Trump was right to raise farm attacks in South Africa

However, the president was correct to raise the issue of South African farm attacks.

Once again the mainstream corporate media ignored legitimate grievances in order to throw an infantile temper tantrum.

The South African Agricultural Union registered 3,065 farm attacks and 677 farm murders between 1991 and 1997.

In 2001 the South African Police Service’s Crime Information Analysis Centre revealed that of the 1,398 people who were attacked on South African farms, 61.6% were white, 33.3% were black, 4.4% were Asian and 0.7% were from other ethnic backgrounds.

In 2001 the South African Census stated the ethnic demography of South Africa was 79% black, 9.5% white, 8.9% mixed race and 2.5% Asian.

The difference between the census statistics and farm attack demography speaks volumes.

In November 2011, Rian Van der Walt’s War of the Flea documentary stated that 3,000 farmers had been murdered in 18,000 attacks since 1991.

South African Police Service statistics for 2015/2016 stated that there were 49 farm murders in South Africa and the police statistics for 2016/2017 stated that there were 638 attacks on farms and smallholdings with 74 murders.

Farm workers were victims in 61 of said attacks and 13 attacks involved gratuitous physical torture of victims.

The average age of farm attack victims is 55 years old and in 62% of farm attacks, people aged 51 years and older are attacked.

In October 2017 Afriforum stated that the murder rate for South African farmers was 156 per 100,000.

In May this year, the Independent Online publication in South Africa stated that there had been 3,070 farm attacks and 339 farm murders in South Africa since 2012.

On 14th August this year, South Africa News reported that the Transvaal Agricultural Union South Africa recorded 244 farm attacks and 38 farm murders in 2018.

Éamonn MacGrianna, Falls Road, Belfast