South Africans respond to Donald Trump's claims about Afrikaner refugees.
Image: X (Twitter)
Forty-nine Afrikaners departed South Africa for the United States on Sunday, May 11.
US president Donald Trump repeatedly said that this group was fleeing racial persecution in the country and would welcome them into the US with open arms.
This unprecedented process, however, has seen some South Africans in disbelief over Trump's 'folly'.
Activist Pieter Kriel told IOL that the 49 people who left the country are escaping equality not violence. "You are not refugees; you are just a case study of white flight dressed up as martyrdom," he said. "South Africa didn't send you away, you ran...Violence affects all communities, not just white farmers."
Kriel attributed the nation's violence to a breakdown in safety and rubbished claims of white genocide. "You are part of a 7% minority but somehow still manage to control over 70% of the country's wealth. That is not persecution, that is privilege on a guilt trip.
"If we tried to relocate just half of the Afrikaans population, it would take decades and billions in logistics and you'd still culturally homeless in a country that doesn't want your apartheid baggage. You're not brave. You're not victims. You're scared of a world where you don't get to be in charge."
*David, a man from Durban, KwaZulu-Natal told IOL that Trump speaks without thinking of consequences nor investigating whether claims are true.
"I don't think much of what he says can be taken seriously. He just says things to get a rise out of people, without thinking it through properly. I'm hoping that the people here in South Africa don't take him seriously."
The founder of Amerikaners, an informational platform for those who want to resettle in the US, Sam Busa, disputed the numbers of those who are planning to 'flee'.
"Just Amerikaners has a database of 42,000 who will be going, and that does not include the people who have expressed interest outside of our network. We expect many more to follow. Our feedback is that the vast majority of South Africans have taken a wait-and-see approach, saying they will apply when the information about the programme becomes clearer," said Busa.
However, a woman from Durban called Trump is both a purveyor and a victim of disinformation.
"He has sown a lot of disinformation in the country. Farmers are not attacked on such a big scale as he is implying. He is stirring up unnecessary trouble for the country. The grass is not greener on the other side. They will find out when they get there," she said.
The Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation stated that the resettlement of South Africans in the United States under the pretext of "refugees" is completely political in nature and is intended to bring South Africa's constitutional democracy into question.
"We reiterate that allegations of discrimination are unfounded. The South African Police Service statistics on farm-related crimes do not support allegations of violent crime targeted at farmers generally or any particular race.
"There are sufficient structures available within South Africa to address concerns of discrimination. Moreover, even if there are allegations of discrimination, it is our view that these do not meet the threshold of persecution required under domestic and international refugee law," the ministry said in a statement.
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