Border Literature is a genre that emerged in South Africa, gaining prominence between roughly 1980 and 2010. It reflects the experiences of white South Africans grappling with their involvement in the South African border wars from 1970 to 1990. As a conscript during this period and now an author, I share my personal experiences through this genre. Some scholars interpret these works as an attempt by white South Africans to either apologise for or absolve themselves of guilt. I do neither. I simply tell the stories that live in my mind. This is my way of processing a difficult chapter in my life.

In the Military section of this blog, you'll find a few articles within this genre. Additionally, there are two pieces in the Afrikaans section, also part of Border Literature: En Ekke vir Jou and Stoffie. These are written in Afrikaans because the cultural and idiomatic nuances are best captured in the language.

— JFB

I was a soldier once

J. Francois Barnard – September 2016

I was a soldier once
Fighting for a cause
The sense of it all was so clear then
But now I have to pause

military03At what it was we wanted then
At what we got in the end
The stick we used to measure with
Now seems completely bent

To find my identity again
To know who I really am
Is a struggle of the mind I guess
Only to see I am merely a man

A son, husband, brother and father
To those who love me so
I have found the very essence
And it is so good to know

That I was a soldier once
But the fighting is now long gone
I have made peace with all
And righted many wrong!