24 January 2021 Call-In

Hi Stef,

I am a farmer in South Africa, and I am at my wit’s end. I don’t know if you can help me, but you seem to help so many others on your show.

I’ve always been the sheepdog keeping everyone around me safe–the type of guy that never got stressed, that could keep a level head in any situation, be it putting out a fire when my neighbour’s house burnt down, to swimming out to saving some schoolgirl rowers when a squall came up and they couldn’t get back to shore. I’ve been held hostage 3 times in foreign countries and all this I handle with minimal stress.

The last few years I finally got to achieve my dream of farming, providing healthy food to my community, while restoring degraded land. About two and a half years ago now, some political parties started pushing the expropriation without compensation narrative pretty hard, and since then my farm has been hit 16 times: equipment and livestock stolen; my whole cattle herd slaughtered, even the young calves that I had raised all by myself over the past 5 years–these were like my children! My fences are also cut almost on a weekly basis.

After that, I took a big hit mentally. I suffered panic attacks. Often, when I go to bed I wonder if I’ll get killed in my sleep or be woken up by someone come to torture me first. One day last year, I was mowing fire breaks in preparation for our fire season when my tractor stalled and I could not start it. Something that before would be a minor mechanical difficulty sent me into shock. I barely knew where I was, battling to breathe and bawling with tears. Since then, I have sought therapy as you suggest in your shows. I had all but fully recovered and was focusing on immigration plans. It looks like I’ll be in the UK taking up a job there around March if COVID doesn’t close the borders again. So, I thought the worst was behind me.

Well, this evening one of my neighbouring farms was attacked and 3 of the residents killed. I now am back where I was before, like I’m in a fog with a gorilla on my chest.

I don’t know what I’m hoping for maybe just an encouraging word or maybe just for someone, somewhere else in the world to know my story if I’m next on the list of farmers to be killed.

Thank you for trying to bring rationality to this increasingly crazy world. God knows we need it here. And thank you for all you do. Your shows have helped a lot to see and avoid some potentially terrible relationships.

Free novel: https://www.freedomain.com/almost

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