It is hell on earth for white farmers along the borders of South Africa:

It is hell on earth for white farmers along the borders of South Africa. Afrikaans article It is hell on earth for white Free State farmers along the Lesotho-border: "the neighbours'criminal gangs have declared war on us' Voilksblad, Sept 3 2013 - "For many of the white farmers along the borders of Lesotho it feels as if war has been declared on them by Lesotho's criminal gangs'. And that feeling is reality, says Douglas McDonald, owner of a guest farm and the manegerie Lions' Rest near Ficksburg. His farm has been torhced nine years last year. He says farmers live in a constant state of fear for their loved ones because they have to rush out to douse nightly fires started on their farms, they suspect by Lesotho criminal gangs."The women and children are defenceless while we have to rush out to fight the fires and they are alone at night,' said McDonald. Five of his prized stud horses - amongst them a foal worth R2million - have already been stolen and chased across the Caledon River into Lesotho. He uses the horses for show-jumping competitions. And in the latest incident his German shephard Zak disappeared without a trace while Mcdonald was fighting a fire on Saturday in the early morning hours. He suspects that Zak was stolen- but the animal escaped and came home. Neighbouring farm-manager Castell Musgrave says he has the same problems at the farm he runs over the past two weeks: arson and theft. He suspects that the farm is being targeted out of revenge. A while back he had taken 11 unknown animals which did not belong on the farm, to the animal pound in Ladybrand. His chickens and tools also were robbed while he was fighting a fire: and his girlfriend was alone at home. This past weekend the farm was torched again and the runaway fire spread amongst the workers' houses, torching some of their chickens: 'I feared for the lives of the workers', he said. Musgrave has lodged two formal complaints with the police but says the SAPS and the SANDF can only patrol the borders effectively with more manpower and 'a lot less broken vehicles'. He said while the border-road is in 'driveable condition' - his farm borders the Caledon River -- the SANDF 'hardly ever patrols it'. Quoted was Free State Agriculture and Agri-SA's rural security committee chairman Kobus Breytenbach as saying that 'we will be raising the issue of the maintenance of the border road end September with the National Department of Public Works. He said the agreement between Free State Agriculture and 'several national roads departments conformed by the Free State High Court last year, has designated the National Dept of Public Works as the responsible party for the road's maintenance - and he's unhappy about their 'slow progress'. Until there's a road, Free State Agriculture cannot put up a fence - which is their responsibility. he says they have 'sympathy with the border farmers but they have to report these problems to Free State Agriculture'. http://www.volksblad.com/nuus/2013-09-03-hel-op-aarde-vir-boere-by-grens http://www.volksblad.com/nuus/2013-09-03-hel-op-aarde-vir-boere-by-grens