The 110th anniversary of concentration camps for Afrikaners during the Anglo Boer War has been marked by the publication of Eastern Cape author Jane Meiring’s book Against the Tide.
The 110th anniversary of concentration camps for Afrikaners during the Anglo Boer War has been marked by the publication of Eastern Cape author Jane Meiring’s book Against the Tide.
It is a story of women in war, of great suffering and great courage, and women taking to the field in defiance.
Black as well as white women and children were subjected to appalling conditions that were pivotal in shaping both Afrikaner and African nationalism and much of the political landscape we have today.
As most of the people who were being held in the camps were women and children, Meiring argues that the treatment of women during this colonial war has contributed to a culture in South Africa of courageous and outspoken women within all communities who have substantially influenced the life of the nation.
Against the Tide is Jane Meiring’s last book. She died in 2005 and Chris Barron, in her obituary in the Sunday Times, noted the prolific work of this former Rhodian.
In addition to novels, short stories, radio plays and children’s books her major historical books include definitive works on Thomas Pringle, Francois Le Vailliant (The Truth in Masquerade) and the the Sundays River Valley.
At the time she was diagnosed as having terminal cancer, Meiring had a nearly completed manuscript for Against the Tide.
She passed the project onto her sister Dr Elizabeth Rose, also an old Rhodian, who arrived from the USA a week before her death.
They had a short time to go through the text together and hand over the task of bringing the book to press. Dr Rose is a medical scientist who led the oesophageal cancer research project in the then Transkei and pioneered the scientific importance of ethnobotany and herbal medicine in traditional cultures.
Although widely published in this field, she was not a historian so completing her sister’s book has taken some time and dedication. It was finally published late last year.
Jane and Elizabeth both lived in the Eastern Cape most of their lives. They were both old Rhodians who grew up in the Sundays River Valley and attended school in Port Elizabeth.
Much of their work has been focussed on the life and culture of this province. Although published in the United States for a mainly external audience, Against the Tide contains many stories and anecdotes told by women during the war which are not well known and makes for some fascinating reading.
For many South Africans it is a topic and period that has been largely neglected, and which we do at our peril.
The book is both timely (the 110th anniversary of the first concentration camps) and a good read, with a refreshing view on the timeless role women play in political and armed struggle and especially in this very important period in our history.
Dr Elizabeth Rose is in South Africa for the launch of Against the Tide at the National Arts Festival and was introduced by her nephew, Rhodes Professor Peter Rose at a function last night.
