“Roasts on the fire and Handré Pollard’s brandy… that’s how you should barbecue in America,” writes Mariska Nanni from North Carolina to My Hartland (Photo: My Hartland / Facebook)
MyHartland, an initiative of the Solidarity Movement, invites Afrikaners worldwide to let the barbecue fires burn high on Saturday together with the international community.
International Diaspora Day, that is International South African Expat Dayis the initiative of a South African diaspora group in America that has attracted great interest on social media in the past week.
“Distance cannot erase identity,” says Marisa Engelbrecht, senior foreign relations officer of the Solidarity Movement. “The Afrikaner diaspora today spans many continents and for many Afrikaners who have established themselves all over the world, language, culture, family and community still remain an important part of their identity.”
Research shows that one of the biggest challenges of emigration is not necessarily the adaptation to a new country, but the loss of family, friends, traditions and community connection. At the same time, the research confirms that Afrikaners abroad still actively live out cultural traditions such as socializing, braaiing and speaking Afrikaans.
MyHartland was recently established by the Solidarity Movement to create a virtual home for Afrikaners abroad. MyHartland aims to strengthen connectedness by connecting Afrikaners worldwide with each other and with their cultural heritage and focuses on community building, cultural preservation and meaningful engagement with the larger Afrikaner community.
“The barbecue fire has always been more than just a fire,” says Engelbrecht. “It is a place where family, friendship and community come together. International Diaspora Day gives us the opportunity to celebrate precisely these bonds, regardless of where in the world we live. Light the fires, celebrate your people, share your photos and stories and show how strong the Afrikaner’s fire can burn.”