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Adam Catzavelos, where do you think all the black people are?

Well, that wasn’t very nice, I’m sure we’ll both agree, you’ve been a very bad boy and that your mother should wash your mouth out with soap. Lots of it. And then give you a slap over your head to get some sense into you! 

Having said that, I’d now like to thank you for bringing this very important point to our attention. 

Where are all the black people? 
(For my non South Africa compadres, when I use the terms black, white and coloured, I am not being racist or politically incorrect. That’s the way we talk back home. Race and racism is one of the biggest, most relevant and ever present issues in every South African home and heart.) 

So, where are all the black people on that beach, Adam? 

I can’t figure out where you are in the video. I’m assuming it’s abroad somewhere? Europe? South East Asia? Seychelles? Something like that? 

Your wife works for Nike and you’re obviously made of money, so I’m thinking some sort of lux resort, unless you actually own your own off-shore holiday home (lucky). It has to be abroad, because I can’t for the life of me imagine a beach in South Africa in 2018 that has zero black people. 

So, assuming you are abroad somewhere, I think you’ve raised a valid point here. There are no black people. I noticed it myself. I don’t travel to luxury places like the Bahamas and Seychelles, or actually even regularly go on a holiday (it’s expensive). But I did do a bit of travelling a few years ago, mostly to some EU cities, Thailand, NZ and India. (I live in the UK, by the way.) And you know what? 

I didn’t see that many black people. Not on the plane, not at the airport and not on the beaches. I wondered about the reasons back then, and now that you’ve brought it up, I thought maybe we could discuss it. 

Why do you think there aren’t as many black people as white people travelling around to all these beaches and cities and places around the world, Adam? I’m going to give you my take on things, for what it’s worth. 

The 1900s was started with white people having the wealth, and many black people as slaves. Many black people did not have the wealth, or even the means to successfully build their own wealth. Just to give you and example of the extent of this, the French still had human zoos where they paraded black people from Africa in the 1930s. 

I would assume, being an educated man of privilege and wealth, that you are familiar with South African history, and therefore aware that the country was founded by white people taking the wealth of the country and depraving black people of it. Because of this, white people today are disproportionately more prosperous in wealth and opportunity than black people. Inherited and generationally transferred wealth affords individuals a head start in the human race. 

I don’t know you, but from what I’ve read, it looks like you’ve had a privileged upbringing. You had great education opportunities. You worked for a family business. You inherited a 35-year-old family business that your father started in the '60s and then passed on to you and your brother. 

How many black families in South Africa do you think have a 35-year-old business worth millions to hand over to their children? 

Do you know what black South Africans were doing in the '60s while your father was doing his hard work to build his fortune and hand it over to you? Black people were fighting for freedom, equality, human decency and respect in the '60s, '70s, '80s, '90s, '00s, and the fight still goes on, all while cleaning your kitchen and doing your garden for you. 

Racism is one of the most heinous crimes that humanity has committed. It is an abuse and violation of the human spirit that leaves countries and people to rot in fear, shame and hate, in other words, greed, corruption, murder. 

Do you understand this, Adam? It’s ugly. And I’m sorry that racism happened to you. You are a victim too. Because once, long ago, you were just a little boy, and what you saw all the grown ups do on the outside didn’t match what was inside your heart, but you loved them, looked up to them and trusted them. So you went against your own heart, your own spirit. 

And do you know what your spirit is, Adam? Adam, it’s UBUNTU. 

I think you forgot that. I think you forgot yourself, your heart. It’s okay because we all do sometimes, and we can always get it back. That’s what we’re all trying to do for South Africa. We’re working together to remember our Ubuntu, our hearts. Are you with us? 

With love Hajnalka

#AdamCatzavelosChallenge #AdamCatzavelos

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