Saturday, May 19, 2007

Ex Unitate Vires (POEM IN ENGLISH)







EX UNITATE VIRES (1995)


My Afrikaner Nation, my mother-tongue -

Why in shame our heads now hung?
We still have our pride
but no place of safety to reside.
My people, my country, my Language ....
1 "Eendrag maak mag" we pray with anguish.
-----
9 Apartheid started here?
-----
The Zulu tribe bewitched, deceived
Their white brother murdered - they could not leave.
At Blood River valley no bullets went astray
The battle was won that very Sunday.
A message so clear: 1 "Eendrag maak mag" "don't forget My day".

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How did we honour that message my nation.
In Apartheid we lived in jubilation.
Our children were strong and bright,
The best in the country so pure and white.
We ploughed, we sowed and reaped
With 1 "Eendrag maak mag" our pride ran deep.
-----
The Lord looked down how His nation divide.
Beneath white unity, the truth they did hide.
The Afrikaners prospered with pride,
While black and white separately reside.
We saw not the suffering, suppression and pain,
With 1 "Eendrag maak mag" our whiteness reigned.
-----
High our Babel Tower stood,
To keep church and children white and good
We fought the British the Boers they could not break.
We fought at the borders for safety sake
We sang our Anthem with pride in our chest.
1 "Eendrag maak mag", we were the best.
-----
Slowly the walls of our tower began to crumble
Within our 5 Taal there was an English mumble
We are white too - our English brethren revealed,
With that the fate of 4 Afrikanerdom was sealed.
We 8 praat our 5 Taal, we sang our Anthem and fought our fate
But 1 "Eendrag maak mag" also was to "Unity is Strength" translate.
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Sanctions could not destroy our nation.
We still clung to our slogan in anticipation.
Too little too late we tried to gain order.
We removed the 6 "Whites only" and also the border.
Mandella and De Klerk sounded the hour
while the truth commission stripped our power.
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"Back to the sea the 8 Boer" said our Xhosa brother,
Now the leading nation at the rudder.
Where our pride?, What happened to our 5 Taal?, what to do?
Where can we fly our 7 "Oranaja, Blanja, Blue"?
A new rainbow nation has now begun
Simonye WE ARE ONE!.
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Let's surf the net says the youth of South Africa,
Let's go the England, Australia or America.
There our hope must lie
Who morns when mighty Nations die.
3 !ke e: /xarra //ke was born in pain
2 Ex Unitate Vires, the mountain tops refrain.
-----

Ex Unitate Vires 1997
Translated to English 8-Jan-2007

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  • 1 EENDRAG MAAK MAG = Unity is strength
  • 2 EX UNITATE VIRES = Latin motto as found on the Coat of Arms of the Union of South Africa - meaning Unity is strength
  • 3 !ke e: /xarra //ke + motto on the new South African Coat of Arms, written in the Khoisan language of the /Xam people, literally meaning: diverse people unite
  • 4 Afrikanerdom often refers to the white, Afrikaans speaking South Africans (Afrikaners) although it does not actually refer to the white race only.
  • 5 Taal = Afrikaans for language. The word often refers to the Afrikaans language. (Afrikaans)
  • 6 All public facilities were marked "Whites only" or "Non Whites"
  • 7 Oranja (orange), Blanja (white), Blou (blue) = the colours of the old South African flag.
  • 8 Praat = speak Boer = Afrikaans for farmer
  • 9 Apartheid = Separate development

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Who wrote this poem?

Anonymous said...

The poem was written by Ex Unitate Vires in 1991 or 1992 when the first Afrikaners started to leave the country and South Africa was looking forward to freedom, prosperity and right human relations in the new Rainbow Nation. Sadly, Apartheid changed to National Demographics and BBBBe's when apartheid simply turned from white to black. There are still areas where all people can not safely enter and jobs are still curtailed for white and colored people. There is still only one color that has the freedom of the country.