Pomfret is a desert town, the site of an old

asbestos Asbestos () is a naturally occurring fibrous silicate mineral. There are six types, all of which are composed of long and thin fibrous crystals, each fibre being composed of many microscopic "fibrils" that can be released into the atmosphere b ...

mine, on the edge of the

Kalahari desert The Kalahari Desert is a large semi-arid sandy savanna in Southern Africa extending for , covering much of Botswana, and parts of Namibia and South Africa. It is not to be confused with the Angolan, Namibian, and South African Namib coastal de ...

in northwest

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. It was the administrative centre of

Molopo Local Municipality Molopo Local Municipality was a local municipality in Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati District Municipality, North West Province, South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost co ...

before 18 May 2011, when the municipality merged with Kagisano to form the Kagisano–Molopo Local Municipality. Many of its inhabitants are former members of 32 Battalion, also known as Buffalo Battalion. These ex-soldiers were predominantly Portuguese-speaking

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

ns who fought on the South African government side in

Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...

and

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

, and after the end of the

South African Border War The South African Border War, also known as the Namibian War of Independence, and sometimes denoted in South Africa as the Angolan Bush War, was a largely asymmetric conflict that occurred in Namibia (then South West Africa), Zambia, and Angol ...

to police the

black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

township A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Ca ...

s. The community remains largely Portuguese-speaking.

Present day

Today the town is described as depressing by those who visit. Injured 32 Battalion veterans of war live in squalid circumstances. In 2004, 60 mercenaries from Pomfret were recruited to take part in an attempted coup against the government of Equatorial Guinea, known as the Wonga coup. They were jailed for one year for their suspected involvement. A 2009 documentary film recorded South African

mercenaries A mercenary, sometimes also known as a soldier of fortune or hired gun, is a private individual, particularly a soldier, that joins a military conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any o ...

describing how Pomfret was a place to recruit cheap labor for mercenary activities.''Once Upon a Coup'',

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

Documentary, August 2009, https://www.pbs.org/wnet/wideangle/episodes/once-upon-a-coup/full-episode/?p=5496

Asbestos mine in Pomfret

The presence of

in the subsoil was the major reason for the creation of the town. Asbestos was mined and used in the motor industry for the making of brake pads, roofing, and water pipes. The mine is now closed, and is a tourist attraction.

References

External links

Pomfret on BBC (1)Pomfret on BBC (2)Pomfret-related documentary on YouTube
"South Africa - The Buffalo Soldiers", Journeyman Pictures
Pomfret-related documentary on YouTube
"Mercenary Town - South Africa", Journeyman Pictures
32 Battalion Veteran Association
{{Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati District Municipality Populated places in the Kagisano-Molopo Local Municipality