Pomfret, South Africa

Pomfret, South Africa

Pomfret is a desert town, the site of an old asbestos mine, on the edge of the Kalahari desert in northwest South Africa. Many of its inhabitants are former members of 32 Battalion, also known as Buffalo Battalion. These soldiers were predominantly black Angolans who were used by apartheid South African government to help fight South Africa’s wars in Angola and Namibia and to police the black townships. [cite web
url=http://www.abc.net.au/foreign/content/2005/s1496370.htm
title=South Africa - Pomfret
publisher=
accessdate=2007-01-03 ]

Present

Today the town is described as depressing by those who visit. Injured veterans of war live in squalid circumstances. [cite web
url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3706931.stm
title=South Africa's 'mercenary' village
publisher=BBC News
accessdate=2007-01-03 ]

In 2004, Zimbabwe jailed over 60 mercenaries from Pomfret for one year for suspected involvement in a plot to overthrow the government of Equatorial Guinea. [cite web
url=http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=12253
title=South Africa - Dogs of War Head Home – But They'll Find It's Gone
publisher=
accessdate=2007-01-03 ] Those jailed were poor ex-soldiers and the jailing left their kin grieving. [cite web
url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A48639-2004Sep24?language=printer
title=African Coup Plot Leaves Kin Bereft
publisher=
accessdate=2007-01-03 ]

A new South African law has been passed to bar mercenaries, but some fear that new restrictions could prevent access for people to legitimate security-related work in areas of conflict. [cite web
url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/crossing_continents/4880908.stm
title=South African government as it seeks to stamp out "mercenary" activity
publisher=BBC News
accessdate=2007-01-03 ]

Asbestos mine in Pomfret

The presence of asbestos in the subsoil was the major reason for the creation of the town. Asbestos was mined and used in the motor industry for the making of brake pads, roofing, and water pipes. The mine is now closed, and is a good tourist attraction.

Notes

People aiding Pomfret

* [http://www.32battalion.net 32 Battalion Veteran Association]
* [http://www.pcsg-web.org Pomfret Christian Support Group **Off line**]
* [http://www.godwithus-eco.org Emmanuel Christian Orphanages **Off line**]

External links

* [http://www.fallingrain.com/world/SF/1/Pomfret.html Pomfret, South Africa Page - Map]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/africa/3706931.stm Pomfret on BBC (1)]
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/crossing_continents/4880908.stm Pomfret on BBC (2)]
* [http://www.abc.net.au/foreign/content/2005/s1496370.htm abc.net news report]
* [http://www.artthrob.co.za/03oct/images/goldblatt04a.jpgPomfret Asbestos mine]
* [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-1607074,00.html Dogs of War Go Home]
* [http://www.earthscienceworld.org/images/search/results.html?Keyword=South%20Africa Photos from Earth Science]
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBdw5TvmJf0 Pomfret-related documentary on YouTube] South Africa- The Buffalo Soldiers (by Journeyman Pictures)
* [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJF4pkBn3aA Pomfret-related documentary on YouTube] Mercenary Town - South Africa (by Journeyman Pictures)


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • 32 Battalion (South Africa) — 32 Battalion (sometimes nicknamed Buffalo Battalion or Os Terríveis Portuguese for The Terrible Ones ) was a highly decorated special infantry battalion of the South African Army, composed of black and white officers and NCO s. It was disbanded… …   Wikipedia

  • Pomfret (disambiguation) — Pomfret can refer to several things, including:* Pomfret, a breed of fish * Pomfret School in ConnecticutPeople: * John Pomfret, English 17th century poet and clergyman * John Pomfret (journalist), formerly The Washington Post ’s bureau chief in… …   Wikipedia

  • Silver or White Pomfret — Taxobox name = Silver or White Pomfret image width = 240px image caption = Silver Pomfret, Pampus argenteus regnum = Animalia phylum = Chordata classis = Actinopterygii ordo = Perciformes familia = Stromateidae genus = Pampus species = P.… …   Wikipedia

  • FAPQ — ICAO Airportcode f. Pomfret (South Africa) …   Acronyms

  • FAPQ — ICAO Airportcode f. Pomfret ( South Africa) …   Acronyms von A bis Z

  • \@Vampire Mythology: Bibliography —   [↑] @Vampire Mythology   Abbott, George Frederick. Macedonian Folklore. Cambridge, MA: University Press, 1903. Abrahams, Roger D. The ManofWords in the West Indies: Performance and the Emergence of Creole Culture. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins… …   Encyclopedia of vampire mythology

  • List of boarding schools — This list includes boarding schools offering a curriculum in English and other languages:AfricaZambia*Canisius Secondary School *Chengelo School *Musikili Primary SchoolGhana*Opoku Ware School *Prempeh College *Wesley Girls High School *presby… …   Wikipedia

  • Foreign relations of the People's Republic of China — Diplomatic relations between world states and People s Republic of China   People s Republic of China …   Wikipedia

  • perciform — ▪ fish order Introduction       any member of the order Perciformes, a group of bony fishes with more than 6,000 species placed in about 150 families. The order is the largest group of fishes in the world today. Perciform fishes occur in… …   Universalium

  • Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 — Tiananmen Square as seen from the Tiananmen Gate in 2004. The Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, also known as the June Fourth Incident in Chinese[1] (in part to avoid confusion with two prior Tiananmen Square protests), were a series o …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”