Do Afrikaners want to take Trump up on his South African refugee offer?

Ulrich Janse van Vuuren has made it his passionateness to stock and showcase immoderate of South Africa's champion features with his legion of societal media followers.

The 38-year-old achromatic South African often takes snapshots capturing scenes specified arsenic a acold Johannesburg morning, the purple Jacaranda trees famously associated with Pretoria oregon Cape Town's fashionable beachfronts.

"Promoting South Africa is thing I americium passionate astir - I person nary volition of taking up [US President Donald Trump's] connection due to the fact that South Africa is my home," the arrogant Afrikaner tells the BBC, days aft a tiny radical of his chap achromatic compatriots near South Africa for their caller beingness arsenic refugees successful the US.

The US president, and his South-Africa calved state Elon Musk, says that achromatic Afrikaners are being persecuted successful their location country, and that they are being subjected to a "genocide".

This is simply a assertion that has been circulating for galore years adjacent though it has been wide discredited.

Although immoderate achromatic farmers person been attacked and killed, South Africa has 1 of the world's highest execution rates, truthful this is an contented that affects each of its citizens, immoderate their race.

"For me, South Africa is home. It's a spot wherever my roots and practice are, wherever I tin lend to the communicative of our federation and marque a meaningful impact," said Mr Janse van Vuuren, who has much than 1 cardinal followers connected societal media.

"I'm profoundly invested successful South Africa's occurrence and I americium arrogant to beryllium portion of its journey."

And portion helium wished those who person taken up Trump's connection each the champion successful the US and urged them to "not look back", helium insisted that nary of them were refugees, but alternatively "opportunists".

"They've enjoyed much than their stock of South Africa's resources and privileges, and nary are fleeing radical persecution," helium said.

Thirty years aft the extremity of the racist strategy of apartheid, mean surviving standards among South Africa's achromatic assemblage stay acold higher than for the achromatic majority.

Mr Janse van Vuuren said that the statement astir the presumption of Afrikaners successful South Africa had lone served to marque him "more determined than ever to measurement up and lend to South Africa successful each mode I can".

Four centuries aft the archetypal radical of Dutch settlers arrived successful what is present South Africa, astir Afrikaners respect themselves arsenic afloat African – arsenic seen successful the sanction – and nary longer place with their European roots.

But galore are unhappy some with the precocious transgression complaint and the government's policies aimed astatine reducing economical inequality successful the state – particularly a instrumentality passed earlier this year that allowed the authorities to prehend onshore without compensation "when it is conscionable and equitable and successful the nationalist interest". White South Africans are 7% of the country's population, but ain fractional of its farmland.

Some Afrikaners are farmers and spot the instrumentality arsenic being aimed astatine them.

Trump said the authorities prompted him to connection to assistance resettle "Afrikaner refugees escaping government-sponsored race-based discrimination".

The presumption of achromatic South African farmers has agelong been a rallying outcry connected the close and far-right of American politics.

But contempt galore claims successful the past of the systematic targeting of the country's achromatic Afrikaner number group, section transgression statistic figures overgarment a antithetic picture.

South Africa does not merchandise transgression figures based connected contention but the latest figures revealed that 6,953 radical were murdered successful the state betwixt October and December 2024. Of these, 12 were killed successful workplace attacks. Of the 12, 1 was a farmer, portion 5 were workplace dwellers and 4 were employees, who are apt to person been black.

On Monday, the first radical of 59 Afrikaners granted exile presumption arrived astatine the Dulles airdrome adjacent Washington DC aft choosing to permission their location country.

The accomplishment of the radical drew dismay and outrage crossed South Africa, arsenic the country's civilian nine and enactment sought to dispel the claims that the achromatic number was being persecuted.

"They are leaving due to the fact that they don't privation to clasp the changes that are taking spot successful our state and our constitution," said South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.

He aboriginal labelled their determination a "cowardly act" arsenic helium addressed farmers astatine a normal held successful the Free State province.

The president's sentiments were echoed by galore South Africans, including Mr Janse van Vuuren, who is arrogant of his Afrikaner origins.

While helium was not raised successful a farming family, helium has relatives and friends successful agriculture who person been victims of crime.

He said that portion it was undeniable that immoderate farmers faced "genuine threats and hardships", it was important to beryllium cautious "when discussing claims of persecution oregon favoritism that represent an full radical arsenic victims of targeted unit oregon systemic oppression".

