BBC’s Peter Biles took a trip recently to Bethlehem in South Africa to
unviel the hidden white poverty in the area. Bethlehem is a town in
the Free State province of South Africa that is situated in a fertile
valley of the Maluti Mountains. It is a wheat growing area and hence
the name Bethlehem.

Karel and Annetjie du Randt, both white South Africans, moved to the
Bethlehem settlement in Pretoria West five years ago after falling on
hard times.

Previously, Mr du Randt had been employed, making tombstones in the
town of Rustenburg. The du Randts’ home today is a tiny wooden hut on
a private plot of land where about 30 whites make up the small
community. The huts have no electricity or individual toilets, but
there is a spacious garden where the residents can grow and sell
vegetables. “We try to help each other”, says Mr du Randt. “We’re not
just sitting around and crying. Most of the guys here don’t have any
income, but we’re just starting a new project, making small folding
tables. You have to be part of the set-up here, in order to survive.”

Bethlehem is not nearly as crowded or as impoverished as South
Africa’s teeming black townships such as Khayelitsha in Cape Town, or
Diepsloot in Johannesburg. However, Bethlehem reflects the face of
South African society that is rarely seen - white poverty.

“It’s a huge problem, and I don’t think people realise how bad it is,”
says Elsabe Blignaut of the Danville Help Project which assists poor
white Afrikaners. “People are homeless. They have no jobs. They don’t
earn anything. We try to get them off the streets, feed and clothe
them, and make life better for them”.

In the days of apartheid, impoverished white Afrikaners were amply
protected by the state. The National Party which came to power in 1948
on a wave of Afrikaner nationalism, guaranteed Afrikaans-speaking
South Africans employment, subsidised housing and state benefits.

Today, the ANC government provides a safety net of social grants and
basic services for all South Africans who need them, but Afrikaners
have lost the privileges they once enjoyed. The mainly white
Solidarity trade union says South Africa must accept that poverty is
not only a “black” problem. “Although poverty is less prevalent in the
white communities, there is an alarming increase amongst white South
Africans,” concludes a Solidarity report that has been handed to ANC
President Jacob Zuma. Mr Zuma went to the Bethlehem settlement earlier
this year, and promised to return. His second visit in mid July,
brought South Africa’s presidential hopeful face-to-face with the
daily problems of poor whites. Accompanying him was Minister of Social
Development Zola Skweyiya, who told the residents that in return for
government assistance, they must make available whatever skills they
can offer.

South Africa has a major shortage of skilled workers. The leader of
the Solidarity trade union, Flip Buys, is upbeat about Mr Zuma’s
involvement. Mr Buys says it used to be very difficult to get the
government to address the issue of white poverty. “We had knocked on
the door, and there was no answer,” he says. “But with the help of
Jacob Zuma, the door is now open. People will be able to access
government services”. Mr Zuma is an unlikely ally of poor white
Afrikaners.

Admitting that his command of the Afrikaans language is weak, the ANC
president chose to address his audience in English when he spoke at
Bethlehem. His natural charm may have disarmed some members of the
local community, but the Afrikaners remain cautious.

“We’re encouraged by what Jacob Zuma has promised to do for us,” says
Mr du Randt, “but we’re not putting our faith in him completely. If
the people here don’t want to get up and work together, then we’re not
going to make things any better for them.”

www.bnp.org.uk
www.davidduke.com
http://www.vanguardnewsnetwork.com/?cat=18
http://www.vdare.com/francis/south_africa.htm

On Sat, 4 Oct 2008 04:19:48 -0700 (PDT), tg  wrote:

>BBC’s Peter Biles took a trip recently to Bethlehem in South Africa to
>unviel the hidden white poverty in the area. Bethlehem is a town in
>the Free State province of South Africa that is situated in a fertile
>valley of the Maluti Mountains. It is a wheat growing area and hence
>the name Bethlehem.
>
>Karel and Annetjie du Randt, both white South Africans, moved to the
>Bethlehem settlement in Pretoria West five years ago after falling on
>hard times.

Bethlehem in the Free State is a very long way from Pretoria West.

The geography of this story makes no sense at all.


