About South Africans in Austin
A Little History
In 2000 we helped establish a formal club for South Africans living in the
Austin area. At my own expense, I (John Els) created this web site to provide information about club activities
to South Africans in the area, and Esmé Els managed the email. The club existed for about 18
months when it was disbanded due to lack of interest. Since then and still at my own expense, I continued
to maintain the web site and Esmé continued to manage the email.
Today...
The word about this web site has spread over the years as more South Africans moved to the
Austin area. Many contacted Esmé by email and were added to her ever-growing email list. Esmé
usually tries to arrange two braais (barbeques) a year. One is in the Spring and the other in the Fall. The venue
for the last few braais was Mansfield Dam Park near Lakeway. These braais are open to anyone. Esmé sends out
an email notice about social events to everyone on the email list, and I post the event on the
Events page. We also distribute information about social events organized by other
South African groups in Texas.
Disclaimer about the social events
Even though we arrange social events, we do not accept any responsibility whatsoever for
the actions of anybody attending the event, nor do we accept any responsibility for any injuries of any
kind to anyone attending the event. If you or any member of your family do anything that causes any kind of
harm to anyone else at the venue or damages anything at the venue, you are responsible for that. If you or
any member of your family get any injury at the event, you are responsible for that.
A word about racial issues...
Due to South Africa's history, some people love to assume that all white South Africans are
racists. This is ridiculous and simply not true. It is like saying all Germans hate Jewish
people, which is equally ridiculous and untrue. Every once in a while, people who like to look for racism in
everything hurl accusations of racism at this site because they see photos of white people at events. Also,
every once in a while, groups or individuals who promote racial hatred amongst themselves will try to establish
a connection between this web site and their despicable activities by spreading our web address around in their
emails. We distance ourselves completely from these people.
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