English-Boer Love

English-Boer Love

1881 marked a pugnacious phase of the bitter English-Boer war. An acerbic war fueled by British imperialism.  Senior General Michael Briggs, had just delivered an emotive speech to his soldiers who had been brutally injured by the Boer soldiers who no more fought a gentleman’s war which they were accustomed to. He had said triumphantly, “they shall not defeat the British crown, many men have tried but failed dismally in their efforts, men get up and fight for your Queen”.

Boer soldiers fought with great patriotism in their hearts,’ lived on grasshoppers if needs be they were called by their own tongue the “die bittereinders”.  They were skilled horsemen and riflemen and could shoot from twenty meters away that in combination with bitter hate for the English who were trying to take their land made every battle scene a massacre of British Troops.

Senior General Michael Briggs, implemented a policy called (scorched earth) without soul in his heart he had said,” We shall go at dawn to their farm houses, set everything alight, destroy all their livestock and crops, let the burning flames make consume them and make them feel the wrath of the British crown.”

Everywhere in South Africa  Boer women and children cried sprawled helplessly across the dirt as all their history, heritage and personal belongings were set ablaze. Everything disappeared as they watched helplessly. Loaded onto carts like possessions and sent off to camps erected all over South Africa where conditions were appalling, disease was rife and starvation their daily bread.

Rochelle van Der Merwe was beautiful but feisty 19 year old girl. She despised the British who had caused her family-her people such great pain. She met General Michael Briggs junior during  his visit to the camp in which she was in.

 A young English man who was not much like his father, kind . . . almost. Her assignment was to seduce him and gain intelligence on the British soldiers next movements, with her good looks seducing a gullible young man was an accomplishable task. He was taken immediately by her beauty and surprisingly she too by his almost childlike and innocent nature a quality she had not seen in men before. They had began courting each other in secret Michael unlike his father and she dreaded that she had to betray him so. Every night after she had given herself to the enemy she awoke to search for clues as to the British’s troops next movements.

Every time the Boer soldiers were one step ahead of the British troops. One cold winter night after he was asleep she again awoke to serve her duty towards her people but this night he wasn’t really asleep, his eyes were shut closed but he lay awake inside, in a prison of uncertainty. The pen dropped as she was writing his diary entries on a piece of paper. He awoke. She tried to flee but he erected a gun to her forehead.  “You, “ he said with disbelief .”How could you, I thought you loved me, I have risked everything to be with you,” he said and was about to shoot but his hands were paralyzed with love.” I… I.. I love you believe or not, but my your men came and destroyed my people, children starve everyday in these camps by your father, should I forget my people, should I forget my identity, my neighbor Susan who’s tent fell in a horrific rain storm and she stood in the freezing rain all night holding her three month old baby tightly to her chest, protecting it with her bare hands from the blue black cold?” “Let me go,” she pleaded softly. He dropped his rifle and she escaped soft shoe into the night.

When she arrived and told her story the women in the camp they did not believe that she was still alive and praised her for her bravery.

 Every day they saw each other from afar, and both desired what they knew could never ever again be.