INTERVIEW WITH JOSEF TALOTTA, CO-AUTHOR OF WHY I’LL NEVER LIVE IN OZ AGAIN

iafrica 5 March 2007

Mondi award-winning columnist Josef Talotta contributed to the recently released book Why I’ll Never Live In Oz Again, which puts forward the argument that the grass isn’t always greener for those considering emigrating. Having moved to South Africa from the United States in 1992, Talotta was a natural choice to write the chapter “Why I’ll Never Live In The US Again”, which he turned into a collection of letters to a semi-fictional South African living in the States. 
In this author interview, Talotta contributes to the long-running South African Should-I-stay, should-I-go debate.

What's your opinion of South Africans who have chosen to live overseas? Do you understand their point of view? Or do you think they’re cowards for leaving?
It’s an increasingly fluid global market with regards to human capital, so people will move to (or stay) where they feel their skills are most-rewarded. For some it’s cold, hard cash. For others, it could be weather, family, culture or education. For still others, it might be an intangible – the sense of ‘connection’. Homecoming Revolution’s founder Angel Jones once said something along the lines of “There’s a global fight for human capital”, and I agree.
Cowards? No. Consumers choosing countries. Yes. And I sometimes wish South Africa would officially fight back! We have established base communities from throughout Africa, Europe and Asia that could be so useful in our dealings with the global economy. I’d better stop, though, because I’m getting into “If I was President for a day” mode...

By “officially fight back”, do you mean react to other countries “stealing” our citizens?
Absolutely. While I feel people should live where they want to live, I still sometimes get quite freaked out when I see hard-sell semi-official recruitment ads from Australian state departments in our newspapers – like “Live in a crime-free environment on Australia’s Gold Coast” – for their medical systems. There was even a movement called “10 000 by 2000” to increase Perth’s Jewish community off a South African base. Not to be a conspiracy theorist, but I’m well aware Australia, particularly, was quite vocal in isolating white South Africans during apartheid, while granting residency to virtually every white South African doctor, dentist and lawyer who wanted to move there: classic double standards. Ditto, is it mere coincidence that every single South African I know who’s won a place in the American green card lottery happens to be a young, English-speaking, blond professional?

Before you were asked to contribute to Why I’ll Never Live In Oz Again, had you considered leaving South Africa?
Not at all. There are some days – Sunday afternoons in particular – when I sometimes feel disconnected, like I should be somewhere else, but I think that’s because I don’t have family here. And that’s when we used to gather around the table for a big Italian Sunday lunch, after church. I think it’s more about missing my childhood and family, rather than missing the USA. 

Is your decision to stay in South Africa based on the knowledge that you've lived overseas and realise that everywhere has it's problems or that South Africa is your home and you're sticking with it come what may?
Both of my parents are from EU countries, and I was born in the States, so I really have my choice of passports and countries. Also, I’ve had my extended stays in Europe so I don’t feel I’m missing out on anything. I mean, I was everywhere I should’ve been at the right time – I used to run through New York in its heady classic nightclub days, I lived in Spain during the acceleration of La Movida, when Pedro Almodovar and Barcelona were emerging, and I lived in South Africa during its transition to democracy. All exciting, all relevant. The difference, of course, is that I can contribute to the latter, while I was witness to the first two.

What would be the tipping point that drives you to leave?
I think a lot of people confuse the state of Johannesburg with the state of the nation. Joburg’s not the most organised city, compared to, say Cape Town, Durban or Pretoria. It’s increasingly stretched to capacity, dirty and untidy, with weeds popping out of its pavements. It’s not well-managed – and that’s just the wealthy part of town! I am concerned that a city with a metro population of some four million has a 1970s-era six-lane freeway system and no plans to maximise road infrastructure, Gautrain aside. Crime is a concern – not the reality of it as much as the fear of it. I was burgled in August (in a “secure” complex!) and have since installed an alarm and Trellidors. That said, of the three kids in my family, I was the last to install an alarm system – the first two were installed in Atlanta and Baltimore. Likewise, my sister in Baltimore was also burgled before installing hers.
I’m not paranoid, but my big fear is violent crime and – since I moved here in 1992 – I’ve had to remove around a half-dozen people from my address book who’ve emigrated, along with two who were murdered. Then again, context. My sister studied in New York in the 1980s and two or three students from her res alone were murdered during the course of her degree.
My personal tipping point would be the Zim-style disappearance of the middle class through something like sustained hyperinflation, although I doubt that could happen. If the intangible sense of hope was exhausted, I would consider moving on. People live in hope that tomorrow’s better than today and South Africa still very much delivers, more than most places I’ve lived. I feel I can make a difference here. And I do.

If you had to leave now, where would you go?
Realistically, back to the States, maybe someplace with personality, like Miami or Boston. In my opinion, most American cities don’t have a sense of “place” - they’re interchangeable, with the greatest point of differentiation through their sports teams. It’s like being trapped in a never-ending Beyers Naude Drive, near Cresta. Ideally, it’d be somewhere a bit more exotic, like Italy.

What is the thing you love most about South Africa?
The list is endless... The people, the land, the can-do spirit, one-on-one manners (Joburg drivers aside!), heart-felt human interaction, my feeling of gratitude for small triumphs and simple things like a warm bed and a full tummy.
I also like the feeling that I am making a difference in the lives of others through volunteering and fund-raising for AIDS orphans. I also appreciate the relative ease with which one can gain access to South Africa’s decision- and wave-makers. Some have grudgingly said I’m suffering from “Big fish, small pond” syndrome but I happen to love the pond. Anyway, as a writer, my skills have been globally applied from a South African base. Ten years ago it was a very big deal when I wrote for the Rosebank Killarney Gazette. Since then, I’ve earned my space in the publishing industry, so I can now write for virtually any South African publication I choose, along with a lot of international titles like Wallpaper and Condé Nast Traveller – I really couldn’t do better, even if I was London- or New York-based. And I just love it here.