Maya Jagjivan

Journalist|Blog All views expressed here are my own|

[Shubnum Khan | Order The Djinn Waits @ShubnumKhan]

Pls don’t invite me to your book clubs if you’re sharing PDFs of my novel. It’s not only disrespectful to me, but if you’re Brown/South African/African/Indian/women you’re limiting opportunities for our communities by making it seem like ppl don’t buy/care for our stories.

[Nhlanhla Mabaso @_NMabaso]

BREAKING NEWS: The IFP’s Thami Ntuli has been elected KwaZulu-Natal premier for the 7th administration.

[Maya Jagjivan @maya_jag]

This is awesome! Well done, powerhouse @FitMasi ❤

[GirlThatLifts/TheRunner @FitMasi]

I plead Guilty of the 56km Cases, your Honour!
Case Closed 👨‍⚖️⚖️

#TwoOceansMarathon2024

[Cyril Ramaphosa 🇿🇦 @CyrilRamaphosa]

I know that many of us want us to have a holiday now to celebrate. But we should all agree that we should give our matriculants time to focus on their exams and celebrate afterwards.

In celebration of the Springboks’ momentous achievement and the achievements of all our other sports men and women – and as a tribute to the resolve of our united nation – I am declaring Friday, 15th December 2023 as a public holiday.

We declare this to be a day of hope, a day of celebration and unity.

Our sports men and women have shown us what is possible.

We will succeed and we will ensure that we leave no-one behind.

[Rugby World Cup @rugbyworldcup]

KINGS OF RUGBY 🇿🇦

#RWC2023 | #RWCFinal

[Servesan Moodley @servesan]

Durban sunset 🌅

[Mark Sham @MarkSham]

For anyone thinking about leaving South Africa permanently, I'd like to attempt to share a balanced perspective on this topic as a well-seasoned traveller and someone that has lived away from home.

I spend a lot of time in Europe and whenever I visit, I’m always struck by a powerful quote:

“There are no solutions. There are only trade-offs.”

On paper, there are many things wrong with South Africa. So many in fact, that I don't blame people for leaving. The problem is, most people think the act of leaving is the solution, when really all they're doing is trading one set of pros and cons for another.

Sometimes people are so focused on what they don't like about about their home country while simultaneously taking the amazing aspects for granted. You only really understand the intrinsic value of these overlooked qualities when you're on the other side of the world for a while.

The problem is, once you're in a new country, and once the rose tinted glasses come off, there will be many other things you don't like on that side of the world too.

As crazy as this may sound, I actually encourage people to leave if they really want to. We live in a global world and it's not true that just because you're born somewhere, it means you have to stay there forever. The only advice I ever add is, just make sure you have many good reasons to arrive in a new place. Running away from something will make moving even harder than it already is.

As someone that travels a lot, I speak to many South Africans all over the world. There is no question that most of them see South Africa differently after living abroad for a while. Many other nationalities feel the same about their home country too.

That said, moving away may indeed be the best thing that some of you have ever done. I think the reason for this is simple. When you move, you will either love it or hate it over time depending on what you value. But again, you never just value one thing. And this is often why moving is hard.

Like most of you, I value safety and security but I also value that warm South African spirit and friendliness.

In Europe, I really value the ease of travel. This is something that's a lot harder to get right back home. When you're in Europe, you are two hours away from 50 world-class cities. But then travel can be incredibly expensive this side compared to back home. The cost of eating out is so much cheaper and you get so much more bang for your buck.

I could keep going with the comparisons but again, no matter where you live in the world, you have to be aware of all the trade-offs should you want to leave. Leaving in and of itself isn't the solution.

The best solution I have personally come up with is that I want to live on two continents at once. As someone who doesn't have kids and is self-employed, this is possible even though most people keep telling me I'm crazy.

I absolute LOVE Europe for many reasons, but I also love South Africa for others. As it stands now, I don't think I ever want to leave South Africa completely but I also can't live in just one country my whole life. So I'm going to do both (again).

If my version of life sounds crazy to you, I think people who leave because they hate one or two aspects of a country they were born in without considering the other trade-offs are even more insane.

Last point. The reason why there's no right or wrong answer to leaving your home country is because the trade-offs are all relative. Asking someone else if they're happy they moved isn't going to answer the question directly for you.

I don't blame anyone for wanting more from life. Sometimes a move will give you just that, and other times it will show you that you had the best of life at your fingertips all along. Sometimes you will realise you were never meant to live in just one place, and sometimes you'll be crazy enough to want to live on two continents at once.

[Rajesh Jantilal @RajeshJantilal]

#TruckAttacks Jambo Afrika Members of South African National Defence Force (SANDF) are on patrol in Durban.The army been deployed to stop ongoing torching of trucks 21 trucks torched in last few days #sandf #soldiers #durban #southafrica #african #documentary #Copyright

[🇵🇸 Eulogs 🇵🇸 @Eulogs]

Gosh, the amount (big) businesses that are abandoning the hybrid working model & forcing their employees to come back to the office full time is surprising. How were we able to work remotely for 3 years but now suddenly it doesn't work?

[SugarRay 👑 @SydenhamStekkie]

Hopefully the judge in Delana Cader's case does the right thing and keeps Ian Rawlins in prison.

#NoBail
#JusticeForDelana
#NoToGenderBasedViolence

[Maya Jagjivan @maya_jag]

Go @FitMasi ✊💛 You're incredible!

[Rosebank_International @Rosebank_Int]

In the spirit of the comrades marathon, the best of luck and a special shout out to Masibulele Mkhundlu, also known as @FitMasi

IIE Rosebank College Durban, Programme Coordinator, as she gears up for the comrades marathon on Sunday.

#RCInspires #LoveIIERosebankcollege #TrailblazingWomen

[Rosebank_International @Rosebank_Int]

In the spirit of the comrades marathon, the best of luck and a special shout out to Masibulele Mkhundlu, also known as @FitMasi

IIE Rosebank College Durban, Programme Coordinator, as she gears up for the comrades marathon on Sunday.

#RCInspires #LoveIIERosebankcollege #TrailblazingWomen

[SABC News @SABCNews]

BREAKING NEWS | South Africa has managed to dodge a recession, as figures released by Stats SA show that the GDP grew by 0.4% in the first quarter of 2023. #technicalrecession #GDP
Visit https://t.co/Pcfl4Rcee4 for more

[Rosebank_International @Rosebank_Int]

Thank you for changing lives!
#IIEGraduations #ClassOf2022 #RosebankCollege

[Maya Jagjivan @maya_jag]

I have hit the pause button on my lecturing journey at @RosebankRC Durban, and was overwhelmed to witness my students graduate last week. Sharing my blog post, here, titled - Dream on, dreamers
https://t.co/vyQomJezZx

[SABC News @SABCNews]

BREAKING NEWS | SARB hikes repo rate by 50 basis points to 8,25%.

[Maya Jagjivan @maya_jag]

Please join me in celebrating my students! @RosebankRC Durban third year journalism students Ntombizodwa Dlamini & Olwethu Mthinyane covered the street parade & state of the city address by eThekwini municipality mayor Mxolisi Kaunda for a campus assignment. I am super proud!

[SugarRay 👑 @SydenhamStekkie]

Remembering #ComradeRDNaidu, who 33 years ago today, collapsed while speaking at an activist rally at the University of Durban-Westville.

A true soldier of the South African people's liberation struggle, he was an inspiring speaker according to the late Swami Gounden
@RivoniaK

[Maya Jagjivan @maya_jag]

@skhangiwem Thank you so much darling ❤