Who Was Lizzie Van Zyl

Who was Lizzie Van Zyl? A small girl stands on Woodcock Bridge Pointing at her reflection in the water. The glint from the sun, and a cold wind, Distorts a distant memory of gold, and places long forgotten. For the bridge and the girl are forever linked The bricks paid for with the blood of babes The mortar mixed with innocence and suffering For this little girl is Lizzie Van Zyl Once a happy child, taken from her farm Through tears, saw her house destroyed and livestock slaughtered Even her beloved dog. Taken to sleep on the ground, slowly starved And left to winters kill. Her last comfort a pile of rags to die on Her last words “Mother, Mother, I want to go to my Mother” Thrown into a pit, To join a multitude of innocents, in the name of progress Bloemfontein killed with deliberate neglect, And the bullet killed her father at Woodcock. Another victory for empires glory Lizzie’s crime was her fathers, for he wanted freedom, Democracy, and a future for his family But Greed and empire gave birth to new words For here the Concentration Camp came to be, Propaganda too, A world kept secret from prying eyes. But Secrets come out and greed fuels the beast Bloemfontein gave birth to Auschwitz, Dachau, Treblinka, Oh and so many more, Different lands, same outcome An Oasis for Evil, A place where the dark side of humanity can live. A haunting realisation too, That England, has tarnished the code of chivalry, And brought shame to the flag. Little Lizzie still Stands on the bridge Her reflection is still pointing, not at herself But at you and me For it is we who did this, and it is we who will do it again, So glance at your wedding band For the glint might just blind you to its past, And pray that Lizzie does not become your daughter. Quote from a Journalist Cowardice of the most loathsome cure on earth - the act of striking at a brave man's heart through his wife's honour and his child's life." Footnote to the write This write is about the Boer war and the tactics that the British used to achieve victory LizzieVan Zyl was seen by Emily Hobhouse just before she died. Her memoirs reveal the conditions that Lizzie was subjected to. The atrocities committed in South Africa were kept secret from the British public. As a result the final victory led to Bridges being named after engagements such as Woodcock and Ladysmith. England is littered with place names, linked to battles. Perhaps place names where you live have a surprising story to tell.