Foro Militar General

The scene is somewhere in the eastern Free State where the sun burns down on a bare and merciless landscape. This is not a vast expanse; the hills and ridges can offer shelter but could also be obstacles if quick movement becomes necessary. The small stream offers refreshment.

Of the three Boers on the scene, two are still sitting on their horse and the third is looking at a fatally wounded soldier. What happened here and who is the dying soldier? Did they kill him or did they come across the scene?

One of the Boers remains in the saddle and stares ahead of him, but he also stares fixedly at the hill in front of him. Is he perhaps expecting something or does he just not want to look back any longer? Could he be thinking that the dead should look after themselves? Is he avoiding his own memories by not looking at the scene? Is it that he has already seen enough wounded and dead? Is he perhaps the one who fired the fatal shot? Or are the Boers perhaps a target for hidden enemy troops?

The other Boer is looking around to where his comrade is standing next to the wounded, dying body. Is he thinking about how many people still have to die in this war? Is the compassion he is showing for the wounded soldier or for his friend standing with a slightly bowed head in front of the dying man?

The Boer has taken off his hat as a tribute to the wounded man. His rifle is still at his side. Is he there to watch the wounded die or does he have to save the man from his suffering by firing a fatal shot? Does the moment force him to repent? Is he thinking about how fragile mankind is? Is he thinking about transience, about the futility of violence?

Who is the wounded man? Is he a member of the British troops who came up against the Boers because he was isolated from his comrades or was he a supporter of the Boers – a German or a Dutchman or perhaps an Irishman – hit by a sniper? After all, there is ample opportunity for such an attack behind the rough hills and ridges, particularly because the sharp and angular stony landscape suggests aggression, being almost partially toothed.

The scene evokes many questions within the onlooker: will the three Boers just ride away and leave the wounded man behind and will there be a grave for him – marked or unmarked – to record his presence in this land?

Amanda Botha

Two fighters are fleeing for their lives: possibly an Australian, who was called up to fight on the British side, and a black man. Like the Boers, they are fighting without a distinctive uniform. They are at the mercy of the two Boer soldiers who are pursuing them on horseback. Were they driven from their shelter and pursued? Or were they perhaps caught red-handed in a sabotage attempt?

Were they, like the Boers, also on horseback and forced to leave the horses behind, or were the horses shot from underneath them? Now they are dependent only on their physical power to escape from their pursuers. The inhospitable landscape forces each to follow his own way. For the one it is an unfamiliar world wherein he does not recognize anything of his own while the other is a fugitive in his own motherland. But are they actually feeling threatened by the landscape? Now it is only about survival.

Are the Boers perhaps offering them an opportunity to escape pursuit, hoping that military information can be gained about where their comrades are hiding?

The black man, like many of his compatriots, was pulled into the war effort by both Boer and Brit. Is he perhaps only participating in a quest for personal survival? Does it matter to him on which side of the war he is? Are there thoughts around loyalties and a future waiting after the end of the war?

He is like many other black people – men, women and children – disrupted by a war that does not affect them directly. What would their future or fate be afterwards and is he thinking about this? Or does he realise that he is possibly only a number in the statistics of war? Where is his place in this country of grasslands, hills and mountains where he was born?

The Australian was called up to fight on the side of the British Empire as its subject. He is an insignificant speck against the mercilessness of this vast land which is unfamiliar to him. Can he maintain himself here? Is war an adventure for him? Will it still be like that when he is hunted by armed Boer fighters? He has to run uphill, which can indicate the effort that flight demands of him. There is aversion on his face which could point to thoughts of deeds with which he cannot reconcile himself. Is he merely exploited for the sake of political power games against which he is defenceless? Or would he just want to escape, if he could, to return to his home and his people?

The Boer soldiers have the upper hand here. Are they waiting before they finally strike? Or are they feeling in control? Are they waiting for the right moment to strike and shoot the fugitives? Is there perhaps doubt somewhere that in desperate circumstances like these mercy could be shown by capturing them as prisoners?

Amanda Botha

At daybreak, the young man departs to join his commando. He is ready to fight for the honour of the Boers and the preservation of the land, as he is dreaming about a future on his farm with the woman he loves.

The young girl, his fiancée or the wife he has just married, supports him although she tears herself away from him with much effort. She shares his dreams of a joint venture of peace and prosperity which she must cling to in the midst of the uncertainty that war brings. She knows that this must be her only focus and hope in lonely and difficult times.

After his departure she is alone with other women and children whose fate is also uncertain. For how long can they last and cope on their own? Will they able to stay together to give each other mutual support and encouragement in hours of longing and in times of need? Is there a guarantee that they will be united again? Faith must wipe out the doubt.

She knows that everything will change with his departure. Her mood is somber and heavy. Does she consider that this farewell could be the last one? Is this the reason for the passionate farewells of the beloveds? The beauty of the young bodies is subtly emphasised, the body language intimate and sensual, especially signified by the placing of the hands. It seems as if this moment is suspended in time, as if the artist consciously attempts to capture the silence and intensify it. This is a love that could only be separated by death. The posture and eyes of the horse indicate a sympathetic energy, along with the windmill which prominently compliments the scene. Like this, the love in their hearts will endure, as if fed from a source deep in the earth, in the midst of worry and the passage of time.

The young woman can only persevere by clinging to the expectation that they will be united again to work together at realising their dreams. Would there however be an unarticulated knowledge that war could suspend such expectations? Will he and she steadfastly cling to the threefold of faith, hope and love?

Amanda Botha

El Luisma escribió:su secuaz de la peña del geriátrico

está absolutamente reluctante

Three Chinooks picking up Afghan, British and US troops with covering AH Apaches.

Mk9A Lynx supporting ground troops.

AH Apaches supporting ground troops.

Call sign for US troops ‘Guardian’ and for the USAF HH-60 Helicopter ‘Pedro’.

RAF Chinooks supporting ground troops.

reytuerto escribió:Es que hay pocos que sean agraciados (y eso, agraciados es una palabra que les queda grande). Recuerda VM en antecesor pérfido del L85, aquel con una bala diminuta? Ese era un poco mas pasable!