Its an old article. This how I came across his name Denis Fisher. Google "Denis Fisher South African Horse Trainer" He has plenty of conspiracy theories.
South Africans Hope To Raise Daughter `In Freedom`
March 10, 1986 |By John Platero, Staff Writer
MIRAMAR — Dennis Fisher, a white South African horse trainer who disapproves of his country`s apartheid policy, has applied for political asylum in this country.
``I want to bring up my child in freedom,`` Fisher says.
Fisher, his wife, Cynthia, and their 3-year-old daughter, Tarryn, arrived in Broward County late last year. They say their lives were threatened in Johannesburg and they lost their business and home.
They live in a small apartment and are being supported by members of the Pembroke Road Baptist Church.
``I`ve had my life threatened many times`` in South Africa, says Fisher, 32. ``They`ve stopped my wife on the street and said we would be killed if I didn`t shut up (about anti-government views).``
Fisher`s troubles appear to be rooted with problems that started five years ago at the time the couple became ``born-again Christians`` -- a change he says led to an alienation with the Jockey Club of South Africa, the regulatory body that controls thoroughbred racing in his country.
Most of Fisher`s life has been spent with horses. As a youth, he was a jockey until he grew too big. Employed as a stable hand, he demonstrated a natural ability with horses that led to becoming an assistant trainer. In l980, the Jockey Club granted him a license as a public horse trainer, allowing him to train thoroughbreds owned by individuals.
``I worked very hard and trained `throw outs,` horses that weren`t supposed to be any good. I had six winners in one month,`` he
recalls. His quick success in 1981, he says, ``was upsetting an empire and the only way the Jockey Club could control me was to make me a big offer.``
It was at this time when Fisher became a devout Christian. His newly found religious beliefs, he explains, forced him to reject numerous lucrative offers. Instead, he expanded his training stables to accommodate 60 horses.
His decision, he contends, pit him against what he calls the ``establishment`` -- a coalition involving the government, the Jockey Club, Barclays National Bank and powerful individuals.
Fisher says his legal problems began when he stopped payment on a $12,000 check he wagered on a horse he had running. He explains such betting is legal in South Africa and is how most trainers earn their living since training fees are much lower in his country than in the United States.
The check, however, had been cashed at Barclays, which demanded payment from Fisher. He voluntarily surrendered his training license during lengthy litigation in which the South African Supreme Court ruled against him.
Efforts to get his trainer`s license back were rejected.
As family savings were diminished by legal fees, Fisher said, he gave power of attorney to a lawyer to sell his $150,000 home. He says he later learned the lawyer also represented Barclays and, as a result, he was cheated out of his $50,000 equity.
Fisher claims that as his legal troubles worsened, so did reaction to his treatment of blacks. Publicly and privately, he says he has repeatedly expressed his anti-apartheid feelings.
``I had 30-odd blacks working for me. The Jockey Club complained that I was treating them too well and causing chaos in the racing industry,`` he says. He explains that while the going wage for black grooms was $25 a week, he paid $35.
There also was considerable resentment because of his close relationship with his head groom, a black man he describes as ``old enough to be my father and with a knowledge of horses perhaps better than mine.``
Fisher points out that it is not permissible for a black person to have dinner in the home of whites.
``I`ve had friends and even family walk out because we invited blacks for dinner. Jesus said, `Love another`,`` he adds.
Fisher says efforts to make the black an assistant trainer were rejected by the Jockey Club.
``I don`t believe in apartheid. It`s an excuse for cheap labor,`` he says.
On two occasions, Fisher and his wife traveled to the United States on religious tours. Photos showing he and his wife with American black friends they made in Baptist churches caused serious repercussions from friends and neighbors, he says.
Before making his decision to fly to the United States and seek political asylum last October, Fisher recalls, three armed hooded men tried to break into his home one night.
``I ran them off, but I know they would have killed me and blamed it on the blacks.``
For 27-year-old Cynthia Fisher, ``It`s been a long road, but if we could stay here it would be worth it all.``
In Johannesburg, she was an elementary school teacher and would like to continue her career here. Because she cannot yet legally work here, she serves as a volunteer teacher`s aide at the church school.
Dennis Fisher applied Jan. 27 for political asylum. His is one of seven political asylum requests filed by South Africans with the Miami district office of the Immigration and Naturalization Service. Such applications are considered confidential by INS, and officials will not discuss them.
However, procedure calls for Fisher`s application to be sent to the U.S. State Department. The department`s Bureau of Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs will make a recommendation to the INS district office in Miami.
The procedure calls for Fisher to be called for an interview within 45 days of his application date.
If Fisher`s application is not flatly denied at that time, he and his wife could receive special work permits allowing them to seek employment.
Fisher`s is due to get his interview with INS by Thursday. He hopes he will be given permission to work at that time.
``I have no money,`` says Fisher, ``and I want to support my wife and child. But I won`t do anything illegal.``
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