the Natal Natives (who spoke mainly Zulu, themselves) were as afraid of the Zulu Empire as the colonists were. Some joined the army. Some fought against the Zulu as an enemy, not just as a job that turns out to be much worse than it looks when all it involved was some drill and musketry practice, and now you're in the middle of a battle. I don't think I need to go too far into those details. The idea is provide a bit of nuance - a reminder that the "unofficial official version" of the story of South Africa is just like the stories people outside of your country learn about your own history. (They came and killed all the cute little animals, poisoned the Indians, and then there was lots of industry and they became the most polite people on Earth. History of Canada. To some people far, far away, anyway.) Conflict within conflict. Zulu and Xhosa have clicks (the number seems to vary according to who you talk to). Clicks are not a feature of the Banty family of languages in general, they're Khoisan. (Apparently there were literally thousands of tiny little Khoisan languages - like you have in e.g. New Guinea, where the forces of homogenization have not yet fully taken over.) Who knows what relations were like. It's reasonable to assume things weren't always pretty, let's say. A bunch of people who have inherited a relatively advanced set of technologies from their ancestors arrive in "The New Frontier". There, they encounter people who don't even know how to work metals. What could possibly go wrong? (The only surviving heirs of KhoiKhoi _culture_ - as well as KhoiSan culture, to a lesser degree ,were in the semi-desert areas by the time of recorded history. North and East of that - in the fairly well-watered areas - was a different culture - i.a. one that had blacksmiths and spears. I think this might have been to do with the fact that the Bantu tribes grew crops. In the "red and purple" parts of the country, that's impossible. Thing is that that culture got pushed out, almost entirely.) KhoiKhoi is a term for genetically Khoi-something people who kept cattle. KhoiSan is the same people (genetically), still living purely by hunting. Some people choose to be offended by the word "Bushmen" for the KhoiSan - in spite of the fact that it means the same thing, just in another language family - but just for the sake of disambiguation, that's what KhoiSan means. But don't use the word "Bushman", because there will always be someone wanting to assume you mean some slur by it. It is a word that has been policed away, and so should not be used - just because after the policing comes habit. Too many people "know" they should be offended by it. Anyway, there's likely a history of at least occasional conflict between the people who keep cattle, and the people who think of cattle as just another kind of antelope you can hunt. There's also a terrible known history of conflict with the Khoisan (here, the Drakensberg Khoisan - the mountains being their last sanctuary in the well-watered areas, until the colonists arrived there). They were hunted like animals by "christian" Victorian farmers, right to extinction. Their paintings are all over the mountains - even cruder ones, showing what's obviously men on horses, probably with guns, so more recent. Yes, they were cattle raiders, and would shoot strays and take the best cuts and run, but obviously that doesn't justify what was done to them. I suppose in the name of "War" - like murder in a "war" is somehow a "good murder". There were lots of wars, but the ones you mention are probably the ones that did most to shape the possibilities of the future - especially the Second Boer War. To make a long story short, by 1902, the Afrikaaners were the oppressed people others from all over the world were making a cause of (they had a cause, of course - but causes that migrate gain a life of their own, and become part of some other culture, and a meaning that only fully makes sense in some other culture. ... ) They become *Parables* . When people start talking about the Truths with Capital T's, the first casualty is the truth. Maybe that's because these have some of the nature of being wars of a kind. The thing is the Afrikaaners were "the Majority" (it was a different world; of the only people just about anyone on Earth - including the disenfranchised or never-enfranchised, and others like that - could imagine being voters for some Parliament, with its own Big Ben, and so on.) Let's put it this way: They could definitely be *made* into a majority - into currency that buys power. Collect 51% of the Counted-Heads, and you get to rule. Keep the members of some Majority (hallelujah) voting according to whatever identity of theirs makes them so, and you can hang onto power "forever". In Victorian times, you have a Europe that invents a world in which everything is based on "race" (right down to things like an imaginary "Jewish race" , and imagined "Noble races", biologically distinct from the commoners in their midst by this model of things). South Africa inherits that framework of understanding (along with all sorts of conflicts that feed back into it), and then in 1910, it ends up in a situation where there's this "majority" available to any politician capable of finishing of its construction. The thing to realize is that in early South Africa, the place of Africans in the political scene was mostly just not even perceived. There were "inter-white" conflicts driving things, more than anything else. (The early racial policy was just Earth-anywhere of-its-times racial legislation.) It was happening, but the perpetrators were as blind to it as many people from elsewhere were blind to their own versions of it, because of that potential for conflict that is the downside of diversity, so often. (Diversity is great if everyone welcomes it, and dangerous when even one group goes against it.) Anyway, enough "seed points" for any seeker of greater nuance (to someone-else's-problem - so Why?? ... but anyway ...) The missing part of the analysis of today's South Africa (at least to "insiders"; for outsiders it's the stories and parables that will always matter most - just because everyone generally has plenty of trouble of their own, and doesn't need anyone else's) is that we're stuck in a situation where a really rubbish government keeps getting voted in, in spite of everyone knowing they're harmful to the country. I'll skip the details. Call it just my opinion if you like. Main point is that we haven't "reached the happy ending" (or the final catastrophe, if that's how it's going to go). We're stuck in a one of these holes we seem to be so good at digging for ourselves, and we need to get out to get on. In some ways the same old story goes on, then. Turns out it's quite difficult to undo one's history.

