CAPE TOWN, South Africa — On Saturday, organizations representing South Africa’s white minority expressed their rejection of President Donald Trump’s recent proposal to provide them with refugee status and facilitate their resettlement in the United States. This initiative was delineated in an executive order signed by Trump, which also stopped all aid and financial assistance to South Africa as a reaction to what the Trump administration described as “rights violations” against the white populace.
The Trump administration accused the South African government of permitting violent attacks on white Afrikaner farmers while also endorsing a land expropriation law that allows for the appropriation of agricultural land owned by ethnic minority Afrikaners without compensation. However, the South African authorities have vehemently denied any organized assaults on white farmers and criticized Trump’s narrative regarding the land reform law as deeply misleading.
Afrikaners, who are primarily descendants of Dutch colonizers along with some French and German settlers, first arrived in South Africa over three centuries ago. They communicate in Afrikaans, a language that evolved from Dutch within South Africa, and identify as a distinct group from other white South Africans with British or other ancestries. Whites constitute approximately 7% of South Africa’s population, which stands at around 62 million.
Responding to Trump’s offer, two major Afrikaner groups made it clear that they have no intention of relocating to the United States. Dirk Hermann, the CEO of the Afrikaner labor union Solidarity, which represents about 2 million individuals, stated, “Our members work here, and want to stay here, and they are going to stay here. We are committed to build a future here. We are not going anywhere.” At the same press briefing, Kallie Kriel, the leader of the Afrikaner advocacy group AfriForum, declared, “We have to state categorically: We don’t want to move elsewhere.”
Trump’s sanctions against South Africa, a significant trading partner for the U.S. in Africa, were spurred by his and his South African-born advisor Elon Musk’s allegations of anti-white sentiments among the country’s Black leadership. Nonetheless, the depiction of Afrikaners as oppressed individuals in need of rescue is likely to perplex many South Africans. The South African Foreign Ministry commented on the irony of granting refugee status to a demographic that is economically privileged relative to others in the country.
It also highlighted the contrast between the focus on Afrikaners and the plight of vulnerable populations in the U.S. who face deportation and denial of asylum despite experiencing genuine hardships. Authorities in South Africa pointed out a “campaign of misinformation and propaganda” targeting them, while a representative for President Cyril Ramaphosa asserted that, “South Africa is a constitutional democracy. We value all South Africans, Black and white.” They dismissed claims that Afrikaners are subjected to arbitrary deprivation, deeming such assertions entirely false.
Over three decades since the end of apartheid in 1994, white South Africans generally maintain better living conditions compared to their Black counterparts. While constituting a small minority, they own about 70% of the nation’s private farmland. According to a 2021 study by the South African Human Rights Commission, just 1% of whites live in poverty, contrasting sharply with the 64% of Blacks who do.
Market trader Sithabile Ngidi from Johannesburg expressed skepticism towards the notion of white mistreatment, suggesting that Trump would benefit from coming to South Africa to witness realities firsthand instead of relying on opinions from figures like Elon Musk, who has not lived in the country for an extended period.
Trump’s actions have nevertheless highlighted a sentiment among certain white South Africans regarding feelings of discrimination as reparation for past apartheid policies, from which Afrikaners were the primary beneficiaries. Solidarity, AfriForum, and similar organizations are firmly opposed to the controversial land expropriation law, arguing it unfairly targets properties held by whites who have invested in these lands for many years. They are equally critical of recently passed language legislation that they see as an attempt to reduce the usage of Afrikaans in schools, alongside a rejection of affirmative action measures favoring Blacks in the business sector as discriminatory.
AfriForum’s Kriel thanked Trump for bringing attention to the concerns of Afrikaners but reiterated their commitment to South Africa. The government, on its part, maintains that the criticized legislation is designed to address the injustices of colonialism and decades of apartheid, during which Black South Africans had their land and rights systematically stripped away.
