"DIS AL" (THAT'S ALL) !

The return after the British genocide and land grabbing of the Boervolk (Anglo-Boer War) was a traumatic event for thousands of Boers from where they also found themselves at the end of the genocide.

More than 40,000 Boer people, women and children were murdered in the more than 126 concentration camps; more than 30,000 farms burned down; 1000ths of a head of cattle plundered or simply inhumanly cull; dividing communities; families torn apart; humiliating and trampling a people!

On a deeper level, the Boer had to deal with numerous losses. Not only have they lost their freedom and independence, but also their entire existence, friends and – perhaps most hurtingly – their spouse and children; their offspring!

It was truly a bitter-ending "peace." For many, "a grave in the grass" and "a decaying tear" were all that was left.

Poem written by a Boer who returned to his property after exile:

"Dis die blond, dis die blou:
(It's the blond, it's the blue:)

dis die veld, dis die lug:
(it's the veld, it's the sky:)

en 'n voël draai daar bowe, in eensame vlug -
(and a bird circles above, in lonesome flight -)

DIS AL.
(THAT'S ALL)

Dis 'n balling gekom oor die oseaan,
(It's an exile across the ocean,)

dis 'n graf in die gras,
(it's a grave in the grass,)

dis 'n vallende traan - 
(It's a falling tear -)

DIS AL
(THAT'S ALL)

"Let us be a people to our Almighty Heavenly Father, 
as we have promised Him."

The ZABR is a cultural administrative body and its initiatives are focused on the preservation of Boer heritage, in accordance with South African laws.