2020 - to quote some anonymous Facebook user - really didn't use any lube. This year messed with peoples' lives on a grand scale, whether it was by taking away loved ones, closing small businesses that may have been in a particular family for generations, unemploying people, or simply just stirring up negative emotions that have been simmering for years.
In this process, I have come to the conclusion that it is time for me to make a move out of my current situation. However, I still have no idea how radical the move would have to be. Am I simply going to quit my job and follow my dreams here in South Africa or am I going to pack up everything and leave South Africa altogether?
My problem is that the ruling political party here in South Africa is making it progressively more uncomfortable for white South Africans to stay. Sure, they want our tax contributions, but they make it impossible for white people to gain employment and even went so far as to deny white people humanitarian aid during the hard lockdown period. If that doesn't speak of evil, I have no idea what does.
My best option, therefore, is to move abroad and start afresh on another part of our planet. I thought about Ireland (the one with the leprechauns, not the one with the Troubles!), but getting there and setting up is not as easy as it seemed at first glance.
South Africans do not need any special permission to visit the country as tourists, but in order to stay there for at least the 5 years required to make it permanent, there are quite a few hoops to jump through and other obstacles to overcome. The least of all that is proving that you have the money.
I have some money, or I will, once everything is settled, but not the amount that the Irish bureaucrats require. So that alone prohibits me from living there long-term. That said, I have never been one to back down from a challenge, so after feeling extremely sorry for myself for a while, I have decided to consider other ways in which I may gain entry. Legally and morally sound ways.
What I did, in the end, was look up the Embassy of the Republic of Ireland and sent them a note to find out exactly what their requirements were and how they could help me, if at all. The challenge was keeping the actual query text to 250 characters or less! It took a lot of weeding, but I think/hope that the basic message came across without making me seem needy or whiney or entitled. (That's why the few words!) Now simply to wait for a reply.