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We Didn't Come To Take - We Came To Build

We Didn't Come To Take - We Came To Build

Author: By Kasia Yoko
Date: 2025-05-28

This month, we talk about immigration-and my own journey, which began over four decades ago.

You see that little girl on the right? I'm the one on the left in the photo, waving the old South African flag. The girl in front is my cousin Monica, and the others are Polish refugees-children like us-who crossed continents in search of a better life.

That day, we made the front page of The Star newspaper as the first Polish refugees to arrive in South Africa in the early 1980s. We didn't come here to take anything away from South Africans. We weren't here to beg. We arrived with a clear vision: to build a new life.

I was just 11 years old. For me, it started as a wild, exciting adventure-but it didn't stay that way for long. Very quickly, the reality set in. The Afrikaners weren't thrilled to have us here.

We were bullied, sworn at, spat on. We were the "koministe", the "Rooi Gevaar." For years, until we learned to fight back, we were targeted and beaten.

But here's the truth no one should forget:

No one leaves their homeland without a reason.

No one walks away from their family, their friends, the streets they know, the language of their heart-unless they must.

We leave our homes, our grandparents, and everything we love in the hope of survival, in the dream of a better existence.

So when people condemn South African farmers who've left the country in search of a safer life in America, I see it for what it is-jealousy and cruelty. It is mean-spirited to wish struggle upon those simply trying to live in peace.

And to those who deny the reality of crime in South Africa-who pretend it isn't that bad-please, open your eyes. Follow Reaction SA on Facebook if you must, and see for yourself just how bloody our beloved country has become. So many live in constant fear.

Everyone deserves the right to a safe, happy home where they can thrive.

I love South Africa and I have decided to stay, this is my home, the rocks surrounding Granny's Pool in Ballito is where my ashes will be scatered. But my sons live and work in Europe. My husband's entire family has emigrated-they gave up trying to make it work here.

I know the pain of immigration. I know the grass isn't always greener on the other side. But I also know that for many South Africans-those who live in fear of hijackings, of break-ins, of senseless violence-it's not about greener grass. It's about survival.

Let's remember who we are: a nation built by immigrants. And in that spirit, let us wish those who leave well. May they find the peace they seek.