Hunting Legends International’s Reply to the Trump Hunting Spree

Trump boys with their ‘trophy’

It is general knowledge that I don’t understand men. My relationship CV can be considered living proof of that. I in particularly do not understand men habe the urge to kill animals for fun in order to feel manly. Because that is what hunting comes down to.

Unless you manage to kill an elephant / leopard / buffalo / rhino with your bare hands; unless you deprive it of its life out of self-protection and hunger; and unless you intend to eat our ‘prey’ yourself there is nothing-nada-niks manly or human about hunting what so ever.

In my world, killing animals for fun – just to have a skin on the floor or a head on the wall – is a past-time for utter cowards. Yes, for insecure sissies without a personality nor a pair of solid balls. Think of it for just one second: what chance does an animal have when it is being chased hour after hour by a bunch of gun-toting guys on a testosterone high, ploughing the veld in a machine-powered vehicle, using all sorts of other gadgets? Gentlemen, if you want to kill wild animal for fun – then please be fair and ditch the fancy gadgets.

And when you decide to have your picture taken while holding your trophy: don’t smirk. You did not prevail and win from the animal because of your strength. You prevailed because of your fancy gadgets.

This brings me to the sons of Donald Trump. Both boys went one a bit of a shooting spree in Zimbabwe recently. Smirking from ear to ear, both were photographed posing with the body of a dead leopard, a mutilated elephant’s tail, and a dead crocodile – among other animals. If these boys would have played it fairly, the croc and the leopard would have been snapped posing with their bodies.

Various individuals and organisations have reacted in disbelief over the past few days, including Stephen Lamb from Touching The Earth Lightly. Stephen is a good friend of mine, and someone who is doing his fair bit for a greener, better planet.

Last week he sent a letter to Freddie Oosterhuis from Hunting Legends International – the company that hosted the Trump brothers. This was Freddie’s response:

__
Stephen,
XXX jou man. Wie dink jy is jy jou armsalige XXX.
XXX jou, XXX jou ma jou pa jou vrou jou kinders en jou lewe.
Jy is XXX en sal altyd XXX wees.
XXgesig. Gaan XXX jou hand.
Freddie Oosterhuis / Hunting Legends International
__

“Please excuse the profanity in their response,” Stephen wrote in an email to me. “I do not want to sensationalize the issue unnecessarily, but I felt I had to share the ridiculous nature of their response given the fact that they have a mandate to kill wild animals.”

I do want to follow up with Freddie. Maybe he had a bad day when replying to Stephen. Then again: I have had a pretty horrid day today, so the last thing I need right now is being abused by a total stranger. I shall send him an email next week.

What is your opinion about the above?  Is hunting a good thing? A bad thing? What do you think of the Trump boys? What about Freddie’s response? While I value ALL opinions, please bear in mind that I have no interest in empty arguments / slander / cussing / swearing / and other bullshit. Assuming we are all adults, I ask ou to keep the argument civilized and proper. 

 

Where has 2011 gone to? Who stole it?

It seems Nature's Valley happened yesterday! Copyright: Miriam Mannak

It is October – the end of October, nogal - and I am rather dazed and confused. Can someone please tell me where 2011 has gone to? What happened to this year? Where is it? What happened? Has anyone seen it? Did someone steal it? I mean reall! It seems like flippin’ yesterday when friends picked me up to spend ten days in Natures Valley, my favourite place on South Africa’s Garden Route. This was just three days after Christmas. And now, *CrashBoomBang*, it is the end of October! Just like that. WTF!

When I was a Little Tiny Mir, years used to take forever and ever and ever. Hours seemed days and days seemed weeks. “Are we there yet?” and “How long before we are there” and “How many days until …” were my favourite questions. Yes, basically started asking questions from the moment I could speak. I guess I born to become a journalist

Anyway, I have no clue what has changed overtime, but in this stage of my life it seems to be the other way around. Time really flies at Concorde speed these days – and it is not even because I’m having fun al the time!

It probably has to do with the fact that work-wise, I have never ever been this busy since I started freelancing in 2007. The bulk of my work is for Business Live, but I am also quite busy for various Cape Media publications such as Black Business Quarterly, Leadership, Energy Forecast and The Project Manager. Other clients include Radio Netherlands World Wide (Africa) and of course Het Financieele Dagblad.

