More white South Africans arrive in the US under a new refugee program

Deputy secretary of state Christopher Landau greets Afrikaner refugees from South Africa at Dulles International Airport (Image credit: AP)

JOHANNESBURG: A second group of white South Africans has arrived in the United States under a refugee program announced by the Trump administration, officials and advocacy groups said Monday. Nine people, including families and children, arrived late last week, said Jaco Kleynhans, head of international liaison at the Solidarity Movement, a group representing members of South Africa’s white Afrikaner minority. The group travelled on a commercial flight, he said. A spokesperson for the US Embassy said in an email to The Associated Press that “refugees continue to arrive in the United States from South Africa on commercial flights as part of the Afrikaner resettlement program’s ongoing operations.” An initial group of 59 white South Africans arrived at Dulles International Airport in Virginia on a chartered flight last month under the new program announced by US President Donald Trump in February. The Trump administration fast-tracked the resettlement of white South Africans after indefinitely suspending other US refugee programs. The Trump administration said it is offering refugee status to white South Africans it alleges are being persecuted by their Black-led government and are victims of racially motivated violence. The South African government has denied the allegations and said they are a mischaracterization of the country. Trump has falsely claimed that white South African farmers are targeted in widespread attacks that amount to genocide and are having their land taken away. Trump confronted South African President Cyril Ramaphosa with those baseless claims during a meeting at the White House last month. Ramaphosa has said the relatively small number of attacks on white farmers are part of South Africa’s larger problems with violent crime, which affects all races. The Trump administration initially said the refugee program was aimed at members of South Africa’s Afrikaner minority, who are descendants of mainly Dutch and French colonial settlers. In new guidance published by the US Embassy last month, applicants must be “a member of a racial minority” in South Africa and “must be able to articulate a past experience of persecution or fear of future persecution.” There are approximately 2.7 million Afrikaners among South Africa’s population of 62 million, which is more than 80 per cent Black. They are not the only white minority. There are around 4.5 million whites in total, including those with British or other heritage. The US Embassy spokesperson said the US “continues to review inquiries from individuals who have expressed interest to the embassy in resettling to the United States and is reaching out to eligible individuals for refugee interviews and processing.” While US officials have not said how many South Africans have applied to be relocated, Kleynhans said there have been around 8,000 applications. Another group helping white South Africans apply for refugee status has said tens of thousands have applied.