RE: [South Africa Think Piece]~ White Genocide? A Black Perspective (My Personal Investigation Part 1)
Sources - tricky... does www.google.com count? My SA knowledge is like my crypto knowledge: gleaned over a long time from a variety of sources. I can't just cite a nice one-stop-shop where everything is available, such a thing does not exist.
But I wasn't kidding, I really do know a lot on the subject and I would be more than happy to help you. What I suggest is that if you have any specific questions or requirements, you reply to me / tag me (something that will show up in my "replies" tab) and I will get back to you with an answer.
To start you off again: I think that AfriForum (A South African farmers group) normally publishes pretty reliable stats on farm related things, including murders. Try https://www.afriforum.co.za/documents-reports/ for a start. Then don't neglect to Google other things I have already mentioned: The Gupta family, tenderpreneuring, The Bell Pottinger campaign to promote racial hatred etc. Add to that wonderful extras like the corrupt ways of recently booted ex-president Jacob Zuma (Try to get a copy of this book: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_President%27s_Keepers) , EFF madman leader Julius Malema, and all the anecdotes of SA ministers like these: Racist Lightning or Curing AIDS (a major SA problem) with garlic and beetroot. It sounds funny until you realise that these are the leaders of uneducated and uninformed masses who take their leaders at face value. If their "subjects" ever question their ongoing poverty, the ANC ruling party has only to point the finger at "the white man", hand out a free T-shirt or two (a remarkably simple way of buying votes when used on the very poor) and votes will be assured in the next election. Real issues like a major city running out of water (Cape Town) are ignored on purpose because it makes the opposing provincial party (The Democratic Alliance - also corrupt and evil, but not quite as evil) look bad when their city runs out of water.
You can't make this stuff up. Suffering people (of all colours) used as pawns... 😢
Im getting a split 50/50 view on the outcome of Zimbabwe's land reform. Whats your input on success and failure in Zimbabwe?
Ah Zimbabwe. I'm not a Zim expert, but I know a fair amount about it and fortunately I happened to be brushing up on it last month. I think that it would be hard to consider "land reform" in isolation with Zimbabwe. The land reform there was part of a much larger political game which has been playing out for decades.
Zimbabwe was a strange case: a former colony that broke away from its coloniser while still under minority rule. That gave it an extra "step" in the process towards fair governance that most other former colonies didn't have. There is no question that Zimbabwe once worked well and was developing into a powerful force, the old "breadbasket of Africa". Of course that development was done on the backs of the poor without sharing the benefits with them, in typical colonial style.
After Mugabe took power the Jubilation soon wore off. The man was a most despicable tyrant, one who has committed the worst kinds of crimes against humanity. He is the typical mad dictator: one who ruled by fear. He would build forces by kidnapping young men and boys and forcing them into his armies. These youngsters then faced a period of indoctrination. It's easy to control an army when you offer them the perks that most of society don't have: things like food and cigarettes. Women were similarly kidnapped to "service" the soldiers, a most despicable state of affairs. Under Mugabe everything was corrupt, rigged, threatened and dying - expect for those closest to him and his army.
The land was certainly redistributed as the farmers fled in waves. Each time he needed popularity another wave of farmers would be threatened. Cars of soldiers would arrive at a farm, tell the family that they had to leave now and just take over. The farmers fled to nearby countries and the farms went to ruin under mismanagement and apathy. Zimbabwe can now hardly meet it's own food needs. It will take decades to fix what Mugabe and his ZANU PF have ruined.
So sure. Land reform took place, but at what cost? Fortunately I have heard that Zim is inviting some old farmers back to their farms. After the harrowing experience I'm not sure how many will return, but Zimbabwe certainly needs them if it is to rebuild and feed it's starving population.