There came a point in my life when I was desperately seeking a domestic worker because I could not cope with my job, my baby and all my household chores. I went to the advertisement board at a nearby convenience store and took down a few contact details. I called a number of women and set up appointments with six of them. One of them, a South African , did not pitch up. But she sent me a cellphone message to call her . When I phoned her back, she asked if I could pick her up because she did not have money for transport .
I told her that five other women , who were not South African, had managed to make it to my house at the specified times. One even came with her young child strapped to her back.
This episode, among many others, made it clear to me that, as South Africans, we have an attitude of entitlement. We think that the world owes us something. |