An enriching encounter on the beat in Elsies
SOME time in the mid-1990s I was the station commander of Elsies River SAPS, with the rank of Colonel.
Despite this rank, I was always called Kaptein Vearey on account of some local residents probably not yet having adjusted to the fact that black officers had actually proceeded beyond the rank of Captain in the post-apartheid era.
One of my favourite operational pastimes was to patrol the council flat areas of Elsies River on foot over weekends and engage young children, otherwise referred to in Kaaps as laaities or djoepies, depending on their age.
During one such Saturday afternoon patrol in Clarke’s Estate, I encountered a young boy of about 10 who, despite his profusely bleeding nose, refused to degrade himself by crying when telling me what had happened. His account went something like this: “Djy sien Kaptein Vearey! Dit kô toe soe dat ek loep deurie Stoepa turf enne paa laaities vat my vi ‘n gat.
“Die een skrie: ‘Djy djoepie, wat soek djy hie!’ Ek staan bankvas cause why ek is ‘n laaitie net soes hulle en nie ‘n klein djoepie nie.
“‘Oe djy dowel stêkgevriet, djy gaan nou jou gat sien,’ bumper ene. Dit wassie hulle wêk kie! Ek spring oppe pos van gevaar en moer sametime die ou wattie bumper bêre tienie tjat.
“Sy kop ruk kaboemtieng, hy slat kadwa tienie gront lattie kwyl spat!
“Toe pak kie moegoes my aan maa ek moer t’rug sonne om te kala!
“Toe sê die ringkop van hulle: ‘Die issie ‘n djoepie nie. Hy’s ‘n vollene krag manskap, halt’.
“Toe los hulle my en gate. Maa ek willie ‘n saak maakie Kaptein cause daai issie ‘n man se wêk kie.”
I have tried to translate this into both HAT Afrikaans and English, to no avail. Somehow it’s meaning gets lost in translation.
As for the laaitie in question, I last heard that he was a multiple A-grade student at an English medium school where he also excelled in language studies, far above the average performance of his peers.
I hope that like Jeremy vannie Elsies, he does not lose his Kaaps linguistic roots in social translation, and still proudly proclaims: “Ek issie skaam vi waa ek geplant wassie. Ekkit gegroei mettie waters van my trappe innie gront vannie strate vannie Elsies. Raak wys of staan t’rug! Wat loep is laat!” Jeremy Vearey Mowbray