by MTHULISI SIBANDA
JOHANNESBURG – WHEN Donald Trump assumed office in January, one of the first steps he took was altering the United States refugee programme, essentially barring anyone from around the world facing persecution coming to the US.
However, he lifted that policy to give exception to White Afrikaner farmers in South Africa, claiming they were facing genocide in Africa’s largest economy.
This position taken by the United States is among issues that have led to a diplomatic fallout between Pretoria and Washington.
Things took a new twist this week as America welcomed the first group of so-called Afrikaner “refugees” to the US.
Some 49 individuals have landed in the US, almost four months after President Cyril Ramaphosa signed the Expropriation Bill into law and sparked an angry response by the US administration.
Late Monday, Tammy Bruce, Department of State spokesperson, confirmed Secretary of State, Christopher Landau, welcomed the first group of the so-called Afrikaner “refugees”.
“This tremendous accomplishment, at the direction of Secretary Rubio (Marco), responds to President Trump’s call to prioritise US refugee resettlement of this vulnerable group facing unjust racial discrimination in South Africa,” Bruce claimed.
He said by accepting the individuals, the US sent “a clear message”, in alignment with the administration’s America First foreign policy agenda, that America will take action to protect victims of racial discrimination.
“We stand with these refugees as they build a better future for themselves and their children in the United States,” Bruce added.
“In the coming months, we will continue to welcome more Afrikaner refugees and help them rebuild their lives in our great country.”
The move has however heaped more criticism on the government of Trump, with critics pointing out the government was ignorant of the true picture obtaining in South Africa.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa’s government has pointed out the land expropriation laws are to address colonial imbalances and injustices. More than 30 years after the end of apartheid, the Afrikaner community still holds over 75 percent of the land, being a minority of 7 percent of the population.
The majority of indigenous black remain landless in their own motherland.
Also, no land yet has been expropriated.
Afriforum, an organisation representing the Afrikaner’s identity, culture and history is at the forefront of the disinformation campaign and claiming the government was segregating the Afrikaners.
“The fact that the first group of Afrikaners has now left the country as refugees is a serious indictment against the ANC-led government, which continues to refuse to condemn calls for violence against Afrikaners, such as “Kill the Boer”,” claimed Kallie Kriel of the Afriforum.
ANC is the African National Congress, which gained power in 1994 but is now in a coalition government with some parties, including the Democratic Alliance (DA), which is criticised as protecting the interest of the Afrikaners.
Kriel further claimed the refugee status was the direct result of the ANC-led government’s targeting of Afrikaners and other minority communities through discriminatory racial legislation and draconian race-based regulations.
“The new Expropriation Act, which makes expropriation without compensation possible, also places Afrikaners and other property owners directly in the government’s crosshairs,” he added.
Pieter Kriel (not related), an activist, disagreed with Afriforum.
“50 (sic) Afrikaners fled SA claiming ‘refugee’ status. But there’s no genocide, just fear of losing dominance. SA’s crisis is real, but shared. This isn’t persecution. It’s panic. Running won’t solve it, staying and facing equality,” the activist said.
Speaking in Ivory Coast at the Africa CEOs Forum, Ramaphosa, said those Afrikaners that went to the US were being enticed to go to and do not fit the definition of a refugee.
“They are not being persecuted or treated badly — they are leaving because they don’t want to embrace the changes taking place in our country in accordance with our Constitution,” Ramaphosa said.
“We were well taught by Nelson Mandela and Oliver Tambo on how to build a united nation. South Africa belongs to all who live in it, and no one is being driven out.”
Mandela and Tambo are former leaders of the ANC.
The issue has also been divisive in America.
US Senator, Jeanne Shaheen, Ranking Member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said, “It is baffling as to why the Trump Administration is admitting Afrikaners for resettlement while continuing an indefinite suspension for thousands of legitimate asylum seekers who have fled persecution, often because their lives were at risk.”
The senator noted last year, the United Nations found no South Africans were eligible for refugee status.
“The decision by this administration to put one group at the front of the line is clearly politically motivated and an effort to rewrite history,” Shaheen said.