And there is always the odd-job and ad-hoc assignment that pops up. Private Life (FNB’s in-house publication) contacted me the other day, wanting me to write a story about the South African boating industry. A few months ago, I received an email from a someone working for UNICEF in Haiti. She needed a report written based on her findings, but she had no time or energy to do it. This week, someone emailed me on behalf of the Southern African Aids Trust. Whether I wanted – together with other journalists – to write a book about the role of communities in international, national and regional decision-making. Of course I said yes.

In the meantime, I am working on my Granddad’s book, about his years in Nazi Germany as a forced labourer. Going through his letters and translating them is rather time-consuming – but so worth it.

Hmm. Looking at the above, I guess I have the answer to my question “What happened to 2011?”

My work ate it.

PS: Are you a freelance media professional, or contemplating going freelance? Why not joining the Southern African Freelancers’ Association. Comprising hundreds of freelancers across the continent (mainly South Africa though), SAFREA has helped me a great deal over the past few years with burning questions like “what do I charge for this and that assignment?”, “What are the going rates for freelance writing?”, ” Can anyone help me with this and that”. There is always a SAFREAN who has an answer or solution to your problem. SFAREA has landed me work (members tend to pass on work they can’t do to other members) too, but the main reason why I am a member is that the Association is providing me with a solid network of peers that support, help and respect you when you really need it.

 

Life of a freelancer: When it rains, it pours!

The life of most freelance journalists, writers, and photographers (or any freelancer, really) is dominated by a couple of tricky issues. First and foremost there is the challenge of getting paid when you want to get paid, not when the client thinks it is time to come to the table.

While we humble freelance service providers are expected to meet deadlines at all time in order not to be shown the finger, many clients seem to be far more relaxed when it comes to their part of the deal – namely ‘paying out’. A Portuguese newspaper (Publico) took over ONE YEAR to pay me, despite the hundreds of emails I sent!  (Last year, I dedicated a blog post to Freelancers’ pet hates).

I have solved this bloody annoying issue without mercy: I simply refuse to work for greedy bastards who take weeks, months and sometimes years to make their promised money transfer. I have indeed culled some clients who clearly do not give a rat’s testicle about whether I am able to pay my rent, electricity bill and groceries. I fired them. Water under the bridge. Weakest link. Blah.

Then there is the issue of managing the number assignments. I am the type of person who starts stressing when there is nothing to do. As a result, I begin to pitch stories like there is no tomorrow. Yes, to ALL my clients. There is however one problem: my story pitches are usually very solid and as a result, my steady clients seldom reject them. I tend to forget that sometimes.

Two weeks ago, after filing all my stories for Business Live (One of my preferred clients, by the way) I found myself staring at the ceiling. Instead of relaxing and taking a breather – I had just done four 14-hour days of reporting on the 2011 Mining Indaba in Cape Town (which was quite hectic) – I allowed the  stress  to hit me with the impact of a jack hammer on steroids.

You have to understand that a freelancer’s main worry is whether we have enough cash at the end of the month to pay our rent, bills, glass of wine, petrol, and other necessities. In addition, we have been preprogrammed to harvest while we can. Why? When you run your own show, you never know when another good month or assignment comes around.

So two weeks ago I started pitching stories like a headless chicken – forgetting that 90% of my clients would probably say ‘yes’. And so they did. Over the past ten days I wrote:

* A 12-page UNICEF report on the situation Haiti

* A 1200-word story for Leadership Magazine on the necessity of stimulating entrepreneurship in South Africa to fight unemployment

* 700-word story for Radio Netherlands Worldwide on South Africa’s economy (linked to the 2011 Budget speech)

* A 800-word story on South Africa’s budget and a 900-word story on sustainable tourism in South Africa for Het Financieele Dagblad

* A 1700-word story on drinking and driving / road safety for Mobility Magazine.

Currently I am still working on a 1000-word story on Acid Mine Drainage and water management for Energy Forecast. That story needs to be finished today (another 500 words to go) because tomorrow I have to write a report on the Transformation Audit by the Institute for Justice and Reconciliation for Business Live. This particular client also wants a story  on the Design Indaba.

Raining? RAINING? Pouring? It is more like a bloody monsoon!

I know I should not be complaining, and actually I am not. I love being a freelance writer and love being busy. I just wish I could manage the flow of work a bit better in order not to be grossly overworked like I am at this very moment. Yawn!