New inhabitants learn laws and habits of Orania
It sounds like a script for a society from 200 years ago or more, but it takes place in 2026. It’s happening, in South Africa.
Orania is a small town. It is not officially a “legally whites-only” city, but in practice only white people live there.
It was founded after the end of apartheid in South Africa, more than 30 years ago, by a group of Afrikaners – who wanted to preserve their culture, language and lifestyle.
Afrikaners are a white ethnic group in South Africa, descendants of European settlers (mainly Dutch, German and French) who arrived in the country in the 17th and 18th centuries. They make up about 5% of the population of South Africa.
There is no official law that says “only white people can enter or live here” – but that’s what happens.
Gated condominium
Neighbors consider Orania a den of racism, but residents believe this is the only way to preserve white minority culture.
In this type of gated community, describes the , to live in Orania you must pass – successfully – an interview with a local committee. But there is no record of a black person having tried to obtain a residence permit, at least with the process completed. Because the requirements already exclude anyone who is not white, almost always.
Because the official motto is not “we don’t accept black people” – but rather “we accept those who fit into our culture”. This deviation avoids a direct violation of the law (but creates exclusions nonetheless).
Candidates must speak Afrikaner, respect Afrikaner traditions and be Protestant. They also cannot have a criminal record, nor can they live with a partner without being married.
How it works
The legal basis that the locals evoke is the constitutional right to freedom of association and cultural autonomy in South Africa.
South Africa has one of the strongest constitutions in the world in terms of individual and group rights.
The right to freedom of association means that people can choose with whom they want to live or form communities. Groups create closed communities — as long as they don’t violate explicit laws.
Local Afrikaners also evoke, as already mentioned, cultural rights. They also have an internal model of private property – in practice, anyone who wants to live there needs to be approved by the local community.
History
At the beginning of the 1980s, a water supply system was built in Orania – and the city was left deserted.
Then it went to auction. The Department of Water Resources even tried to transfer Orania to other government agencies, but no one wanted it.
Businessman Jacques Pretorius bought it but the Afrikaners began to raise funds and later bought the city from the businessman.
Some of the empty houses and abandoned buildings had already been occupied by black settlers – but the Afrikaners were forcibly expelling the blacks, sometimes threatening them with dogs.
Orania was officially “reopened” on April 11, 1991.
Day to day
A routine that stands out in the local economy: Orania avoids hiring outside workers (especially black people, which is common in the rest of the country). The locals do everything. There is a strong incentive for local entrepreneurship. It is a place of self-sufficiency.
Orania has a local currency, its own currency, Ora. It only circulates within the city; but serves more as a symbol of autonomy than as an actual economic system
At school, the Afrikaner language is taught. Emphasis is placed on Afrikaner history and culture.
On the political level, a new peculiarity: there is no City Council. Oriana is managed by a private organization, as if it were a private company: residents buy “residence rights”, as if they were shares, a stake in the company. There is a local council that decides who can live there.
It is isolated but has modern internet and infrastructure, as well as solar energy projects
Gray zone
Orania is in a “gray zone”: it is legally defensible (the evocation of individual and cultural rights) but is the target of criticism on a social and moral level (because it reproduces, in practice, racial separation).
Despite this scenario, this regime, the population of Orania grows with each passing year: it increased by 5.25% between 2023 and 2024. It has just over 3 thousand inhabitants; in 2011, it had 892 inhabitants.
