The Westerner
“ My Fathers sleep on the sunrise plains, and each one sleeps alone
Their Trails may dim to the grass and rains, for I choose to make my own
I lay proud claim to their blood and name but I lean on no dead kin
my name is mine, for the praise or scorn. The world began when I was born. “
- Andy Hedges and Charles Badger Clark
It has been another night of interrupted sleep in the desert and after a few days of respite from the national threat notification system, my phone once again screamed to life on the counter across the room. It has been a month since the war in the Gulf started and since then life has become a kind of surreal, uncertain flow of living in the moment and hoping for better days combined with managing expectations, making sure emergency supplies are stocked up and checking in with friends in colleagues to make sure that they are managing to hold it together.
As far as being affected by life in the vicinity of a major conflict I am unable to sufficiently express my gratitude to the country I find myself in. The Leadership has been exceptional, the authorities excellent. The Ministry keeps all residents well informed, all the services are running as usual and the supply chain is managed by people and systems with extreme competence. I go to bed each night knowing that the military and the dedicated branches of first responders with well trained and motivated professionals are out there keeping us all safe. I look out over the Gulf often and I think of the total destruction, chaos, hardship, fear and pain that is unfolding just a few hundred miles from here. My heart bleeds for all who are involved in this senseless, devastating chapter in the human story. Quoting Graham Hancock, “we are a species suffering from amnesia”. Well, we are here now so let’s go deeper. “ How many ears must one man have, before he can hear people cry ? And how many deaths will it take ’til he knows that too many people have died ?” Released by Bob Dylan in 1962 but drawn from the universe and history, placed in the mind of one of my heroes by the Muse. What is happening all over the world is as old as the human existence. It is not the first and it sure as hell won’t be the last. I live my life by a wise African Proverb these days. “ When the Elephant and the Rhino fights, it is up to the ants not to get trampled.” That is what I do. I focus on making good decisions, I am pragmatic about handling this predicament and I make sure that I see the opportunities for personal growth, service to my fellow man and making sure I learn from this. One thing is for certain, I am done believing the lies of government, doctors, religious leaders, media outlets and politicians. I have learnt that a man ignores his gut feeling at his own peril. I hold onto Love, Tolerance and Acceptance. I will allow you to show me who you are through your actions and I will hold myself to that same standard. Making this world and life bearable requires individuals to be kind, to lead by example and to not give in to hate and poor judgement. Most people in power, stay in power by dividing ordinary people and they rely on people and institutions on the fringes of society to sow seeds of distrust, devision and judgment. While that happens, they steal our land, send our friends and family to war, destroy our infrastructure and healthcare systems, let down the most vulnerable members of society and leave generations of young people neck deep in student debt without the promise of ever finding a job. They neglect critical infrastructure and in the case of South Africa, blame it on a government that ruled thirty years ago. All it comes down to is the refusal to accept responsibility and to take ownership of their own narrow minded policies, greed and incompetence. Whenever anyone gets confronted or even worse caught in the act, they make it about race, religion or political affiliation. That way the actual problem gets buried in the mountains of fake news, social media and political rhetoric. The people end up at each other’s throats while the real atrocities go unpunished. It is my hope that more and more people will recognize this phenomenon and that they will react and live their lives accordingly. That they will start with themselves first. Take ownership of their own lives and be the change they long for so desperately.
It has also been a month of ups and downs on the farm. The rains keep falling and the pastures are still lush with good grazing. The hay bales are stacked and covered, the cattle are all marked, vaccinated and healthy after several challenges with sickness in the herd. Yesterday, Tygerfontein officially went off grid. No more relentless price increases from the power utility, no more rolling blackouts. Independence !!! Hard work and years of saving. It is a huge milestone for Tygerfontein. I keep pushing our State Veterinarian about the Foot and Mouth Disease Vaccinations that should have been delivered months ago and still have not reached thousands of small farmers. The State once again decided to bypass the private sector and are now struggling to carry out their responsibilities as promised. Add to that soaring fuel and fertilizer prices and things are looking grim for the agricultural sector and for the country in general. Two more of my cows, both pregnant, were killed in one of the back sections of the farm a few nights ago. They were hacked to death, probably with machetes, cut up and then carried off to some unknown location. We called the local police which advised us that they did not have a serviceable vehicle to drive out and open an investigation. Additionally, heavy rains had washed away most of the tracks and possible evidence. As with millions of crimes every month this loss will also die a slow death on some overworked, underpaid officers table. We are taking all the measures we can. Until I find an alternative the whole herd will be rounded up each night and will sleep in the camp around the farmhouse. There we have lights, cameras, dogs and even better fences. What bothers me is that there is no end in sight and that it will happen again. I lost my adult bull and three cows in October last year in the same way and with the recent two it makes me think that I might be a target of some syndicate operating out of the city. We will keep playing the game and hopefully I can either catch them or discourage them from operating in our area. What I fear most is for the safety of my family and workers on the farm. Farm attacks and farms murders are REAL!! Regardless of the highly disputed motives or false narratives out there the fact is that it happens…often. I know of three farm attacks just in March. Who knows how many have not yet reached the news outlets. No Mr Trump, it’s not only white farmers who get murdered. No, it’s not a white genocide but it sure looks like farmers of all ethnicities are victims of violent crimes and a relentless onslaught and infringement on their way of life. They are all being let down by the government and people that need to support and ensure food security are mostly left to fend for themselves on remote farms far from the comforts and security of the city. I feel that one of the biggest reasons why farmers get murdered is because they are isolated, they often keep cash in their safes and they almost certainly have firearms. They are easy targets and with the power vacuum created by the failure of the police to control crime, they are the most likely to be on the receiving end of violence and other crimes. I do not believe that all farm murders are racially motivated even though Im sure that some are. Crime is everyone’s problem. The mismanagement and corruption is everyone’s problem. We cannot turn on each other as hard working, tax paying citizens. We have to stand together, build together and be a community of South Africans. We cannot keep focusing on our differences and we should rather work with the things we have in common and strive for a better future for all. At least that is my dream for my beautiful country and its incredible people.
Ive been showing up every day, inviting the Muse into my life and working on new material. Ive completed two new songs and I will keep doing this for as long as new ideas, stories and melodies come my way. I will just keep stacking up the songs until I can hopefully one day in the near future, put a band together and start putting it out into the world again. Not playing gigs left a massive void in my life but I recently met a very talented musician in a music store in town. We played a few songs together and exchanged numbers. I hope to do that again real soon and maybe we can find a way to play some gigs. Time will surely tell.
JB