The first group of 49 white South Africans, who were granted refugee status under a program initiated by former U.S. President Donald Trump based on claims of racial discrimination, were scheduled to arrive in the U.S. on Monday. This move has further strained relations between the United States and South Africa.
The U.S. government has prioritized Afrikaners, descendants of mostly Dutch settlers, for refugee status while simultaneously restricting admissions for predominantly non-white refugees from other parts of the world.
South African authorities have met the decision to grant refugee status to white South Africans with both alarm and derision, accusing the Trump administration of meddling in a domestic political issue it misunderstands.
The situation coincides with increased racial tensions in South Africa concerning land and employment, which has created divisions within the governing coalition.
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The charter flight carrying the 49 individuals from Johannesburg was expected to land at Washington Dulles airport on Monday morning.
“The government unequivocally states that these are not refugees,” said Chrispin Phiri, spokesperson for the South African foreign ministry, to local broadcaster Newzroom Afrika. “But we are not going to stand in their way.”
Wealth Inequities
Despite the transition to democracy in South Africa in 1994 under Nelson Mandela, the white minority, which once held power, has maintained the majority of the wealth accumulated during colonialism and apartheid.
According to the Review of Political Economy, an international academic journal, whites still possess three-quarters of private land and hold approximately 20 times the wealth of the Black majority.
The unemployment rate among white South Africans is less than 10%, significantly lower than the unemployment rate of over a third among their Black counterparts.
The assertion that white South Africans face discrimination from the Black majority has become a recurring theme in right-wing online forums and has been supported by Elon Musk, a white South African-born ally of Trump.
Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has cut all U.S. financial assistance to South Africa last month, citing disapproval of its land policy and of its genocide case at the International Court of Justice against Washington’s ally, Israel.
