The commotion between Donald Trump, Cyril Ramaphosa and the rest of South Africa has given rise to a variety of bigger conversations regarding the issues plaguing South Africa.
It is no secret that South Africa’s history is no bed of roses, and although apartheid can be deemed as recent history, it is often spoken about as an ancient concept that should be long forgotten. What started out as a mere, typical Donald Trump post has resulted in South African users sharing the chilling realities of living after the displacement of their parents and ancestors land, reminding us that although we have become a rainbow nation, the victims of these atrocious and inhumane acts still live among us, as our parents and grandparents.
X(Formerly Twitter) user @bomiabumanga was among the first who expressed that among this back and forth regarding who the land rightfully belongs to, the call for land expropriation is a personal one, as her grandfather was one abolished from his farm and displaced to a much smaller house in the township.
my grandpa was removed from his farm & placed in a township with a matchbox house. the white occupant though had a deal; we could keep our livestock on his farm. every week it was our goats that got ‘lost’, never his.
my call for land is personal. no racist will delegitimise it.
— le rona re batho 🇵🇸🇨🇩 (@ubomiabumanga_) February 3, 2025
The quoted posts to this are nothing short of heart-wrenching as more users share their own family’s experiences with being displaced, including not being able to visit the gravesite of their relatives as the land is now owned by white farmers.
My grandfather & many others are still buried in a Farm in Barkely East. The apartheid government took livestock from our families & turned the village into a farm. It was given to a Van Zyl family & later changed hands. Half the men died fighting,their graves are still there. https://t.co/GGPfOYekB9
— Half Naaiertjie (@BIGDADDYVALHALL) February 5, 2025
Both my mother’s parents families were forcefully removed from their lands in Vryheid. Both decendents of the previous owners, refuse. With my grandmother’s side, we still see the old headstones whenever we drive pass. https://t.co/IVB1jdb7Cx
— Thabi 🍒 (@thabishembe) February 5, 2025
My grandfather & many others are still buried in a Farm in Barkely East. The apartheid government took livestock from our families & turned the village into a farm. It was given to a Van Zyl family & later changed hands. Half the men died fighting,their graves are still there. https://t.co/GGPfOYekB9
— Half Naaiertjie (@BIGDADDYVALHALL) February 5, 2025
Although this is an uncomfortable conversation that we have been taught to be ashamed to talk about, it is an important one to address as South Africa’s recent history has proven to have a significant impact on today’s society, therefore creating a need to find a practical solution to a more equal country.
Also see: Tol Ass Mo apologises to Gogo Skhotheni for speaking ill about her son’s passing
