Afrikaners on the Edge Our World

South Africa, the Rainbow Nation. But is one of its largest minorities

being marginalised? Many Afrikaners believe their culture and language

are under threat. You're always walking around with a target on your

back. Protests are leading to their mother tongue, Afrikaans, being

dropped by the country's universities. Afrikaners, the people

who ran South Africa during the brutal apartheid era now say the

rules rigged against them. People don't like giving up power, white

people don't like giving up power, who wants to give power? With a

nation having high crime and soaring poverty, could their survival be in

doubt? You will have a situation where racists will create

instability. I've come to South Africa to find out how a white

minority which once ruled the roost now fears for its future.

I've come to South Africa's wine country. The vineyards that line the

hills around the town of Stellenbosch are some of the

country's by Mr. But it's not the wine that I'm here for. -- finest.

Stellenbosch is at the centre of a controversy that goes to the heart

of what it means to be South African, and more specifically a

white South African. Stellenbosch university is one of the best in the

whole of Africa but it also has a reputation as a bastion of white

privilege. It's former students include prime ministers from

apartheid. It only ended 22 years ago. The university is more diverse

now. But in a country that is 90% black or mixed race, two thirds of

its students are white. It's a picture many think is reinforced by

classes here being taught in Afrikaans, the mother tongue of most

of South Africa's white minority. Hey, David, nice to meet you, I'm

Ben. Nice to meet you. What is the plan? At the moment the plan is to

go to the police station. Bernard is running for student president, he

is... They are challenging the university's decision to scale back

teaching in Afrikaans in favour of English. Why does retaining the

language matter so much to you? We've got a couple of examples in

South Africa are where people have been told they are not allowed to

speak their mother tongue, their language, and their culture in a way

also faded away. It has happened before and every time it has ended

the same way. You could almost use the word ethnic cleansing, that

everyone is just being made the same. Today Bernard has come to the

police station to start legal proceedings against the university.

He wants to overturn their decision to reduce the number of classes

taught in Afrikaans. Give me an idea of what it is like to be white and

Afrikaans at the moment in South Africa. What it's like is you're

always walking around with a target on your back. Everything's your

fault, everything gets blamed Maicon Uecomm excluded from jobs and

bursaries and for every eight black workers you're supposed to have...

That is a racial make-up that is enforced by law. I suppose because

the starting point was so bad in the sense of the black community really

did not have any advantages to begin with as a consequence of apartheid,

was something that dramatic not necessary to essentially fixed the

problem, to get more black people into work? At the moment you could

say that the way that government is treating it is totally flawed, they

are treating symptoms, not the problem. South Africa's students

have held noisy and sometimes violent protests over the past 12

months. Demonstrations over university fees, colonial era

statues and the use of Afrikaans in the classroom have used together. In

response to accusations that teaching in Afrikaans effectively

excludes nonwhite students, universities, including

Stellenbosch, have promised to scale back or even phase out teaching in

the language. So this is an Afrikaans bookshop? Yes, basically

the textbooks... Simone is mixed race. Like many so-called coloured

South Africans she does speak a dialect of Afrikaans, but not the

same variant of the language spoken by white students. She is among

those campaigning for classes to be taught in English. If I did economic

sigh would need this textbook. Which is all in Afrikaans? Mostly, yes. We

have translated them in our class and we have these microphones, the

ghost whisperer as we call them, because they whisper what the

lecturer is saying in English. Usually what happens is the

translator gets things mixed up because she is not maybe well versed

in economic language, and then we always get stuck in the middle. It

is literally you sitting there looking at a lecturer speaking one

language and in your ear is a lady saying... I'm getting my education

through a third-party, not through the lecturer itself. To critics,

these teaching arrangements aren't just messy. They are a sign that

some of the country's universities are still prioritising the needs of

white students. A key question is that in South Africa, a country that

is 80% black, a university 70% white. So there's something wrong

with that. Usually your institutions should reflect kind of the

demographics of your country. And you're not giving credit in terms of

the fact they are trying to save their culture? I think the method in

which they are doing it is extremely exclusive. I'm an Afrikaans speaker

but are you preserving my heritage? I don't think so, you're not

preserving my culture or my mum's, you are preserving Afrikaner culture

as it was during apartheid. I'm at a student residency to meet

up with Bernard again and for the first time he is facing voters to

answer questions about his bid to be president. Bernard's audience is

all-male, mostly white and largely Afrikaans speaking.

