The Heart Of Redness

At times, classifying someone or something as foreign is straight forward, but at other times it is more nuanced. The first John Dalton who came with the British invaders in the mid-1800’s was clearly foreign. But now that five generations of Daltons have made their home in Qolorha, the foreignness of the John Dalton of post-apartheid South Africa is less clear-cut. At a party of British emigrants who are planning to leave the country now that the country is run by a “black-dominated government” (140), Dalton challenges their connection to the land: “Whenever there is any problem in this country you threaten to leave. You are only here for what you can get out of this country” (140). In turn, the emigrants call out Dalton’s own sense of belonging: “You are not a native, John. You may think you are, but you are not” (140). To Dalton, the 150 years his family spent in the country grants him the status of belonging: “I am staying here […] I am not joining your chicken run. This is my land. I belong here. It is the land of my forefathers” (139). The issue that Dalton tries to avoid is how it became “his” land, and he does not want to address the measures his forefathers took to secure the land nor whomever they displaced.