Featured Image Credit: Getty Images/WIKUS DE WET
Topics: Racism, World News, Africa, History
Liv Bridge
Topics: Racism, World News, Africa, History
A filmmaker has lifted the lid on what life is like inside a 'whites-only' neighborhood.
Just an hour's drive from Johannesburg, South Africa, sits a strange, exclusionary community known as Kleinfontein.
The area is home to around 1,000 residents, as well as a bank, school and shopping center.
As cosy as it may seem, there are strict criteria when it comes to taking up residency in the town.
Advert
Residents must be Protestant Christians, speak Afrikaans, be descendants of Voortrekkers...and be white.
Now, documentary maker Ben Zand has revealed exactly what goes on behind the closed gates as part of his YouTube series, Human.
It was no small feat for Zand, as a mixed-race British-Iranian man, but he said he felt compelled to investigate what goes on there.
He found out the town was formed in 1992, two years after racial segregation ended in the country under its first black president, Nelson Mandela.
Yet shockingly, though perhaps unsurprisingly, Kleinfontein proudly displays a monument of former Prime Minister Hendrik Frensch Verwoerd, nicknamed the 'father of apartheid.'
Despite the town's appearance suggesting otherwise, the town's spokesman, Ben Geldenhuys, insisted that their existence is 'not a racist thing'.
"There was nothing wrong 300 years ago when the Germans lived by themselves, or the Franks lived by themselves, but now it’s a problem as somebody decided that multiculturalism is the way to go," he said to Zand.
"The people who want to integrate, let them, and the people who don’t, let them."
However, the promise of permitting people to integrate stopped short at Zand himself, who was told he would probably be refused the chance to settle permanently there if he ever asked.
Almost immediately after arriving, a resident told him that he wouldn't 'fit in'.
Although an arguably frosty start, the YouTuber later said he was surprised by the 'insanely welcoming' nature of the residents who gave him a tour.
"They were so excited that I was there, and kept saying to me that they felt misunderstood. They think they’re right, but they just haven’t been heard yet," he explained to The Metro.
"They were nice to me, because they probably wanted me to cover them nicely, and also, people find it very difficult to be horrible, even if they’re a complete racist, when one-on-one."
Zand still said he felt uneasy, especially as the residents dubbed him the 'Prince of Persia.'
"I laughed it off, and Ben said, 'No, I looked you up and your great-great-grandfather was the king,'" Zand said. "I have never even said that publicly. It’s something my family think is the case, but they don’t know for sure. I Googled it afterwards, and you can’t find the link, which makes it even crazier."
Zand was also subjected to some other wild remarks - like asking if he drank alcohol under the assumption that he was Muslim.
Still, Zand said he learnt from the experience, concluding that it reminded him that the 'thing that makes us fantastic is that we create communities and love one another.'
"In Kleinfontein, they were so protective and kind to each other. They’ve created a well-functioning area, and the collectivism is such that they all contribute money to fund the schools and hospitals.
"There’s a lot that can be learned, like if you work together, you can do great things. But that has a darker side, as by caring for themselves, they’ve banded together against other people whom they hate. We need a sense of identity that goes beyond our race and culture, as people on Earth."