A man on a Gautrain trip has has his faith in South Africa restored, finding hope on a simple commute and inspiring many along the way.
Nick Walker found himself looking at life a little bit differently after catching a train ride in Johannesburg. His social media post has inspired thousands. Read his full story below:
“Today was a good day for my outlook on South Africa.”
“On the Gautrain, I first saw and overheard a group of 7 young people, 2 Indian, 2 White and 3 Black laughing and joking. It then became apparent that they had just met as they were exchanging names. They went on to discuss their really interesting sounding jobs, all happy and comfortable in each others company.”
“I then saw a young white guy give up his seat for a young black woman, who graciously accepted.”
“Then, as the train neared my stop, an old white man was coughing quite badly. Without hesitation, a young black woman handed him her fruit drink, which he gratefully accepted and drank. I then overheard her chatting to him for a while asking if he had had this cough checked out as she was a nurse.”
“Three separate but lovely experiences.”
“There was nothing remarkable about each event individually but together it showed me that at a general population level, we are doing pretty well in the new South Africa.”
“There are silly, bigoted people in every race on every continent.”
“I just think in South Africa, because of our painful past, we have been too quick to give those outliers too much airplay and too sensitive to the words of a few crazies, including (and especially) politicians.”
“We could all take a lesson from the Gautrain users.”
by 
I agree that there are many positive things about South Africa. Unfortunately the negatives such as the high crime figures, violence and corruption have become overwhelming and that is why so many of us have had to make the very difficult choice to leave and seek a new life elsewhere.