Earlier this year, the Daily Maverick writer Kristin Engel conducted an interview with Sybil Visagie, a sheep farmer between Sutherland and Calvinia, about the far-reaching impacts of prolonged drought on the Tankwa Karoo.
It formed part of Daily Maverick‘s participation in the Climate Disaster Project, an international initiative coordinated by the University of Victoria in Canada, which compiles testimonies of people who have experienced extreme weather events and climate disasters around the world.
We recently placed a link to a version of Engel’s interview published in the British newspaper The Guardian, which also collaborates with the Climate Disaster Project. Daily Maverick has now placed its own version of the interview, which is richly illustrated with photographs. As such, it provides an important perspective on the impacts of climate change on the Karoo. The article is not behind a paywall. To access it, click here.
‘Road from Hell’
Sybil has also appeared in a Carte Blanche documentary titled ‘Road from Hell’. Aired on 25 August, it focused on the impact of deteriorating roads on sheep farmers in the Northern Cape who are struggling to cope with the drought and its aftermath. Movingly, she says: ‘Dis algemeen bekend dat dit die ergste droogte was in 250 jaar. Dis erger as dood. … Want jy is verantwoordelik nie net vir jou diere nie, maar ook vir jou gesin en vir jou werkers. So dit breek ‘n mens …’
FEATURED IMAGE: Sybil Visagie during her interview with MacFarlane Moleli of Carte Blanche.