I am not an Afrikaner (although it can be argued that I am an Anglo-Afrikaner because my father was born an Afrikaner) but I believe that preserving Afrikaner history is fundamental to the future of South Africa.
Related conversations that I recommend are the ones I had with Afrikaans writer Dan Roodt and Afrikaans musician Steve Hofmeyr. Ironically, the conversation I had about the Anglo-Boer War was with an American historian and it was brilliant.
What is Orania?
Orania is an Afrikaner-only town in South Africa and is located along the Orange River in Northern Cape province. (Check out the town’s website.)
Basically, it’s in the middle of South Africa nowhere.
It was founded with the goal of creating a stronghold for the Afrikaner minority group, the Afrikaans language and Afrikaner culture. The population, as of 2022, is around 2500.
If I were to move there, then I would have to apply and generally meet the following conditions.
- Am I an Afrikaner?
- Am I a Christian with traditional values?
- Do I believe in preserving Afrikaner culture?
Joost Strydom is a friend of mine and Orania’s spokesman. He joined me for a really insightful conversation on all things related such as its history and culture, as well as why any sane person would want to move to a town in the middle of nowhere.
