Afrikanerhart – Bok van Blerk
ENGLISH
In fire and blood do I find myself now
As every boer and child and wife
A superior power now rules our land
Stand armed to the teeth
Its shadow falls like a dark cloud
Over the future of our people
And if we don’t fight we will perish
At Magersfontein, at Magersfontein, at Magersfontein
Do we draw the line
Come dutch farmer warriors, be heroes now
The day of reckoning is here
The enemy is running over our fields
Stand your ground against canon fire
The English soldiers (kakies) want to defeat our people
Promise pain and sorrow
But if you shoot, shoot me through
But if you shoot, shoot me through
But if you shoot, shoot me through my Afrikaner heart
If you ask me, I will tell you
How the roots of my heart lie
If you ask me, I will show you
It’s my soil here in my fist
Even if hell breaks loose behind us
And even if heaven falls down
Keep the line and stand your man
It is here where we can stop them
Stand firm Zuid Africa
Stand firm Zuid Africa
AFRIKAANS
In vuur en bloed vind ek my nou
Soos elke boer en kind en vrou
‘n Oormag kwyl nou oor ons land
Staan gewapen tot die tand
Sy skadu val ‘n donker wolk
Oor die toekoms van ons volk
En veg ons nie sal ons verdwyn
By Magersfontein, by Magersfontein, by Magersfontein
Trek ons die lyn
Kom boerekrygers wees nou helde
Die dag van rekenskap is hier
Die Vyand jaag nou oor ons velde
Staan jou man teen kanon se vuur
Die kakies wil ons volk verower
Belowe pyn en smart
Maar as jy skiet, skiet my deur
As jy skiet, skiet my deur
As jy skiet, skiet my deur
My Afrikanerhart
As jy my vra sal ek jou sê
Hoë diep my hart se wortels lê
As jy my vra sal ek jou wys
Dis my grond hier in my vuis
Kom boerekrygers wees nou helde
Die dag van rekenskap is hier
Die Vyand jaag nou oor ons velde
Staan jou man teen kanon se vuur
Die kakies wil ons volk verower
Belowe pyn en smart
Maar as jy skiet, skiet my deur
As jy skiet, skiet my deur
As jy skiet, skiet my deur
My Afrikanerhart
Al breek die hel hier agter ons los
En al stort die hemel neer
Hou jou lyn en staan jou man
Dis hier waar ons hul kan keer
Staan vas Staan vas Suid-Afrika
Staan vas Staan vas Suid-Afrika
Kom boerekrygers wees nou helde
Die dag van rekenskap is hier
Die Vyand jaag nou oor ons velde
Staan jou man teen kanon se vuur
Die kakies wil ons volk verower
Belowe pyn en smart
Maar as jy skiet, skiet my deur
As jy skiet, skiet my deur
As jy skiet, skiet my deur
My Afrikanerhart
Ja as jy skiet, skiet my deur
As jy skiet, skiet my deur
My Afrikanerhart
A letter From An American living In South Africa
I confess when I first moved to South Africa I thought Afrikaners were the bad guys
Because I was never required to study African history in school, I knew only what the American media had taught me, which was that Afrikaners (Boer Nation) were responsible for Apartheid and therefore the bad guys. Six months after moving here, I realised how incorrect my initial assumptions were. Everyone in South Africa is both a “bad guy” and a “good guy”, and so it is with the rest of the world (for such is human nature).
The following two years were spent reading every book I could get my hands on regarding South Africa. If one wants to understand a culture, I reasoned, then one must study their art, music, literature, cuisine, and history. And so I did just that – not only for the Boer culture, but for other South African cultures as well.
At the end of those two years, I felt a keen remorse for having been so arrogant in the beginning. I now knew enough to understand that I knew very little, if anything. I enrolled in university (again) to study pastoral counselling, with the intent of learning how to listen and ask better questions. After I finished my studies, I enrolled in another three-year programme to study spiritual accompaniment, which teaches one how to journey with people on a spiritual level as they wrestle with issues of faith. I have two years left of this course, which brings me to the present moment.
Namaqualand monument honours Concordia town heroes
Bravery comes in many forms, that’s the message punted at the unveiling of a monument to honour the Concordia town guard.
The men refused to be drawn into the South African War, a conflict between the British and the Boers.
The history books are filled with men and women and their brave acts on the battlefield.
The monument at Concordia in the Namaqualand honours 110 men who did the opposite when they refused to fight.
Initially labelled as cowards but the men refused an order to join British troops against the Boers who had stormed into nearby Okiep in the Namaqualand.
Instead the men chose to protect their families. More than a century later, the history books have been rewritten.
The monument bares the names of the 110 men. Descendant Denvor Cloete says: “My father taught me the victor is the person who walks from a fight.”
The monument was constructed by locals and the movie about the Concordia town guard is in the pipeline.
HIMEVILLE FORT & MUSEUM
Himeville fort and museum
Originally built as a fortified laager, the “Old Fort” in Himeville (the last of its type to be constructed in South Africa) was completed in 1900. In 1902 it was taken over by the Natal Mounted Police and was used as a prison until its closure in 1972. Subsequently, through the efforts of local residents and the local Historical Society, who took over the buildings in 1976, it became a museum, which was opened to the public in 1981.
Said to be one of the best rural museums in South Africa, the museum comprises a large complex (warders’ house, cells, the armory (originally the only building within the laager walls), workshops and parade ground, and a few additional buildings erected to house some of the exhibits).
The warders’ house, furnished much in the style of 1900, comprises a typical living/dining room, kitchen, bedroom and nursery. Wildlife exhibits; local pioneering records and photographs; typical examples of a Post Office/telephone exchange and a schoolroom; rock art and other items associated with the Bushmen of the area; and bead work and other artifacts of the local AmaBhaca community are on display in some of the old cells. A variety of exhibits is housed in the old armory, while a modern addition houses a number of farming and dairy implements, and a display of relics from the Boer and the two World Wars. Around the parade ground are displayed several agricultural implements; carts and wagons; a blacksmith’s forge and workshop.