Pablo

Unpleasant though the recent London stabbing is, it is not anywhere near on a par with the Brett Gildin case, where two friends were hijacked as they left a dinner party, and then locked in car boot, then forced to strip naked, then locked up again, then driven round again, then, possibly, tortured, and then, finally, murdered at the side of the highway.

Two innocent people, walking out of a dinner party in an upmarket area of Cape Town on their way to their car, and that happened.

The London stabbing took place in the context of a drunken pub-fight.

Quite apart from that, the statistics for crime in South Africa, and crime in the UK, are nowhere near comparable.

italyexpat

Thanks Pablo don't want to trade insults, or crime stats with you. Just to say read the article and see that it the seventh of its type in so many weeks. As I said, your choice if you care to believe UK in general has become a very dangerous place for young people to go out in, or not.

italyexpat

Are you saying that the victim, an actor and his brother in london weren't innocent? Were you there? violence is violence, dont rate it by using "on a par". All these families have lost their sons the pain is the same.

Pablo

No, I'm not surprised, because you are completely out of order on this one. I am well aware of the youth stabbings that are going on the UK. They receive a great deal of media attention, far more than the equivalent in South Africa. It is precisely because such things are relatively rare in the UK that they create such shock and disgust. If South African papers gave similar prominence to such things, there would be nothing else at all in the papers but murder stories.

Furthermore, it is precisely the people who are apologists for Africa who are apologists for the crime in the UK.

Pablo

Innocent of what? I think you're getting a bit hysterical.

ForeignGal

I must thank everyone for posting. You'll be happy to know that I'm now crapping myself at the thought of going out there! Well at least I'll be extra vigilant If I spend my whole time there paranoid and unhappy then my decision will be made, but who knows it may be paradise.

italyexpat

Your words i quote "Two innocent people, walking out of a dinner party in an upmarket area of Cape Town on their way to their car, and that happened.

The London stabbing took place in the context of a drunken pub-fight."

Hence- why do you not consider the victims in London "innocent."
I'm not at all hysterical, so don't be condecending again to the fairer sex- I just hate sensational crime reporting for the sake of it. All of us reading this know the crime stats are bad in SA. Likewise, I have many friends here, who left Uk for the same reason, and not only because of yob culture violence but others more serious such as in Suffolk recently etc. Although I dont see the point in drawing comparisons, SA is a complex mix of ethnicities, so is Uk. Over and out.

italyexpat

Enjoy yourself! and speak frankly to those who still live there, and actually have some connection to the schools in question.

ForeignGal

Yes, I intend to get every graphic detail possible. My hub has a work colleague out there, I have relatives, and I am going to ask the schools so many questions they probably won't want us to come back.

italyexpat

Just for your info: and because you made the comparison: I looked up the crime stats for greater London for the month of April 2008- violence against persons close to 3,000 in a month, sexual offences 138, robberies too many. Look them up yourself borough by borough. Its not what it used to be. Im out.

italyexpat

They are used to being grilled about SA by foreigners, so dont worry. Do your homework you may be surprised, I hope its successful for you.

Pablo

I am astonished at how quickly you have managed to turn yourself from a screeching harpie into "the fairer sex" when it suits you.

Just because violence is unpleasant, does not mean that some violence is not more unpleasant than others.

Also, every legal system I have ever come across draws a distinction between a cold, cruel, premeditated murder on the one hand, and a killing that takes place in the context of a drunken fight on the other hand.

For you to suggest that I am therefore condoning London knife violence is merely thick.

Pablo

Thanks for the drive-by, but so what? I am not disputing the figures. Perhaps you'd like to post the crime stats for South Africa too.

Pablo

The chances are you'll have a nice holiday. But either way, that is no guide.

italyexpat

Well let me count the insults Pablo thick, hysterical, harpie,apologist to name but a few. You sound like one frustrated, misogynisic little monkey, relieve yourself by all means, just don't involve a woman, thats all.

Here a video about Africa for you all to enjoy, foreign girl show it to your hubbie
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