Residents from the Tweefontein Village continue to deal with the aftermath of a tragedy that claimed the lives of three sisters who passed on after they attempted to save their family’s livestock.

The fire, which tore through the grazing land of the communal farmland that stretches over 700,000 hectares, left the farmers who depend on their livestock for survival with tremendous pain and despair.

Bloemfontein Courant visited some of the villagers to find out how this tragedy has affected their sustainability since 18 August. It appeared evident that, although the rains had begun, providing some relief, the damage to the land and the village’s spirit remained visible. Greenhouses for community projects were engulfed by the fire, while other animals had to be culled due to their bad condition.

Lucia Fusi, who has been farming for over 30 years, exclaimed that the trauma she experienced will forever remain with her despite receiving counselling at the Tweefontein Clinic. Two of her cattle died, and eight sheep.

“It is a natural disaster and there is no one that we can blame, we just need feed for the surviving livestock and assistance when there are veld fires that get out of control. I hope that things will get better in time,” she said.

Another farmer, Benedict Phandliwe, who lost one of his herd of 36 cows, said his surviving livestock had suffered excruciating pain as a result of the fire. Some have lost weight, while others have run away.

Abraham Motaung also added that they are grateful to the neighbouring villagers who assisted and came to their aid.

Their account of events and loss is but the starting point to the tragic loss the community faced.

The eldest brother of the three heroic sisters who passed on days after the fire broke out, told the publication that farming has always been in their family.

Thabiso Setlofane said veld fires are not something new in the village. They have been happening for many years but this time around something was different. He mentioned that farmers from surrounding areas came to assist, but things have changed as most wanted to protect their premises – a culture he said has changed over the years.

Setlofane was not present on the day the fire broke out, but he recalled the events of the day as it was explained to him.

“My sisters tried to push the livestock away from the fire, and as I mentioned before, the fire was not behaving as we are normally used to. They normally moved the livestock in that way when there was a fire. They were trapped in the fire and someone called my stepfather to assist, and that is when he got trapped as well. Due to our bad roads, the ambulance did not get to them in time. They inhaled smoke, and we had to hire a bakkie to take them to the ambulance,” he expressed.

He said that firestops and fire safety training during the fire season would be of great help to them. “People have a mentality that tells them that burning grass will produce grass for grazing at a faster pace. I think education and a temporary fire station on standby for a fire will assist because there is nothing we can do. It can start far from us, but it will get to us,” he pleaded.

The family had no loss of livestock, as a result of Maria, Vivicious and Winnie who managed to lead the animals to safety.

His cousin, Itumeleng Modise, an animal scientist, said that as the land was burnt down by the fire, there is not much left for grazing as the farmers depend on pastures because they cannot afford feed and supplements for their livestock.

“It is a tragedy in this community. It takes time for firefighters and emergency services to reach this area. If we can get help to assist, that is close by, we might suffer fewer losses. Our government should intervene faster. They can put a few strategies in place, like feed banks, cutting the grass and processing it into bales to establish the feed banks and also providing counselling for farmers who have suffered losses,” he said.

Community members are now left to rebuild with the hope that someone will help them in the wake of one of the most devastating fires the area has seen in years.

Gypseenia Lion
gypseenia@mahareng.co.za