A Tragedy.......

From my Argentinian background

I related before about my mother being born in Argentina. My grandparents went over after the Boer War (English War) around 1910. The short background was that after the destruction of the Afrikaner farm lands many of these people were destitute and also very angry at the English. An expedition that visited Argentina came back with the report that it was “a land of milk and honey”. That was not accurate because when they were there it was some of the best rainy seasons in 40 years and was truly a land of milk and honey. In reality the area of Chibut which they visited was a cold dessert.

There began a series of negotiations between a South African (Boer) delegation and the Argentinian Government. From the Government side, they had the goal of settling people in the Chibut area, namely around Comodoro Rivadavia, a small seaside town. The Afrikaners wanted to get away from the English and was drawn by the prospect of getting free farmland as promised by the Argentinian Government.

I believe that there was about 3 groups that trekked to the new future in a land of milk and honey. My grandmother (from Potchefstroom) with here father, mother and sister was part of this trek. So was my grandfather and his family. He was a widower, not sure exactly when his wife died, but he then met and married my grandmother in Comodoro Rivadavia.

Early on some people got land and ownership, but the process was as slow as you can imagine. The government was in Buenos Aires, 1000 kilometres north and the quickest way to get there was by boat. People settled down and began to make a living while this slow process continues. Most was sheep farmers and quickly they found that the area was ideal for sheep farming. This created a prosperous sheep farming industry there which continues till today.

A big problem was fresh drinking water. Every day a donkey cart had to bring a barrel of fresh water from about 36 km away, much to the women’s annoyance. After many complaints were raised and some very displeased wives was demanding “fresh water”, surveying was done and a drilling project was started. It was going on for some time till one day this terrible, stinking, black goo was blasting up from the hole. This cause for a big uproar by the women. Almost a rebellion. Well, the second thing the Afrikaner did was to initiate the founding of oil in the area. Today Comodoro is rather big, almost a city, with an oil industry.

The result of this was that the government immediately stopped any further ownership of the land. They only thing the people could get is the surface of the land. What was underneath, was government property, which they could come and claim at any time. The poor people suffered a second blow. No farm ownership, only the use of the land. Disillusioned for a second time, nobody was willing to develop anything any more. Poverty continued because of this.

Back in town another scenario was beginning to develop. There were 3 groups, one from each denomination of the 3 sister churches in South Africa. In the beginning the Dutch Reformed and the Reformed (Hervormde Kerk) groups agree to work together as they conceived that they did not differ that much and as such could work together. They were the biggest group. The “Doppers” (Gereformeerde Kerk) was the smallest group and they were totally unwilling to mix with the others on a Sunday, week days was okay, but not on a Sunday.

It went well, until it was time to build a church and a school (for the first group). Then the trouble began. It was a never-ending struggle. The 2 groups could just not agree on the location and many other things. This went on for allmost 30 years. Eventually nothing ever happened. The consequence of this was that a whole generation of children grew up without any education whatsoever.

Once a year a reverend from one the 2 denominations would visit (alternating). They would then stay with my grandparents. My grandmother refused live on a farm even though my grandfather was lucky enough to had ownership of the 2 pieces of land that was allocated to him. They stayed in town, where in the week he managed a German Wholesaler (I saw the shop when I visited Comodoro in 1993) and he was farming on weekends.

It was related by these reverends that when visiting the farms the children was so frightened of strangers that they ran into the hills to hide there. The children in many cases were like wild animals. A lost generation. This all because 2 religious groups could not agree on the building of a school and a church. This was a tragedy. A lost generation. I have no idea what became of these children.

The result of all these situations was that the people, more and more, wanted to come back to South Africa where they hoped to have at least their own people around them. A repatriation was begun. My grandfather was one of the leaders of this. In negotiations with the SA government there were again some promises made. People was looking forward to return to their fatherland.

So somewhere in 1938 the trek back started. On arrival another disappointment was waiting. Typical of governments, it is easy to make promises, but hard to fulfil. Now for a third time these people was left to fend for themselves. Three times were they discarded, a whole generation lost without education, a tragedy that is hard to describe.

My grandfather went back to settle everything around his property. He also took a hit as the exchange control only allowed him to take out a certain amount of his money. In the end, they settled in Stellenbosch. My grandfather took a shift job on the power station and my grand mother took in students for an extra income.

My father was one of these student and that is how he met my mother. They got married and this is how I came to be. I am happy that I was able to visit Comodoro and experience some of what it was like for my mother and her family living there. I had an idea about where their house would have been from old photo’s and description, so I looked for some inkling, but none was left. At least I could walk the street that she would have known, now paved roads, that time it was gravel.

I told this story as it was told me. I tried to relate historical event how I remember them. I do have books with more detail written by people at the time on location. There is a small monument in Comodoro Rivadavia in recognition to the Afrikaners and the contributions they made to the settling of the area....

Adiős....