Much has been said about how Muslims (and Jews, for that matter) manage to build their communities by keeping the money inside. Very basic principle, buy from your own people. There are always cries for us black people to learn to do the same. My opinion: Not going to happen. Not any time soon.
Reasons vary. But i can sum it up in one word. Envy. The black community is full of envy. In a huge way. And as much as i hate to do so, we HAVE to blame apartheid first and foremost. It really taught us to hate ourselves and each other. It taught us to suspect one another and not trust each other. Worst of all, by planting spies "izimpimpi" among us, who were our own people, we became suspicious of each other's activity. So the moment you start rising up, everybody is suspicious and thinks you did it in a dubious way. The system also taught us that we were incapable of rising above our dire circumstances. That was indoctrinated into our heads. So, anybody who DOES rise is also viewed askance. They MUST have done something dodgy. There's no other explanation for it.
I can already see all the non-blacks shaking their heads and thinking "Can we not get over this apartheid already? YOU PEOPLE (don't you love it when they call us "you people"?) have been running this country for over 15 years, now." You know what? I'd love to hear ONE person telling Jewish people to "get over" the holocaust. That happened what, 70 odd years ago? But Jewish people are still allowed to have a chip on their shoulder (quite rightly so, I might add) to this day.
So, what all this means is, when i see a black man, like me, opening a shop in my neighborhood, and start being successful, my immediate thought is, he is somehow doing so at MY expense. Why on earth should I contribute to HIS growth? Next thing he will be driving a Mercedes, with MY money? Hell no! Plus he will never give me a lift in that Mercedes! I will take a taxi and go to town, thank you.
I have no solutions on this one. We WILL distrust each other for a long time still. Every prominent person in the townships is suspected of drug dealing. It is totally inconceivable that a black person could make money the legal way. Thank heavens for the lotto. Now, if you get any instant wealth, you have either won the lotto, are a thug, or have become "A BEE". I love how the term BEE (short for Black Economic Empowerment. in case you have been living under a rock for the past 16 years) has become a noun, now!
I DO, however think we can still learn one thing from Muslims....
The old patriarch in the Muslim family will build a house, a fairly big house. And when his sons come of age, (let's say 20) they will do two things. 1. They will get married. 2. They will continue living at home with their new brides. After all, the house is big enough. And I am sure we are all familiar with the jokes about Indians, they ALWAYS car pool. It is true. It is very rare to seen Indian person travelling alone in a car. Even if they have their own cars, they all jump into ONE car!
This means, they are now contributing to household expenses and chores. And they are SAVING their money. Think about this. An average townhouse nowadays costs R5 000 per month in rent. That is R60 000 per year. That is R300 000 over a 5 year period. If he puts just that away, he has enough to start a decent business in 5 years. I am not even going to go to how much money they save on other household costs. Appliances, furniture, groceries (they buy in bulk at Muslim Cash and Carry!). But, just working on the R300 000, in five years, that is a nest egg unlike any. At, 25 years of age.
Now, let us compare that to the average black man in similar circumstances. At 20, he just came out varsity, just got himself a job. First thing he does is RUN and gets himself a townhouse in Midrand. Then he needs a car. So, his starting salary of R10 000 per month is now basically R5 000 rent, R2 000 car payment and R3 000 must be spread out between household expenses, fun on the weekend, furniture (He NEEDS a new LCD and a killer sound system). Do you think he will even remember to pay off his student loan? And we have not even factored in the Carvellas that he MUST buy to go with his shiny red Velociti. Fortunately the banks have seen his future earning potential, so they will give him an overdraft and a credit card.
I think you all see where this is going. By 25, he is 3 positions up, but still living from hand to mouth, he is now listed on the credit bureau, is behind on rent, has probably moved from one apartment to the next to escape his mounting debt. And yet, miraculously, he has now moved up to a Golf 5.
Makes you think, I hope.....
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