{"id":72934,"date":"2022-10-20T18:57:43","date_gmt":"2022-10-20T16:57:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/?p=72934"},"modified":"2022-10-20T18:57:43","modified_gmt":"2022-10-20T16:57:43","slug":"a-new-book-challenges-many-of-the-myths-used-in-farm-killing-narratives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/a-new-book-challenges-many-of-the-myths-used-in-farm-killing-narratives\/","title":{"rendered":"A new book challenges many of the myths used in farm-killing narratives"},"content":{"rendered":"

Neelam Rahim<\/em> |\u00a0neelam@radioislam.co.za<\/a><\/p>\n

2 min read | 6:56 pm CAT<\/p>\n

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Farm killings are a contentious issue in the country. Author and violence analyst Dr Nechama Brodie has written a new book in which she challenges many myths narrating farm killings. She includes nearly a century of news reports, statistical data, legal cases and expert research on farm violence, including violence experienced by farm labourers and in black communities surrounding mostly white-owned farmlands.<\/p>\n

Farm killings form part of the broader crime phenomenon and challenge and are not specifically about racial motivation.<\/span><\/p>\n

In an interview with\u00a0Radio Islam International,<\/em>\u00a0Dr Nechama Brodie said data for the last seven decades strongly show that most farm attacks are criminally motivated.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to Dr Brodie, there is a significant market demand for firearms, which could be why farmers are specific targets. And farmers often keep cash in their houses to pay labourers; these are the items where perpetrators attack wildly to access them as they are usually held in safes.<\/span><\/p>\n

She said since the 1990s, the way the question of farm attacks and killings is being handled has become a massive political gain.<\/span><\/p>\n

“For politicians it’s an opportunity for them to get a lot of media attention as well as hype up the drama and the emotion of people that they hope will vote for them,” she says.<\/span><\/p>\n

She added there is no foresight of politicians moving towards solutions which would be helpful.<\/span><\/p>\n

Regarding the recommendations for addressing farm killings, Dr Brodie said the government needs to acknowledge it more clearly as a problem as communities in rural areas feels vulnerable.<\/span><\/p>\n

She says, “The farming unions that represent farming interests should build cohesion instead of trying to capitalise of race based fear.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Listen below to the interview with Moulana Sulaimaan Ravat and Dr Nechama Brodie on Radio Islam’s<\/em> podcast.<\/span><\/p>\n