Zimbabwe
Where are our evicted farmers today? by Benine Ackermann
The story of Deon Theron I
t’s been twenty years since Zimbabwe farmers have been thrown off of their farms, and still many of them have received no compensation. Sweat, tears, fending off attacks, being robbed, fleeing, fear, building something up and then just losing it over and over again. These are the circumstances under which farmers lived in Zimbabwe ‌ and eventually they lost their farms in the year 2000. Most of them went to live in other countries and struggled to stay alive. There are still court cases going on for these farmers. AfriForum, a South African non-governmental organisation with the aim of protecting the rights of minorities, is fighting for these farmers to get compensation. A few farmers received 30% of the value of their farms, but most of them received no compensation at all. Deon Theron was born in Harare, Zimbabwe, farmed there and still lives there. He was President of the Commercial Farmers Union of Zimbabwe, Chairman of National Association of Dairy Farmers (NADF) and President of the Business Council of Zimbabwe. He was one of the unlucky ones to be evicted from all three his farms. He says he has the biggest respect for AfriForum for trying to help him and the other farmers. 40
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