In brief
The South African government has spoken out against the US's decision to prioritize refugee applications from white Afrikaners, arguing that claims of a widespread 'white genocide' are unfounded. Prominent Afrikaners have joined in rejecting the narrative, suggesting their presence in the US is not indicative of persecution at home. The reaction comes after the US announced its lowest refugee cap and President Trump's controversial support for Afrikaner refugees.
The South African government has criticised the US's decision to prioritise refugee applications from white Afrikaners, saying claims of a white genocide have been widely discredited and lack reliable evidence.
It highlighted an open letter published by prominent members of the Afrikaner community earlier this week rejecting the narrative, with some signatories calling the relocation scheme racist.
The limited number of white South African Afrikaners signing up to relocate to the US reflected that they were not being persecuted, the government added.
On Thursday, the administration of US President Donald Trump announced its lowest refugee annual cap on record to just 7,500.
The exact figures of the number of white South Africans admitted through the US scheme are not available. South Africa's crime statistics do not indicate that more white people have fallen victim to violent crime than other racial groups.
Earlier this year, President Trump offered refugee status to Afrikaners after South African President Cyril Ramaphosa signed a law allowing the government to seize land without compensation in rare instances.
- Is there a genocide of white South Africans as Trump claims?
- Unpacking the South African land law that so inflames Trump
- On the road incorrectly identified as a 'burial site' by Trump
Most private farmland is owned by white South Africans who make up just over 7% of the population.
Several months ago, South Africa's ambassador to Washington was expelled after accusing Trump of mobilising a supremacism and trying to project white victimhood as a dog whistle.
In the Oval Office, Trump confronted President Ramaphosa and claimed that white farmers in South Africa were being killed and persecuted. He presented a photo purporting to show body bags of white individuals in South Africa, but it was later identified as being taken in the war-torn Democratic Republic of Congo.
The White House did not comment on the claim that they had misidentified the image.
Moreover, the White House showcased a video it claimed illustrated burial sites for murdered white farmers, which later emerged as footage from a protest symbolizing losses over many years.