[@mnmeskc848]

People don't "choose" to be offended by words that have been and are used to denigrate them. Which the Afrikaans equivalent of "Bushman" definitely has against Coloured people in South Africa. No need to begrudge people asking for sensitivity around what words outsiders make up to call them, especially when a majority of us couldn't name a self-identity of any of the dozen or so Southern African groups we call "San"/"Bushman" if asked ("San" was a name used by Khoekhoe and both "Bushman" and "Khoisan" are names given by Europeans to people who had other names for themselves. And the German zoologists who came up with "Khoisan" was a skull collector during the Nama and Herero genocide).

[@sicko_the_ew]

@@mnmeskc848 Helping people be sensitive instead of dismissive is a way of weaponizing them, used more by those stepping forward to "help" them than by the people themselves. A word is just a sequence of phonemes. A name is just a descriptor that does a good or bad job of indicating whatever it indicates. So maybe people don't so much choose to be sensitive as get taught (by those who volunteer to be their patrons, protectors, and guides). I agree with not using the thus-weaponized words, because if someone has become sensitized like that, then that is the fact of the matter, and it's not nice to do things that hurt people. However, this is similar to the situation where you don't chase people who are phobic about beetles around with beetles, just because beetles are actually harmless (as compared to, say, chasing people around with deadly scorpions, just to keep the bad metaphors aligned). So I'll give you that they don't choose. (Most people choose far less than they could.) However, I can't concede the fact that the word, itself, needs to have any negative meaning. It all depends on context. Actually there's a nice illustrative example from South Africa of the context-dependence of all words (I'll steer well clear of the fires around the context-dependent N-word of the USA, though). "Dutchman". How do you feel about this word? Would you consider it to be intended as an insult, or as something degrading? I'd guess your answer is no, if you don't have any associations with South Africa. But guess what? It has had some insulting connotations, here. There are people who have used it in the same way as they use terms like "clutchplate", "plank", and so on. Ask a South African if you don't believe me. I don't know of anyone who was too sensitive to hear it spoken, though. I suppose there were some such people. I've known some people who might have rearranged the face of someone using the term in the wrong situation, though, and plenty for whom it was just water off a duck's back. And the thing is that Dutchman was created to be an insult (OK, a milder insult than "rock spider" or "Cylon", or "bonehead" - other words that have been used with more obvious nasty intent in South Africa). Dutchman was created to be an insult, where "Bushman" was originally just a name, nothing more. Whatever connotations came to be connected to the name in various circumstances/ with various states of intent only came later. I can't think of a specific "insult word" made up for specifically the hunter-gatherer San people. (There probably is one, but it won't be "Bushman".) So sorry, I won't allow myself to be corrected in this way. I choose to live as an outlaw, and not to permit any policing of my thoughts. (A ridiculous exaggeration, but if you water it down a lot, you'd have the more properly expressed version of the bad attitude I've chosen. Evil people just gonna be evil, man.)

[@YourCreepyUncle.]

"Trek" is not specifically Boer, though. It's actually just ordinary Dutch, related to English "track". Although, yes, English did take the word from Afrikaans.

[@sicko_the_ew]

@@YourCreepyUncle. I think most of Afrikaans is still reasonably close to Dutch? But yes, it's not specifically Boer. (Assuming the gist of the meaning of the Dutch word is to pack up everything, and move on to an more-or-less unspecified destination.) It wasn't just the Boere trekking, eventually. A great-great-something grandfather of mine had bad asthma, so was forever suddenly packing whatever could fit in his wagons (and leaving everything else behind) and heading off to somewhere where he hoped he'd be able to breathe again. He was English, although most of his descendants are Afrikaans, I think, since his trekking took him out of the British colonies and into the Boer republics eventually. He was the last man to be killed by lions in the Orange Free State (meaning he was the bugger who killed the last lions in the Free State - or one of the buggers.)

