Dear Pearl, I read your article (Big Reads, January 5) with interest, mainly because I am an old Afrikaans-speaking white woman, and I can feel your frustration and pent-up anger. Things did not go the way we all wanted them to after 1994, did they?Besides our skin colour, we have much in common.My grandmother was 16 when she was taken to the Irene concentration camp near Pretoria.She was raped in the camp and, according to the treaty of Vereeniging, the rapes were never mentioned when they started the peace talks as it would cause too much bitterness.The Afrikaners who fought the British were dirt poor and had no skills or education.I remember the English said we were dirty, uncouth and "untrained animals".So my aversion is rather towards the British than it is towards black people .I feel a great sadness that, because of what happened to my people, they wanted nothing to do with other people - and that was the root cause of apartheid.I think the only way we can stop the racist insults and comments is for us to start talking to each other - not just about how different we are, but mainly about how similar we are.The irony that I am writing this letter to you in English and that you wrote your article in English is obvious to us both, I presume?If you are ever here in Cape Town, I would love to meet you and share a meal. ..