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Buying that Perfect Small Farm
At the end of my second enlistment in USAF (1976) a recruiter for Rhodesia, a country in Africa just above South Africa, spoke at the base NCO Club about the sale of farm land to foreigners. The deal seemed too good to be true; government financing, low interest rates on equipment purchases, large tracks of superb growing land for different types of farming, and plenty of blonde women eager to start a family. I was sorely tempted, but backed out when I was told that I'd have to serve in the Rhodesian army reserves and go through "basic" all over again. I turned down 1500 acres of wheat farm land.
Fast forward to 3 years ago: a friend of mine who took the offer has lost his farm to the "veterans" who fought for black rule. His farm, over 2000 acres, and all of his finances were given by the (now) black ruled government of Zimbabwe to blacks who knew nothing about farming. He was given the opportunity to work for the new "owners" or leave, so he left behind several dead family members who were killed while farming and returned to America. He works as a photoprocessing technician and for all intents, is a broken man.
The point? Some countries offer great deals to would be farmers. They truly are, too good to be true.
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Buying that Perfect Small Farm
Dear Stephen, the situation there started out with an occasional half-hearted sniping action by the "freedom fighters" or rebels. My friend Glen had completed the mandatory military training, as did his wife and two of his three children, and they were well armed at all times. Glen's favorite weapon was his Belgium FN .308, full auto, his wife always carried an Uzi. But they were farmers, more than soldiers, and with the helicopter born troops being more than 45 minutes away, contacted only by radio because the phones were always out, there wasn't much advance warning when things got more complicated.
As time went on the raids became more organized, with attacks coming at night by twenty or more rebels. They would retreat when fire was returned. Then the rebels switched to day time, and killed workers (blacks) in the fields. The white minority ruled government told Glen to move his family into the nearest town where the army had a presence, they did, and enjoyed safety.
While returning to the farm (with a small military escort), Glen learned that his in-laws' Mercedes was hit by an rpg. Glen's wife's father was killed and her mother died shortly after, they had been supervising the farm workers, they were there because they were well respected by the blacks and felt they would be safe. The army suspected it was the workers who killed them (or allowed them to be) because they feared "necklacing" or being hacked by the rebels. That was hard to take, but the true hardship follwed after the white minority government ceded power to the blacks. Glen was allowed to return to the farm, and kept ownership and operation, until the politicians decided their fate. Danny Glover, the actor from "Lethal Weapon" film fame, and several Afro-American politicians, focused the world's attention on the "injustice" of white rule, and, well, black power has become global power. The rest is the kind of history we don't hear about because of political issues. You can't always "take them with you," sometimes it just doesn't work out that way.
A quick word about the farm. It was magnificent and had all of the industries' best equipment. Years ago, I almost fainted when he told me his new tractor, an MF, cost over $100K (U.S.). Glen farmed wheat and meat, a lucrative combination, and was a millionaire several times over. When he left, he had only the money he was able to wire to Switzerland before the government put a hold on banking: about $200K. He arrived in America with five hundred dollars in his pocket, he wanted to start farming in the US, but couldn't get the credit necessary. Such is life.
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