Blackout
just your usual nerdy brotha
In the sparsely populated Karoo desert in the heart of South Africa's Northern Cape, the spirit of apartheid lives on.
I spent a few days in Orania, a town established in 1991 where no black people live.
I was part of a BBC crew, including Zimbabwean journalist Stanley Kwenda, who were accredited to visit.
And during that time, I did not see any other black people in the town of 1,000 - an unusual experience in modern South Africa.
It is an Afrikaner-only town, where only Afrikaans is spoken, because of fears about "diluting culture".
"We do not fit in easily in the new South Africa. It [Orania] was an answer to not dominating others and not being dominated by others," says Carel Boshoff Jr, the community leader.
Mr Boshoff is one of the leaders of the town founded by his father Carel Boshoff Snr, an Afrikaner intellectual and son-in-law of apartheid architect, Hendrik Verwoerd.
The town was founded by Mr Boshoff Snr as a registered company shortly before white-minority rule ended in the rest of the country.
Mr Verwoerd's grandson tells me that his people were faced with a tough question about their future when the black government was elected in 1994.
"In terms of Afrikaners who had been standing very close to the state, when the policies such as black economic empowerment and affirmative action came into place, Afrikaners needed to seriously think about their future. It wouldn't make sense not to," he said.
Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) was introduced to encourage more black participation in business.
Orania has also proved to be the answer for those Afrikaners who felt displaced in the land their people had ruled for many decades.
"I see nothing wrong with apartheid," says Martin Kemp, one of the older residents.
"Of course you get the petty apartheid: 'You use this toilet I use that toilet', I don't think that was necessary but the real apartheid as Dr Verwoerd saw it, there was nothing wrong with it," he said.
We were taken on a guided tour of the town's facilities by John Strydom, a retired doctor.
The town's leaders insist that Orania is misunderstood. "We are not against black people. We are for ourselves," is their message.
However, black people cannot live here.
Prospective residents are screened by the town council using a strict criterion, which includes first and foremost being an ethnic Afrikaner.
It is not enough to simply speak Afrikaans, as is the case with many black and mixed-race South Africans.
Click to expand...
I spent a few days in Orania, a town established in 1991 where no black people live.
I was part of a BBC crew, including Zimbabwean journalist Stanley Kwenda, who were accredited to visit.
And during that time, I did not see any other black people in the town of 1,000 - an unusual experience in modern South Africa.
It is an Afrikaner-only town, where only Afrikaans is spoken, because of fears about "diluting culture".
"We do not fit in easily in the new South Africa. It [Orania] was an answer to not dominating others and not being dominated by others," says Carel Boshoff Jr, the community leader.
Mr Boshoff is one of the leaders of the town founded by his father Carel Boshoff Snr, an Afrikaner intellectual and son-in-law of apartheid architect, Hendrik Verwoerd.
The town was founded by Mr Boshoff Snr as a registered company shortly before white-minority rule ended in the rest of the country.
Mr Verwoerd's grandson tells me that his people were faced with a tough question about their future when the black government was elected in 1994.
"In terms of Afrikaners who had been standing very close to the state, when the policies such as black economic empowerment and affirmative action came into place, Afrikaners needed to seriously think about their future. It wouldn't make sense not to," he said.
Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) was introduced to encourage more black participation in business.
Orania has also proved to be the answer for those Afrikaners who felt displaced in the land their people had ruled for many decades.
"I see nothing wrong with apartheid," says Martin Kemp, one of the older residents.
"Of course you get the petty apartheid: 'You use this toilet I use that toilet', I don't think that was necessary but the real apartheid as Dr Verwoerd saw it, there was nothing wrong with it," he said.
We were taken on a guided tour of the town's facilities by John Strydom, a retired doctor.
The town's leaders insist that Orania is misunderstood. "We are not against black people. We are for ourselves," is their message.
However, black people cannot live here.
Prospective residents are screened by the town council using a strict criterion, which includes first and foremost being an ethnic Afrikaner.
It is not enough to simply speak Afrikaans, as is the case with many black and mixed-race South Africans.
Click to expand...
- Afrikaners are descendants of Dutch, German and French settlers who arrived in the 17th Century
- The Dutch, who arrived in 1652, took over land from local people and put them to work as farm workers
- Afrikaners dominated South Africa for many decades and introduced the apartheid system which was based on racial segregation
- Orania was established in 1991, by Afrikaner intellectual Carel Boshoff Snr
- The town is built on 8,000 hectares of farmland along the Orange River
Rest of article in link:
Inside South Africa's whites-only town of Orania - BBC News
Mandela Visits Apartheid Die-Hards
ORANIA, South Africa, Aug. 15 1995 South Africa's first black President, Nelson Mandela, dropped in for coffee today with the widow of apartheid's architect, Hendrik Verwoerd, and won over many residents of the whites-only enclave where she lives.
