Abstract
The resettlement of 372 San (Bushmen) soldiers with dependents from 31/201 and 203 Battalions in Namibia to Schmidtsdrift in the Northern Cape during March 1990 was the last chapter in the process of militarisation of the !Xun and Khwe communities. However, there is a popular perception that the South African Defence Force (SADF) was primarily responsible for the militarisation of this particular San community, with the founding of 31 Battalion during 1974. This ignores the fact that the !Xun and Khwe originated in Angola, where they were actively involved with the Portuguese security forces. With one exception, only superficial mention is made in the literature about the role of the San soldiers in Angola before independence in November 1975. This article shows that the militarisation of the San actually started in 1966, when members of the !Xun were recruited by the Portuguese Security Police (PIDE) and successfully used against the Angolan liberation movements MPLA, FNLA and UNITA. The lifestyle of the San before the PIDE era is discussed, as is the period in which they were raised to a superior status as flecha fighters. This period of military prowess ended with the independence of Angola and resulted in the !Xun and Khwe seeking refuge with the SADF. These geo-political events led to the founding of 31 Battalion, situated in the Western Caprivi, where former flecha soldiers were retrained and incorporated into SADF structures. In closing, brief mention is made of the resettlement of the !Xun and Khwe to Schmidtsdrift in South Africa.
Highlights
The resettlement of 372 San (Bushmen) soldiers with dependents from 31/201 and 203 Battalions in Namibia to Schmidtsdrift in the Northern Cape during March 1990 was the last chapter in the process of militarisation of the !Xun and Khwe communities
The terms “Bushman”, originally “Bosjesman” (Dutch for “the man from the bush”, capturing the idea of elusiveness) and “San”, which derived from the KhoeKhoegowab term Sa, meaning “to gather”, are both used in documents and literature to refer to the !Xun and Khwe collectively
This article will show that the militarisation of the San of Platfontein started as early as 1966, when elements of the !Xun, at that stage residing in the Cuando Cubango province in the vicinity of Serpa Pinto (Menongue) in Angola, were recruited by PIDE13 and utilised with great success in counter-insurgency against the Angolan freedom movements, the MPLA, FNLA and UNITA.14
Summary
“The San of Platfontein” is the collective name for the !Xun and Khwe Bushman communities currently residing in a settlement on the farm Platfontein, approximately 10 kilometres north-west of Kimberley. The relocation of 372 !Xun and Khwe soldiers and their dependants, a total of 3 919 people, during March 1990 from Omega in the Western Caprivi (the Zambezi region of Namibia) and Mangetti Dune in Bushmanland, Namibia, to Schmidtsdrift in the Republic of South Africa at an estimated cost of R3 165 500, was the last chapter in the militarisation of the Platfontein San – a process during which they were subjected to several forms of militarisation over a period of about 16 years.5 These soldiers were part of 31/201 Battalion at Omega and 203 Battalion in Bushmanland which served actively in counter-insurgency operations (coinops) during the border war. This article will show that the militarisation of the San of Platfontein started as early as 1966, when elements of the !Xun, at that stage residing in the Cuando Cubango province in the vicinity of Serpa Pinto (Menongue) in Angola, were recruited by PIDE13 (the Portuguese International Police for Defence of the State) and utilised with great success in counter-insurgency against the Angolan freedom movements, the MPLA, FNLA and UNITA.. They could not sleep nor make a fire, because there was always a poisoned arrow looking for them.” Cardoso deemed Cuando Cubango not a “healthy” place for freedom fighters65 – a credible assertion, taking into consideration that by 1968 about 600 flechas were operating in the province, 100 stationed at the PIDE headquarters in Serpa Pinto (Menongue) and 50 flechas each at the PIDE stations, namely Caiundu, Cuangar, Calai, Dirico, Mucusso, Rivungu, Mavinga and Cuito Cuanavale.
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