[@mnmeskc848]

@@sicko_the_ew But the use of "Dutchman" and "Bushman" are exactly analogous: Anglophone white South Africans are known to use "Dutchman" with contempt towards white Afrikaners and the word "B*esman" in Afrikaans is similarly infused with the racist contempt. Which is precisely why "San" (another umbrella term) has recently gained precedence in South Africa- it doesn't immediately recall to us the connotations of the former. So what now? The point is none of these terms are neutral or objectively correct somehow and you, as someone who does not come from any of these communities, do in fact we them the decency of minding your words and the names you resort to use in naming them. San/Bushman are actually in common use and seen as acceptable (if ignorant of specific names) by different groups. You choosing to take affront to people (are even in contact with these communities?) wanting to be known, even if only on occasion, by the own names, because of what? The slight to your imagined authority? What's really bothering you about the idea that nomenclature isn't absolute and final? And what names marginalised people wish to be called by are most definitely up to them. Bye.

[@DeKevers]

Do North Africa now

[@GEOfocusChannel]

All of North Africa in one video? I made a video about Morocco, but unfortunately not too many people have seen it. And I made one about Egypt a few years ago, but it's not very good by my current standards.

[@DeKevers]

@@GEOfocusChannel lol sorry i was joking

[@use.1]

Why I was knowing about your phone Mr. GEOfocus Channel is because. I use Microsoft swiftkey keyboard. It supports ë, é and ü.

[@GEOfocusChannel]

I see. I use an iphone. It supports those characters too, but I didn't know I could use them with the basic English keyboard.

[@windhoekboer207]

Namibia

[@gabrielmutero6174]

South Africa has 13 language

[@santodiablo_pma]

South Africa 🇿🇦 is a perilous country, and the white people, specifically Afrikaaners, are not warm and friendly enough

[@hanro7430]

Lol sure buddy

[@williamjohnpacker1563]

A bit of a woke point of view and you probably should have mentioned it’s current pathetic state.

[@GEOfocusChannel]

I don’t think it’s woke to say the end of apartheid was a positive thing. But maybe I could have said more about its current problems.

[@victorsamsung2921]

@@GEOfocusChannel Thank you. I like the fact that you share a sense of introspection and admit the video could have been done better. Referring to criticism about the ANC or EFF (kill the boer! etc.) Self-criticism is never weak, but strong.

[@m.m4999]

Dividing and classifying according to race is such an ignorant thing bro… 😢

[@anthony17mapoy46]

South Africa has 11 languages - 2 Germanic and 9 Bantu languages.

[@jacquesdebeer5106]

As a South African, I would like people to know that my Afrikaner race (That built most of SA infrastructure) is at the brink of extinction due to all the murders and my kind leaving the country due to BEE (Black economical empowerment). So if you are white Goodluck on putting food on the table. Also this country is now Basically run by Gangsters. Sad to say but I'm also leaving this place next year as much as I love the landscape

[@seankelly819]

Yes ANC corruption and recent attacks on Indian store owners by blacks was also left out . Interesting

[@DirtyEdon]

You didn't build the infrastructure. You force black to build it while you sat on your ass. If you're not happy go back to Europe 😊

[@-Mitra-]

Oh funny. De Beer. Isn't it the family that grabbed all diamond deposits in Africa,?

[@victorsamsung2921]

@@seankelly819 What's also been left out, convenientely, is the fact that today there are more Bantu peoples in SA, admitting their lives were better during Apartheid. Although sharing a sense of shame and guilt with it, but admitting the standards of living, infrastructure, wages and opportunities were better.

[@phillipleboa5251]

THE EUROPIEANS, DUTCH & PORTUGESE, ARRIVED HERE BEFORE THE ZULU ARRIVED FROM THE NORTH OF AFRICA.

[@GEOfocusChannel]

Hmmm...

[@kgosimagano8966]

FYI, The Bantu people originated in central and East Africa nearly 2000 years ago, the Europeans came way much later than that in the 1400s

[@seandlamini5780]

Don't lie on a public platform plz...

[@seandlamini5780]

Even Europeans expanded on their God given continent.... Go tell Queen Elizabeth she is not Native and let's see how she feels about that?!

[@seandlamini5780]

@Dark Tron Don't lie