I'm Bernard Peters, I'm one of the candidates standing this year. We

are to introduce ourselves to allow you to get to know us and to ask any

questions afterwards. I'm an English student, I speak English, I learn in

English, how are you going to persuade me to vote for you? The

only thing we stand for is equal rights and people opportunities for

Afrikaans and English on this campus. It should be equal

opportunities for all. Bernard is keen to represent himself as an

exclusive candidate -- inclusive. But there's still a perception here

that he is trying to preserve the privilege of white students. You

said you represent every single student in Stellenbosch but there

are so many students that prefer only English, prefer only Afrikaans,

how would you go about every single student's opinion and thought if you

represent that? I can't shy away from the fact that half of them...

I'm not Afrikaans so basically they are using my vote. Knowing that you

guys are from African forum as well, it kind of makes me question what

you guys stand for and how you're going to present me as a student. We

are presenting the students, we will represent you, we are not there only

for certain groups. We are from African forum but we will represent

all of the students. The students in this room are part of a generation

call so-called born Frears, but Bernard's campaign, like all

politics here, isn't happening in a vacuum. Everyone here is living in

the shadow of decades of racial segregation. Do you think white

Afrikaners are still being punished because they are associated with

apartheid? Definitely, without question. You have to acknowledge

the fact I am privileged as a white male living in this country with

parents who have been through apartheid and are privileged, it

wasn't that way for everyone but it was for the majority of white South

Africans. I've had the privilege of having books. Someone in a squatters

camp who has had nothing but Briggs and a soccer ball, they haven't had

that kind of privilege. It's not my fault, I shouldn't feel guilty, but

there is a miss balance and a problem in the country I need to do

something about. Just up the road from Stellenbosch

is the tower monument. Built to celebrate what was hoped to be the

exponential growth of the Afrikaans language. This is one of the few

monuments to a language anywhere in the world. It was created in 1970s

five when white Afrikaners were at the height of their power. Obviously

things have changed quite a bit since then. Apartheid insured the

ruling white minority held onto their privileges. The Constitution

of a new South Africa aims to protect the rights of all South

Africans regardless of race. But corruption, high crime and soaring

unemployment are blighting the country. And while white South

Africans are statistically less likely to be victims of crime or

unemployment than blacks, there are plenty of Afrikaners who say the new

South Africa is against them. I head north to the country's

administrative capital, Pretoria, to meet an unlikely champion of

Afrikaner rights. He's a singer, activist, actor and he most

definitely does not feel the need to apologise for his identity. Quite

the opposite actually. Steve Hollis Meyer is one of the

bestselling artists in South Africa, but it is his statement claiming

Afrikaners are being marginalised in post- apartheid South Africa at that

make him a hero in the eyes of his friends. -- Hoffmeier. This place

feels a bit more like I am in Texas and South Africa. There are cowboy

hats, and out of the 650 guests here, I am pretty much the darkest

one. Backstage, I want to find out why he has become so disillusioned

with the new South Africa. The Nelson Mandela idea was good and

practical. His idea of a Rainbow Nation? It was an experiment, but

what kicked in was a strange sense of entitlement, and it has escalated

ever since, and 21 years later, I'd the ideal of the country, and I

recognise any half of the people. It is a tough thing, but these systems

were invented by white people and it is a white legacy. Can we leave that

legacy in the hands of all the black government? I'm not sure they are

doing very well. I am not a racist who says black or other colours

can't do things. I am not that racist. I believe in the potential

of all groups. I certainly believe certain groups did not come to the

party. I am just a pop star, by the way. You should not believe

everything we say. But I have been working in my community than 30

years. I live with me on the stone and feel their heart beating and

laugh, I laugh, when they cry, I cry. In general, the economy is not

doing as well as it could. As a consequence, all races are doing

worse? As far as the rest of the world is concerned, it is almost a

ship you can't turn around. But the consequence of that means not just

white people are suffering, all races are suffering. You are in a

collective. I can agree with that. I have made my campaign my people.

Hoffmeier's people, those who tonight, Saint grateful for the

support. -- seem grateful. Nobody has the guts to stand up, but Steve

does. Why do you think the place is packed? The place is pretty much

entirely white, though. That is true. Why? It is Afrikaner, though.

What do you like about his political views? His open-minded. Some say he

is not that open-minded. He seems positive about the Afrikaans

committee. -- committee. Do Afrikaans people need staining of

four? I think so. -- standing up for.

