(Archive photo)
AfriForum says the government’s silence on ten farm attacks and related violent incidents reported during May indicates that the authorities continue to fail to recognize the seriousness of rural violence.
According to the organization, the level of violence during these incidents was particularly high. Victims were assaulted, tied up and seriously injured, while two farm workers were shot in separate incidents in the Zebediela area in Limpopo when they tried to flee from attackers.
According to AfriForum, families in, among others, Delmas, Stellenbosch and the De Wildt area were also attacked in their homes during the past month. Several attacks were reportedly averted only thanks to the swift action of local security actors and community security structures.
Jacques Broodryk, AfriForum’s chief spokesperson for community safety, believes the incidents show that farmers, farm workers and other rural residents still live under the threat of serious violence.
“The government keeps trying to downplay the seriousness of farm attacks as just another crime statistic, but the reality is that farmers, farm workers and rural residents are still exposed to extremely violent attacks,” says Broodryk.
A farmer next to the border fence of his farm in Limpopo on October 31, 2017. (Photo: GULSHAN KHAN / AFP)
He argues that the government is not paying enough attention to the political and social climate which he believes contributes to the violence.
“The continued failure to unequivocally condemn chants such as ‘Kill the Boer’ sends a dangerous message that the safety of rural communities is not taken seriously,” he says.
AfriForum says that communities cannot leave their safety solely to the state and encourages farmers and rural residents to get involved in local neighborhood and farm guards.
According to Broodryk, several attacks were repelled in the past month because organized community security structures were able to react quickly.
AfriForum says it will continue to expand its safety networks and train communities to take greater responsibility for their own safety. According to the organization, the government’s failure to take the problem seriously means that rural communities are increasingly dependent on themselves and each other.