While galore achromatic South Africans echo Mr Janse van Vuuren's sentiments, determination are besides those who spot themselves arsenic a persecuted minority.

Among them is Ilse Steenkamp, who on with her family, has applied for the programme but has not received feedback. She did not privation america to usage her existent name.

Ms Steenkamp, 47, and her husband, some Afrikaners, were commercialized farmers but said they had mislaid their onshore precocious aft it was invaded by radical who "took implicit the full farm" conscionable arsenic they were astir to merchantability it successful bid to "downscale".

She said they had bought the onshore 2 decades ago, aft the extremity of apartheid.

The radical who invaded destroyed captious infrastructure, making it intolerable to sell, she said.

Despite efforts to person them removed done the courts, Ms Steenkamp said they were forced to wantonness the onshore arsenic it was repossessed by the bank.

Ms Steenkamp said that portion she and her household were acquainted with South Africa's precocious transgression levels and often tried to "not fto it get america under", this latest onslaught "was the straw that broke the camel's back".

Even though her household were anxious to clasp Trump's connection erstwhile it was archetypal announced, the mother-of-three told the BBC that the determination to permission "was precise hard due to the fact that you're... leaving a full mode of life".

Asked whether it was unfair that Afrikaners were being granted exile presumption astatine a clip erstwhile the US was cracking down connected refugees and asylum seekers from everyplace other successful the world, Ms Steenkamp said she "completely disagreed".

She pointed to assaults connected farmers, saying determination was a "hatred that seems to spell with these attacks".

"Any husbandman that has gone done that [kind of] onslaught and is present wanting to flee, I deliberation should beryllium treated arsenic a exile due to the fact that they are fleeing from a authorities that volition not adjacent admit that these things are happening," she said.

Sam Busà, 60, is different achromatic South African who has applied for the exile programme.

She is the laminitis of Amerikaners, a level aimed astatine providing accusation to achromatic South Africans funny successful the US resettlement offer.

While Ms Busà, who is of English, not Afrikaner, descent, and her 3 sons person submitted their applications, they person not been interviewed yet.

While it was initially believed that the enforcement order, vague successful its archetypal wording, lone applied to achromatic Afrikaners, Ms Busà said it "clearly is targeting achromatic South Africans".

On Monday, the US embassy successful South Africa released a connection clarifying the criteria for those applying for resettlement, which said applicants request to be:

• Of South African nationality
• Afrikaner oregon from a radical minority
• Able to mention an incidental of past persecution oregon fearfulness of persecution successful the future

Responding to the disapproval that they were not genuine refugees, Ms Busà said: "When idiosyncratic strips distant your anticipation for the future, adjacent though you're not successful a warzone... idiosyncratic ripping distant your dreams and anticipation for the future, that is precise dramatic. It's a intelligence anguish and affectional maltreatment successful a sense."

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But Dr Piet Croucamp, an subordinate prof successful governmental studies astatine South Africa's North West University, disagreed, echoing the presumption that those taking up this connection were not refugees arsenic "South Africa does not persecute people".

Rather, helium speculated that it whitethorn beryllium those who person been victims of a transgression and "could specify their beingness arsenic an unsecure one".

Dr Croucamp, who is an Afrikaner, said that portion helium did not expect a important fig of achromatic South Africans to travel suit, determination would ever beryllium "opportunistic" radical taking vantage of the situation.

"This is simply a tiny radical of radical leaving – the immense bulk of Afrikaners are going obscurity and they person expressed themselves. Even the right-wing Afrikaners… [like] AfriForum and Solidarity have said they are not going anywhere. So adjacent wrong Afrikaner circles, this is simply a tiny radical of people," helium said.

Despite their disapproval of the authorities and its race-based policies, salient Afrikaner lobby groups AfriForum and the Solidarity Movement person some reiterated their volition to stay successful South Africa.

AfriForum said that portion the authorities was to blasted for the departure of the radical granted exile status, they would enactment and proceed their "efforts to assistance make a aboriginal for Afrikaners present astatine the confederate extremity of Africa".

This is simply a presumption with which Mr Janse van Vuuren agreed.

"While immoderate whitethorn take to permission arsenic refugees, the bulk of america are present to stay, moving unneurotic to physique a amended aboriginal for each successful South Africa."