The great white
trek to Paraguay

SOUTH AFRICANS

Some 30 conservative South African farming families fled the 'rainbow nation' for Paraguay, where crime has proved non-existent -- but back-breaking work hasn't yet brought dividends, writes ALAN GIGNOUX

"MOST people are here because they thought South Africa was going to burn. I am here because it did not," said a newcomer to South Africa's 30-family community in Caaguazu, eastern Paraguay.

"De Klerk sold out his country"; "We did not even give them a fight"; "It is better that my grandchildren are Paraguayan" are some of the comments from the more conservative members of this new exile community.

The Kruger family came to Paraguay to escape crime. Jacs Kruger hope to provide a better future for his son Johan (below) on his cattle farm near Caaguazu

For some of them, racism played a part in their decision to leave South Africa -- but so did crime, economic factors and concern about the future of their families. Most of them have not succeeded in their adopted country. Most merely survive and some, after bad business deals, have had to leave Paraguay penniless.

In 1978, on a visit to South Africa, then-Paraguayan leader General Alfredo Stroessner was impressed by the success of South African farmers. The Paraguayan agricultural sector was in a slump, and Stroessner invited South African farmers to settle in his country and help to revive it.

Caaguazu, situated halfway between Brazil and Paraguay's capital Asuncion, has much in common with Africa. Uncultivated land is thick with bush, similar to the Northern Cape. Its cultivated rolling green fields could pass for KwaZulu-Natal. "It is a hard land to succeed in. You need a lot of start-up capital and hard work in order to make it. And once you have paid your $700/ha, the land is yours forever. Resale is impossible," said Hannes van der Walt, an adventurous farmer.

Van der Walt had been making a living in South Africa turning around unprofitable farms and selling them at a profit when he heard about Paraguay. A portly man with tanned, leathery skin testifying to his rugged life, he saw a new challenge -- an opportunity not to be missed.

Six years ago, they went to Paraguay. Van der Walt, his wife Stella and son Phillip immediately set to work to clear the untouched bush and build a family home. In South Africa, they had grown vegetables but without enough rainfall in Caaguazu to make that viable, they decided to raise cattle.

Last year they were joined by their daughter Charmaine and son-in-law Robert who are expecting their first child. A city slicker, Robert is now responsible for rounding up cattle on horseback for slaughter. He also has to assist in their slaughter.

Van der Walt was not only lured by adventure but also by low taxation and high interest rates. "How can you beat 10% taxes and interest rates given by Paraguayan banks at 26% per annum?"

With an emigration allowance of R250 000, few can afford to live even modestly without working. Most have to start a business of some sort, as jobs are practically non-existent.

It was crime that impelled Jacs Kruger to leave his family farm in Heidelberg. He began looking for somewhere to settle after surviving an attack which left a bullet lodged in his father-in-law's head. Kruger could not qualify to emigrate to Canada or Australia, so he decided to come to Paraguay and raise dairy cattle. Crime is virtually non-existent in his adopted country. He has no bars on his windows and his dogs are pets, not protectors. The last murder in Caaguaza was more than two years ago and in the three years Kruger has been there he has lost only four cows, fewer than he would lose in a month in South Africa.

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Kruger's main problem is distribution. Only a dirt road leads to his farm and pasteurisation facilities do not exist. He survives by selling milk door-to-door. "I want a better future for my children where they can walk the streets without fear and not have to feel guilty about the past," he said.

Heinie Zietsman has a container in his backyard full of Simba chips and doughnuts, all that's left of his failed attempt to open a store in Caaguazu. He's a dairy farmer now.

Zietsman's advice to newcomers: "Visit two or three times before making the final decision. Sit for six months before making any business decisions. Watch what is going on around you -- and before you leave South Africa, learn Spanish."

One of the first arrivals in Caaguazu were the Spannenberg family. Eleven years ago, tired of the weather in England and not ready to move back to South Africa, they were looking for another challenge. After watching a Paraguayan promotional film, they decided to come and see for themselves. The Copelands sawmill on the main road, Ruta Siete, was the challenge they found. Today they export furniture components to the US.

Johan Spannenberg's only complaint is a lack of commitment to quality. "Paraguayans do not see quality as important. This is a problem for the North American market, where quality is everything. And technology is many years behind. Sometimes the telephones don't work."

The Spannenbergs' son is a Paraguayan drag car champion, and married to a local woman.

The Hamilton family came to Paraguay with a dream of starting an ostrich farm, chalets and a crocodile farm. They have had to settle for ownership of the Apache restaurant. Business is slow, but a small profit can be made.

"You cannot become rich here, but if you want to live in peace and tranquillity, Paraguay is an ideal place," said John Hamilton. They have a half-Paraguayan grandchild and another on the way.

Las Palmas Hotel sits justs off Ruta Siete. In his previous life, owner Johan Strauss was a carpet salesman in Randburg. At his other hotel down the road, used by locals for illicit relationships, business is booming. On any given day, by 11am, more than 20 couples have passed through Strauss's doors, paying $25 for an hour of discretion.

Four years ago, realising they would not qualify for emigration to Canada, Strauss and his family arrived in Paraguay. As Strauss puts it: "It's the poor man's option."

The recipe for success for Strauss and the Spannenbergs is to do something the Paraguayans cannot do. Don't try to compete with Paraguayans; their margins are too low. And don't open a business that attracts people with disposable income -- there are very few of them.

Unlike other ethnic communities across the world, the South Africans in Paraguay are far from unified. In some instances, they have even tried to sabotage each other. South Africans have been known to sell stolen cars to other South Africans, knowing full well that if the police found the car, it would be confiscated.

However, efforts have been made to build some sort of community. The Afrikaanse Protestantse Kerk was established but bickering and jealousy soon thinned out the congregation. One church member was asked to leave because he had a Paraguayan girlfriend. As he so eloquently put it: "I do not need to go through Bloemfontein to reach God."

The next generation will be the ones that truly prosper. Strauss's children speak Spanish and some Guarani, the local Indian language. Eventually South Africa and Afrikaans will be only a memory.

Most people have cut their ties and have made Paraguay home. A few receive newspaper cuttings from relatives and even fewer return to South Africa for the occasional visit. Not one of them went to Argentina when the South African rugby squad played there last year.

Most want South Africa to prosper and respect President Nelson Mandela. However, they do not want to be part of the rainbow nation, preferring to deal with the corruption, lack of infrastructure and cultural differences in Paraguay. Most just want to enjoy the peaceful life here.

Their mark has been made. As one taxi driver commented: "We Paraguayans need to learn to work the way the South Africans do." -- Mail&Guardian, January 19, 1998.