News and greetings from Hans and Jessie
December 1999
JESSIE and HANS wish you
A HAPPY FESTIVE SEASON
and
A SPLENDID NEW MILLENIUM
We hope that you and yours are well
and can look back on 1999 with
gratitude and satisfaction.
South Africa has made slow progress in 1999. Five years after our first
democratic general election, the ruling African National Congress Party was
again returned to power in this year's election. The Mandela era is over.
The new president Thabo Mbeki is an excellent man. Our change-over from
white minority rule to a predominantely black government is basically
complete. It suffers from chronic lack of trained people at all levels.
But we have no dictatorship, no police state, and an economy
that is at least ticking over with a reasonably stable currency. Despite
crime, corruption, Aids, and health and education shortages, there is
ground for hope that the new millenium will see a steady advance. I remain
"cautiously optimistic".
Our family is as lively and wide-spread as ever. Julia, on her yacht
"Jeshan", earns a living by advising clients in Sydney via the Internet
while sailing in tropical waters off Cairns, (Barrier Reef). Recently she
went solo to remote islands off South West Papua New Guinea, also meeting
up with friends. She maintains the family web-site
www.jupacami.net/family,
illustrated with photos where you see and read more than I can describe
here.
Paul is presently in Amsterdam/London on business, returns at
the weekend. Marc, their eldest, after Colorado and USA/Canada, was some
months in London, earning his own living via odd jobs. He put in a short
appearance here last month, then flew to Australia and has just reached
Julia in Cairns after a 48 hour nonstop bus-ride from Sydney. He will go
back to London in January and will then take some serious decisions on
future work and career. Lindsay and the rest of the family are joyfully
involved in many activities.
So are Mish (whose business is flourishing) and family who will be here
from Johannesburg over Xmas. We visited them in October.
Finally, Carl who tragically lost his Colleen a year ago has just
successfully changed his job to a Manhattan-based excellent firm. We
visited them in New York in May. Carl's inner strength and his attachment
to his two splendid boys has seen him through the crisis. Lybi, Zak and
Amiel's mother, lives nearby and both parents share in the boys' care and
upbringing.
Jessie is fabulously well and energetic. I am troubled with arthritic
nerve pain which at the moment reduces my activities and, I hope, will
improve again.