-- 
Steve Hayes from Tshwane, South Africa
Web:  http://hayesfam.bravehost.com/stevesig.htm
Blog: http://methodius.blogspot.com
E-mail - see web page, or parse: shayes at dunelm full stop org full stop uk

On 4 Oct, 12:19, tg  wrote:
> BBC’s Peter Biles took a trip recently to Bethlehem in South Africa to
> unviel the hidden white poverty in the area. Bethlehem is a town in
> the Free State province of South Africa that is situated in a fertile
> valley of the Maluti Mountains. It is a wheat growing area and hence
> the name Bethlehem.
>
> Karel and Annetjie du Randt, both white South Africans, moved to the
> Bethlehem settlement in Pretoria West five years ago after falling on
> hard times.
>
> Previously, Mr du Randt had been employed, making tombstones in the
> town of Rustenburg. The du Randts’ home today is a tiny wooden hut on
> a private plot of land where about 30 whites make up the small
> community. The huts have no electricity or individual toilets, but
> there is a spacious garden where the residents can grow and sell
> vegetables. “We try to help each other”, says Mr du Randt. “We’re not
> just sitting around and crying. Most of the guys here don’t have any
> income, but we’re just starting a new project, making small folding
> tables. You have to be part of the set-up here, in order to survive.”
>
> Bethlehem is not nearly as crowded or as impoverished as South
> Africa’s teeming black townships such as Khayelitsha in Cape Town, or
> Diepsloot in Johannesburg. However, Bethlehem reflects the face of
> South African society that is rarely seen - white poverty.
>
> “It’s a huge problem, and I don’t think people realise how bad it is,”
> says Elsabe Blignaut of the Danville Help Project which assists poor
> white Afrikaners. “People are homeless. They have no jobs. They don’t
> earn anything. We try to get them off the streets, feed and clothe
> them, and make life better for them”.
>
> In the days of apartheid, impoverished white Afrikaners were amply
> protected by the state. The National Party which came to power in 1948
> on a wave of Afrikaner nationalism, guaranteed Afrikaans-speaking
> South Africans employment, subsidised housing and state benefits.
>
> Today, the ANC government provides a safety net of social grants and
> basic services for all South Africans who need them, but Afrikaners
> have lost the privileges they once enjoyed. The mainly white
> Solidarity trade union says South Africa must accept that poverty is
> not only a “black” problem. “Although poverty is less prevalent in the
> white communities, there is an alarming increase amongst white South
> Africans,” concludes a Solidarity report that has been handed to ANC
> President Jacob Zuma. Mr Zuma went to the Bethlehem settlement earlier
> this year, and promised to return. His second visit in mid July,
> brought South Africa’s presidential hopeful face-to-face with the
> daily problems of poor whites. Accompanying him was Minister of Social
> Development Zola Skweyiya, who told the residents that in return for
> government assistance, they must make available whatever skills they
> can offer.
>
> South Africa has a major shortage of skilled workers. The leader of
> the Solidarity trade union, Flip Buys, is upbeat about Mr Zuma’s
> involvement. Mr Buys says it used to be very difficult to get the
> government to address the issue of white poverty. “We had knocked on
> the door, and there was no answer,” he says. “But with the help of
> Jacob Zuma, the door is now open. People will be able to access
> government services”. Mr Zuma is an unlikely ally of poor white
> Afrikaners.
>
> Admitting that his command of the Afrikaans language is weak, the ANC
> president chose to address his audience in English when he spoke at
> Bethlehem. His natural charm may have disarmed some members of the
> local community, but the Afrikaners remain cautious.
>
> “We’re encouraged by what Jacob Zuma has promised to do for us,” says
> Mr du Randt, “but we’re not putting our faith in him completely. If
> the people here don’t want to get up and work together, then we’re not
> going to make things any better for them.”
>
> www.bnp.org.ukwww.davidduke.comhttp://www.vanguardnewsnetwork.com/?cat=18http://www.vdare.com/francis/south_africa.htm

An interesting read. Why the stupid and quite irrelevant Nazi
signature?

It's very interesting to note that the descendants of European farmers
enjoyed far more rights than the descendants of European sailors (who
the National Party called "non-whites") Bizzare, as both the "boers"
and the "coloureds" even speak the same language, Afrikaans