MUSIC PLAYS The most remarkable moment of the

evening is his showstopper, his rendition of South Africa's

apartheid era national anthem. Too many South Africans, this song

represents an old country they are ashamed of, but not the people in

this room. CHEERING

Are some of the things he says racist, and does he exaggerate the

facts? Too many people, the answer is yes. But to a lot of people in

there, and thousands around the country, he is pretty much the only

person standing up for them. CHEERING

To try to better understand what is going on in the Africana amenity, I

have come to the sociology department of the bit rate

University. This is where it happened? Yes, it is. ! Pretoria. I

meeting a professor. The campus was the scene of some of the angry

clashes over the use of Afrikaans and some of the classroom. It was an

explosion of movement. She has written extensively on the role and

identity of her fellow Afrikaners. The head, the recent protests over

the Afrikaans language have bought into force on wider reality. It is

unpleasant to be in a position of power and privilege for centuries

and for that decision to then be basically confronted with the

arguing it should be disappointed. People do not like giving up power.

! Dismantled. Men don't like giving up power, heterosexuals don't like

giving up power. Who likes to give up our? It is not a comfortable

space to be in. Hasluck gotten worse for the Afrikaners? These are white

people living under the breadline. If you look at the unemployment

rate, tween five and for white people, but 27% for the population

as a whole. Some white Afrikaners would argue a system of reverse

racism is now taking place in South Africa. Is that the case? We have a

system of what we call implement equity, and a system of black

economic empowerment. Why it is different to discrimination or

apartheid is because during apartheid, differences were used to

take opportunities from people. Affirmative action, whatever you

want to call it, that does not take white opportunities for white

people, it is basically trying to enhance the availability of

opportunities to all people. Post- apartheid, one of the aims was to

have embraced was society. And that the achieved at having policies that

are aimed at people's brace? -- race less. It is impossible to move to a

society where we can let go of race. Until we have actually rectified

those injustices that are based on race.

The final stop on my journey is the very heart of South Africa's vast

interior. This is wild country, sparsely populated and a world away

from city life. It is quite obvious there are plenty of white Afrikaners

that are pessimistic about their future in this country. But to some

of them it is worse than that. There is a group that are actively

preparing for the moment South African society. Hard. And there

will be no one left to protect white Afrikaners. I am about to meet them.

-- falls apart. These are the sites lenders, southerners in Afrikaans.

They claim mentorship of 20,000. Even if this is our correct, they

remain very much a fringe group. This would not be the best time to

say I'm a vegetarian? They believe the high crime and poverty levels

are indicators the country is about to clubs. I see the world's biggest

sausage. That is dry enormous. ! Collapse. This then is the head of

emergency planning for the grid. You are going to have a situation that

will flow out of instability. You already have close to 20 million

people living on grants. You know what they look like. Two months

after you get a situation of instability in this country, there

is no income. Obviously there will go to be better living areas. The

white? Which is the white. You will have complete. I received the first

and will happen is a lot of people will grow out of cities. --

obviously the first thing. It is the same story. When people start

running around without anything. They have drawn up plans for white

refugee camps. They think the breakdown of law and order will lead

to white filling cities. Some think they believe is inevitable --

bullying. In general, like white people in this country don't like

each other? In general, the filling. It is not about not liking them, it

is about being with your own. I invite people who speak like me,

think like me. That is what we do. He takes me to meet another site

lander to show me the extent of the group's planning. This man is one of

a network of people who have prepared trucks full of emergency

supplies. Frying pans, food. Blankets. There is also medical

equipment. The basic stuff is in here that we will need to survive.

They think anarchy is not just inevitable but imminent. Surely it

means you must be thinking about negative things like the world

supposedly ending, if you are with your kids, you will get a thought

about the world potentially ending tomorrow, society could fall. Is

that not quite upsetting? It is upsetting, but you must or is

keeping in mind. You can't slip on that one. -- always keep it in mind.

If you relax, they can catch you on the back foot. Soon have to

constantly be thinking of this stuff to make sure you survive? It is the

survival instinct to carry on with. It is impossible to know how many of

South Africa's 4.5 million white people might share the group's bleak

outlook. It is certainly not mainstream. Even if their

predictions are wrong, they are a group of whites as Aberdeen 's who

see no future for themselves in this country. -- South Africans. This is

being my first time in South Africa. I think the most depressing thing as

being just how real and for racial tension still is in the country. 20

odd years on from apartheid, it is clear a lot of people here but tried

to find out where they belong in South Africa today. That is

especially true among the white Afrikaner community who are caught

between a history that human eyes as them and a future that they are not

just unsure of but are in feel. -- fear of.