When standards fall in a civilization at a gradual pace, it is difficult for a new generation to grasp that what they experience as the norm in 2017 is actually third-rate as to what the situation was thirty years ago. When the older generation stray down memory lane in South Africa it is too often seen and ridiculed as a “return to Apartheid”.

Let us put it in perspective then. Let us compare South Africa and Australia; Australia being the preferred destination for more than 135 000 South Africans since 1994 (according to their last census). “Packing for Perth” was a wry joke at the start of the nineties, because, let’s face it, Australia was the last destination on earth you wanted to go to in comparing the two countries.

Be it military, agriculture, sport, education, technology or mining – the Australia of yesteryear trailed sadly behind South Africa in almost all spheres up to the nineties. To be totally honest, the average Afrikaner regarded the typical Australian as a little backward. On half the arable land we produced twice the agricultural products; in the military field we were sixth in the world while Australia was nowhere.

Agriculture: In the 70’s the agricultural output (on a worldwide average of 100 base points) for Australia stood at 122 with an annual increase of 3,7%. For South Africa it stood at 169 with an average growth of 3,9%. It is interesting to note that the Food & Agricultural Organization of the United Nations in its annual reports listed South Africa separately from the rest of Africa (being a “developed nation” among “developing countries” – the only country in the world with figures separated from its continent; thus showing just how huge the gap was).

Sport: When pulling out of rugby tests against South Africa’s Springboks after 1971 the Wallabies could only win about 40% of the time. When South Africa came into its own as a cricketing nation between 1952 and 1970 when Australia withdrew, the Boks won 7 and the Aussies 6. In soccer (before the transformation of SA soccer into the laughable Bafana Bafana with their dismal world ranking) the Australians could manage only 3 wins against 10 losses against the “white” Springboks. Springbok soccer manager Barbour relayed the situation in standards in accommodation, playing fields and quality as “unsatisfactory” in Australia, citing a Springbok player complaining that “his servant back home is used to better.”

Economy: In 1993 South African exports were valued at roughly R79.5 billion (almost 35% of GDP) and imports were valued at only approximately R59 billion. For Australia the corresponding figures were 64,5 billion and 42,4 billion. Since then the South African market and standards have declined rapidly and we are now on the brink of “junk status”. Australia is still clinging to its number 8 ranking and 15th in the military field, however – an indication of what South Africa should have been like in 2017.

These are the standards we were used to in South Africa before the multicultural flop after 1994. Yes, we were arrogant, but we were arrogant because we could afford to be, because of innovation, standards and cost-effectiveness. Yes, we are jealous and angry at the Australians because they “stole” 135 000 of our citizens and because they, being at the forefront of anti-Apartheid protests, were throwing stones from their glass houses, not realising what their multicultural interference in South Africa would cause.

But there is a way out: Self-determination where we can again show our mettle. The only obstacle is our own last Afrikaner generation – they who do not realize what they have gradually lost since 1994.

Read the original article by Hannes Engelbrecht on Front Nasionaal SA – blad

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