Special Report Transcript Episode 59, Section 1, Time 00:38

These are scenes of white South Africa at war in Angola. For more than 15 years the South African Defence Force and police fought wars in Zimbabwe, Namibia, Angola and Mozambique. Namibia was a South African colony that had to be protected from its liberation movement, SWAPO. Angola was the first line of defence and had a Marxist government. The South Africans killed tens of thousands of soldiers and civilians and many thousands of them were killed or maimed. Most of the dead or wounded were young, white men who were not asked whether they wanted to go to war. If you were male, white and over 18 you had no choice, it was called ‘going to the border.’ Most of them probably did not question the political and religious leaders who said it was their duty to defend their country against the foreign terrorist onslaught. Some did question it and paid a heavy price for refusing to serve. The young people who died in these wars could be buried. The wounded could be treated. Tonight we bring you a special documentary on those men who came back with scars that did not heal, scars of the mind; scars of the soul. The Americans called it Vietnam syndrome; South African soldiers called it ‘bossies,’ psychologists called it post traumatic stress disorder. When we look back at our past and remember the victims and survivors we also need to remember the men whose lives were changed forever by wars that only served politicians.

Notes: Max du Preez

References: there are no references for this transcript