In South Africa there are an estimated 38 000 commercial farmers. Since 1991 more than 3000 farmers have been violently murdered in more than 18 000 attacks.Farmers fearing for their lives and their land, feel abandoned by their Government. One farmer dies, and many are left without jobs. One farmer dies, and South Africa has one less food producer.
Since South Africa’s cross-over from Apartheid to democracy in the early-90s, an alarming phenomenon has been sweeping the country’s farmlands. With over 3000 white farmers murdered up until this point, some see it as a systematic racial genocide, others an exageration, and many write it off as a symptom of crime. Finally a documentary has been made to look at this troubling issue.
Farmers fearing for their lives and their land, feel abandoned by the government. Rian van der Walt, an independent filmmaker, explores South Africa’s bloody past and how it has affected modern day society in one of the most violent countries in the world, trying to understand these senseless attacks, where there is little or no relation between the violent murders and the obvious motives for the crimes. In a country where the murder rate is 34.6/100 000 people, compared to the USA rate of 6/100 000 people, violent crime is an everyday occurrence. In this feature length film, Rian will embark on a journey to meet with the victims and those left behind. He stands next to blood splattered walls and bears witness to the multitudes of graves of murdered farmers. Experts who have studied the psychology of murder and violence will share their insights as to why the degree of violence and torture is so different to other violent crimes. As food security becomes an ever-increasing problem, more pressure is placed on Farmers, who are directly responsible for our food production. One farmer dies, and many are left without jobs. One farmer dies, and South Africa has one less food producer. Lack of security on farms, land transformation and unstable, flammable political leadership are aggravators to an already complicated problem. If we lose our farmers, how do we feed our nation? Do we really want to find out?
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