Being a white farmer in South Africa is not easy- according to the organization AfriForum, which represents the interests of white farmers, at least 638 attacks against them by the rural black population were registered last year.
READ MORE: In South Africa White Farmers Reportedly Arm Themselves Amid New Murders,Attacks
With such a situation at hand, white farmers have begun preparing themselves to survive an assault. Many of them have addressed Idan Abolnik, a former member of the Israeli special forces, who trains them in hand-to-hand combat and weapons handling, Sky News reported. In his two-week course, students learn how to act during an attack and how to fight back.
Some white farmers in South Africa feel so under threat that they are learning self-defence from an ex-Israeli special forces member in case they are targeted pic.twitter.com/vl444tb8pH
— Sky News (@SkyNews) June 3, 2018
One of his trainees, Chris Herbst, survived after being shot and stabbed nine times. He claims that the attackers were well-trained. Another student, Marli Swanepoel, told Sky News that white farmers are targeted and murdered, with the elderly being unable to defend themselves at all.
READ MORE: What Do People Say About Future Confiscation of White Farmers' Land in S Africa?
White farmers, despite being a minority in South Africa, own 72% of farm-worthy land, which causes tensions between them and the black population, who often work on the farms. The South African government recently announced a plan to redistribute land to the black population, despite public concerns that the country might be repeating a similar and unsuccessful experiment by the Zimbabwean government.
