My First Opinion Gets Published In South Africa

Anyways, my first opinion (after trying for a couple years in Los Angeles), finally got published in Pretoria, one of the capitals of South Africa. Back home, the joke is that I had to come to one of the furthest places from home (over 10,000 miles) to do it and have some money stolen.

Anyways, the OpEd is about how some money got stolen from me in Stellenbosch, South Africa and how the government really needs to start prosecuting thefts, especially against tourist. (Property related crime is incredible in South Africa. There are more than half a million reported thefts in a year.)

Of course, I was upset about it all. But the publication of this story is a good example of how something positive can come out of a bad experience.

It shows how a petty theft can be transformed into a national discussion on justice for the State of South Africa. The victims of the story also thanked me and feel better. I'm really hoping change and justice will come out of this.

It reminds me of the Bible verse in Genesis 50:20 - "You plotted evil against me, but God turned it into good, in order to preserve the lives of many people who are alive today because of what happened. You have nothing to fear. . . ."

You can read my opinion here.

A special thank you to Pretoria News and Independent Online for giving us a voice.

If you're new to my blog and from South Africa, my most popular post on South Africa is on Cape Town. You can read it: Here.

Personally, my favorite places were the Blyde River Canyon and the Crags. Next up: Kruger National Park.

Update on June 5, 2018 - My opinion has also been republished in JoeBerg's The Star and Durban's The Mercury.