Mr. Mandela flew by helicopter to the remote Orania settlement in the Northern Cape to promote reconciliation with supporters of the old apartheid regime which imprisoned him for 27 years.
"The way in which we were received by everybody in Orania was as if I was in Soweto," Mr. Mandela said, referring to the country's biggest black township.
In this dusty hamlet of 460 whites on the edge of the Karoo, a semi-desert region, Mr. Verwoerd's 94-year-old widow, Betsie, said that she was happy that the 77-year-old President had been able to visit her.
Her granddaughter, Elizabeth van der Berg, was more guarded in her reaction to Mr. Mandela, telling The Associated Press, "We wish he was the President of a neighboring country." But Mr. Verwoerd's son-in-law, Carel Boshoff, one of Orania's founding fathers, told Reuters that the visit was welcomed by the majority of the residents of Orania, where blacks are usually only welcome as delivery boys.
"I know him quite well," Mr. Boshoff said, referring to Mr. Mandela. "He is a gentleman."
Blacks rarely enter Orania, which is registered as a private company and was formed in 1991 by white right-wingers seeking to form the nucleus of a Volkstaat, or Afrikaner state.
Asked about reports that he had to get permission from town authorities to enter Orania, Mr. Mandela said: "I didn't have to ask for permission. I came in. I was not given any pass. It's not something that worries me. They are entitled to run their settlement as they like."
Mr. Mandela reiterated his view that Afrikaners should hold a referendum on creation of a Volkstaat. Many Afrikaners say they want nothing to do with the idea.
Mr. Mandela said the whole of South Africa was moving in the direction of reconciliation and nation-building following the country's historic all-race elections last year.
"I am convinced that that general direction is supported by the majority of people in the country," he added.
Asked about Orania's policy of refusing blacks entry to the town, Mr. Boshoff said: "Things are developing. This was started before the new dispensation. Now we agree that South Africa is still one country."
The sleepy town of prefabricated houses, a school, labor bureau and handful of stores, boasts a statue of Mr. Verwoerd.
"Well, you made him very small," said Mr. Mandela, looking at the statue, which stands less than six feet high.
Photo: President Nelson Mandela went to the whites-only enclave of Orania yesterday to visit with Betsie Verwoerd, whose late husband, Hendrik, built South Africa's apartheid regime. (Reuters)
Mandela Visits Apartheid Die-HardsMr. Mandela flew by helicopter to the remote Orania settlement in the Northern Cape to promote reconciliation with supporters of the old apartheid regime which imprisoned him for 27 years.
"The way in which we were received by everybody in Orania was as if I was in Soweto," Mr. Mandela said, referring to the country's biggest black township.
In this dusty hamlet of 460 whites on the edge of the Karoo, a semi-desert region, Mr. Verwoerd's 94-year-old widow, Betsie, said that she was happy that the 77-year-old President had been able to visit her.
Her granddaughter, Elizabeth van der Berg, was more guarded in her reaction to Mr. Mandela, telling The Associated Press, "We wish he was the President of a neighboring country." But Mr. Verwoerd's son-in-law, Carel Boshoff, one of Orania's founding fathers, told Reuters that the visit was welcomed by the majority of the residents of Orania, where blacks are usually only welcome as delivery boys.
"I know him quite well," Mr. Boshoff said, referring to Mr. Mandela. "He is a gentleman."
Blacks rarely enter Orania, which is registered as a private company and was formed in 1991 by white right-wingers seeking to form the nucleus of a Volkstaat, or Afrikaner state.
Asked about reports that he had to get permission from town authorities to enter Orania, Mr. Mandela said: "I didn't have to ask for permission. I came in. I was not given any pass. It's not something that worries me. They are entitled to run their settlement as they like."
Mr. Mandela reiterated his view that Afrikaners should hold a referendum on creation of a Volkstaat. Many Afrikaners say they want nothing to do with the idea.
Mr. Mandela said the whole of South Africa was moving in the direction of reconciliation and nation-building following the country's historic all-race elections last year.
"I am convinced that that general direction is supported by the majority of people in the country," he added.
Asked about Orania's policy of refusing blacks entry to the town, Mr. Boshoff said: "Things are developing. This was started before the new dispensation. Now we agree that South Africa is still one country."
The sleepy town of prefabricated houses, a school, labor bureau and handful of stores, boasts a statue of Mr. Verwoerd.
"Well, you made him very small," said Mr. Mandela, looking at the statue, which stands less than six feet high.
Photo: President Nelson Mandela went to the whites-only enclave of Orania yesterday to visit with Betsie Verwoerd, whose late husband, Hendrik, built South Africa's apartheid regime. (Reuters)
Last edited:
