'I am staying': AfriForum’s Kallie Kriel says Afrikaners cannot survive in US as a cultural community

Chief executive of lobby group AfriForum, Kallie Kriel, says the Afrikaners who have elected to take up United States President Donald Trump’s offer to become refugees have had genuine concerns in South Africa.

IOL reported earlier that the Trump administration has welcomed the 49 Afrikaners who landed in the US on Monday at Dulles Airport outside Washington after they were granted asylum status following claims that they faced discrimination and violence in South Africa.

The group, which included children who were waving small American flags, was welcomed by Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau and Homeland Security Deputy Secretary Troy Edgar.

Speaking to broadcaster Newzroom Afrika, Kriel said the concerns raised by the Afrikaners in South Africa are legitimate. He however said AfriForum does not define the situation as “white genocide” as used some politicians in the United States.

“The fact is, we don’t use those terms, but there is a real problem. We have a situation in the country where the only category of crime that is called for, publicly, for instance murders of farmers and Afrikaners with the ‘kill the boer’ chant. 

“We know that these people that have left the country have a legitimate concern, that is, the South African Constitutional Court did not protect the Afrikaners against this. We have the president (Cyril Ramaphosa) not condemning these kinds of chants,” said Kriel.

“We see on farms that many of these murders are conducted in a way that people are tortured, a drill being used to drill a hole into a female’s feet, a blowtorch, irons and hot water … those are real issues but unfortunately the debate goes about is it a genocide or not.”

Kriel insisted South Africa has to recognise that the farm attacks are a real problem, not to deny the issues.

He said people are losing confidence and that is one of the reasons some Afrikaners have opted to relocate as refugees.

“Afrikaners, let me be clear, cannot survive as a cultural community in the US or any other country. That is why I am not leaving. We respect those that want to live, but we have to make sure that for your children, for my children, we find a future here on the southern tip of Africa 

“To do that, we must be able to condemn something that is extremely hurtful to Afrikaners and that is when people chant kill the boer, kill the farmer. 

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Kriel said for South Africans who choose to stay in the country, it is important to hold hands and join forces against the scourge of crime. Kriel said his organisation has extended a hand of friendship to all communities to join hands and fight crime.

"That is what we should do. As I have said, what makes the other crime different is that there is a public call for violence against Afrikaners. But I think it is time we join hands, that is why AfriForum has a number of agreements with rural communities, traditional leaders ... that also includes safety programmes that we work on," he said.

Meanwhile, the Department of International Relations and Cooperation insists that the group of 49 Afrikaners who left South Africa, heading to the United States under President Donald Trump’s offer, are not refugees.

jonisayi.maromo@iol.co.za

IOL News