Recognise the truth of Khoi and San people

I HAVE been told that I am a coloured for so many years, I actually embraced that stupid label for a long time.

After much consultation with better informed elders, I have come to realise that I am no such thing.

“Kleurling” the original Dutch term, is in fact “kleur ding”, a derogatory term implying someone of uncertain origin, less than human, someone to be treated with disrespect and contempt.

I am no such thing. Today I realise that I am Khoi, Khoi Khoin (man among men), to be exact.

Our historical ties to this land predates the building of the pyramids, it should be celebrated, not concealed.

The oldest language (khoe khoe kebaab) to be spoken on these shores is not recognised as one of the more than a dozen official languages.

The coat of arms bears Khoi insignia, and sadly that is where our recognition ends.

We suffered the type of genocide comparable to the holocaust, minus the technology.

The hunting of my ancestors was a sport, our women were sent to Europe, their anatomy considered a public curiosity. Yet our children are taught about the horrors of apartheid, the role of Mandela and nothing else.

The true history of this land is that the Khoi and San are its aboriginal people, we are in fact the forefathers of the Xhosa, the modern day colonialists, guilty of a land grab that would have made Van Riebeek proud.

Pre-1994, we, the true owners of this great land, brought the Western Cape to a regular standstill in solidarity with the black majority. This fact is beyond dispute.

I was but a young student then, but I was there. BEE, at the exclusion of the brown man, was never mentioned then, it’s not to be found in the Freedom Charter, yet, 25 years later we still feel its wrath.

With the EFF and the BLF threatening land grabs on a daily basis I have to ask, can you show me the land you possessed before we did?

Because history tells me that we, the Khoi and the San, owned pretty much all of the western, eastern and northern Cape before our forefathers gave refuge to yours.

Because land expropriation without compensation then becomes theft. The Boers have been given their right to self determination, you know it as Orania. All we have to show are dilapidated ghettos.

In our historical homeland we own virtually nothing, we are an economic non-entity, we consume most, and produce almost nothing, yet we are the engine that drives this province.

We’ve sacrificed much for the new dispensation, we’ve traded one oppressor for another.

Remember we were all Khoi once, just ask your nearest scientist. While Mandela was still prisoner number 46664 we, the Khoi, supported the dream of a land of opportunity for all., Today we realise that it was all a lie.

Notice the recent awakening of indigenous pride. This is no accident. Know that recognition of the Khoi and San as the First Nation is no longer a request. BRIGADIER GENERAL FADIEL ADAMS SOUTH AFRICAN CAPE CORPS Athlone