Ernst Roets is the former deputy CEO of AfriForum and was the Head of Policy at Solidarity.

AfriForum and Solidarity are separate but interconnected South African organisations, each serving a different purpose but with a broader strategy aimed at strengthening everything to do with Afrikaners, such as language, traditions, heritage and so on.

• AfriForum: This is a civil rights organisation and, I believe, the largest below the equator. AfriForum fights for the rights of Afrikaners and, by extension, minority groups in South Africa.
• Solidarity: This is a trade union of sorts and, as you'd expect, focused on looking after the interests of its members in the workplace. Solidarity deals with stuff like labour rights, fair wages and working conditions.
• Solidarity movement: Although a bit abstract, this is Solidarity's and AfriForum's overarching set of ideas, goals and policies encompassing the preservation of Afrikanerdom. It's sort of a blueprint for a parallel society which Solidarity calls 'a network of work'.

The Boers are the toughest and most stubborn race I have ever encountered—unyielding in spirit and fierce intheir independence.

— Winston Churchill

What is an Afrikaner?

Why Trump’s executive order for Afrikaners is misguided

It’s great that the US president acknowledges the attack on Afrikanerdom, but relocating Afrikaners is the wrong strategy.

Jerm WarfareJerm

Generally speaking, Afrikaners are a South African ethnic group primarily descended from 17th-century European settlers (mainly Dutch). The native language is Afrikaans, which sounds a bit like Dutch but has evolved a lot over the centuries.

For example, 'I am an Afrikaner.' in Afrikaans is:

Ek is 'n Afrikaner.

In Dutch, it is:

Ik ben een Afrikaner.

Historically, Afrikaners are associated with the Boers, who emerged from the early settlers who established farms in the Cape Colony, expanding across southern Africa, later to become what is now South Africa.

Afrikaner identity has evolved significantly, particularly during the 20th century when it became linked to nationalism and the political (and widely misunderstood) landscape of apartheid, a system of institutionalised racial segregation that was enforced by the Afrikaner-led National Party.

Without Afrikaners, South Africa would not have become Africa's most advanced country.

Put another way, Afrikaners are very important not just to South Africa but to the world.

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