White S. Africans clamour for US resettlement after Trump order
By AFP
February 10, 2025
Some Afrikaner farmers fear their land will be expropriated by the government as happened in neighbouring Zimbabwe - Copyright AFP
Eyad BABA
A deluge of more than 20,000 queries crashed the email server of the South African Chamber of Commerce in the United States after President Donald Trump said he would prioritise white South Africans in a refugee programme, the chamber said Monday.
Trump and Pretoria are locked in a diplomatic row over a land expropriation act that Washington says will lead to the takeover of white-owned farms.
Trump, whose tycoon ally Elon Musk was born in South Africa, said on Friday the law signed in January would “enable the government of South Africa to seize ethnic minority Afrikaners’ agricultural property without compensation”.
It allows the government, as a matter of public interest, to decide on expropriations without compensation — but only in exceptional circumstances.
The Afrikaners are descendants of European colonists, mainly of Dutch extraction, and are mainly engaged in farming in South Africa.
English and Afrikaner colonists ruled South Africa until 1994 under a brutal system in which the black majority were deprived of political and economic rights.
“Our email server crashed over the weekend just due to the sheer volume of inquiries we have received,” Neil Diamond, head of the South African Chamber of Commerce in the US (SACCUSA) told AFP in an email.
“Given the scale of interest, SACCUSA estimates that this figure could represent over 50,000 individuals looking to leave South Africa and seek resettlement in the United States,” he said.
– Trump order ‘flawed’ –
Diamond warned that this could lead to a skills shortage in South Africa that would impact agriculture and other sectors of the economy.
“If we look at the EB-5, which is an investor visa, you need roughly about 15 to 20 million South African Rand ($800,000 to $1 million) to be able to immigrate… What is alarming to us is the large volume of people that is interested in taking up this opportunity,” he said.
South Africa’s foreign ministry has said Trump’s order “lacks factual accuracy and fails to recognise South Africa’s profound and painful history of colonialism and apartheid.
“It is ironic that the executive order makes provision for refugee status in the US for a group in South Africa that remains amongst the most economically privileged, while vulnerable people in the US from other parts of the world are being deported and denied asylum despite real hardship,” it added.
Trump has asked Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to “prioritize humanitarian relief, including admission and resettlement through the United States Refugee Admissions Program, for Afrikaners in South Africa who are victims of unjust racial discrimination.”
There were no details of how the plan would be enacted as Trump halted refugee arrivals immediately after taking office.
Land ownership remains a contentious issue in South Africa, with most farmland still owned by white people three decades after the end of apartheid.
However, some Afrikaner farmers say the new land laws could lead to the confiscation of white-owned farms as carried out in neighbouring Zimbabwe.
The second largest party in South Africa’s national unity government, the Democratic Alliance, on Monday launched a court bid to annul the land law.
S. Africa condemns ‘misinformation’ after Trump freezes aid
By AFP
February 8, 2025
The measures against USAID have been hugely controversial
A deluge of more than 20,000 queries crashed the email server of the South African Chamber of Commerce in the United States after President Donald Trump said he would prioritise white South Africans in a refugee programme, the chamber said Monday.
Trump and Pretoria are locked in a diplomatic row over a land expropriation act that Washington says will lead to the takeover of white-owned farms.
Trump, whose tycoon ally Elon Musk was born in South Africa, said on Friday the law signed in January would “enable the government of South Africa to seize ethnic minority Afrikaners’ agricultural property without compensation”.
It allows the government, as a matter of public interest, to decide on expropriations without compensation — but only in exceptional circumstances.
The Afrikaners are descendants of European colonists, mainly of Dutch extraction, and are mainly engaged in farming in South Africa.
English and Afrikaner colonists ruled South Africa until 1994 under a brutal system in which the black majority were deprived of political and economic rights.
“Our email server crashed over the weekend just due to the sheer volume of inquiries we have received,” Neil Diamond, head of the South African Chamber of Commerce in the US (SACCUSA) told AFP in an email.
“Given the scale of interest, SACCUSA estimates that this figure could represent over 50,000 individuals looking to leave South Africa and seek resettlement in the United States,” he said.
– Trump order ‘flawed’ –
Diamond warned that this could lead to a skills shortage in South Africa that would impact agriculture and other sectors of the economy.
“If we look at the EB-5, which is an investor visa, you need roughly about 15 to 20 million South African Rand ($800,000 to $1 million) to be able to immigrate… What is alarming to us is the large volume of people that is interested in taking up this opportunity,” he said.
South Africa’s foreign ministry has said Trump’s order “lacks factual accuracy and fails to recognise South Africa’s profound and painful history of colonialism and apartheid.
“It is ironic that the executive order makes provision for refugee status in the US for a group in South Africa that remains amongst the most economically privileged, while vulnerable people in the US from other parts of the world are being deported and denied asylum despite real hardship,” it added.
Trump has asked Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem to “prioritize humanitarian relief, including admission and resettlement through the United States Refugee Admissions Program, for Afrikaners in South Africa who are victims of unjust racial discrimination.”
There were no details of how the plan would be enacted as Trump halted refugee arrivals immediately after taking office.
Land ownership remains a contentious issue in South Africa, with most farmland still owned by white people three decades after the end of apartheid.
However, some Afrikaner farmers say the new land laws could lead to the confiscation of white-owned farms as carried out in neighbouring Zimbabwe.
The second largest party in South Africa’s national unity government, the Democratic Alliance, on Monday launched a court bid to annul the land law.
S. Africa condemns ‘misinformation’ after Trump freezes aid
By AFP
February 8, 2025
The measures against USAID have been hugely controversial
- Copyright GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA/AFP
Anna Moneymaker
Gersende RAMBOURG
South Africa on Saturday condemned a “campaign of misinformation” after US President Donald Trump issued an order freezing aid to the country over a law he alleges allows land to be seized from white farmers.
“We are concerned by what seems to be a campaign of misinformation and propaganda aimed at misrepresenting our great nation,” the government said.
Land ownership is a contentious issue in South Africa, with most farmland still owned by white people three decades after the end of apartheid. It is a legacy of a policy of expropriating land from the black population that endured during apartheid and the colonial period before it.
“It is disappointing to observe that such narratives seem to have found favour among decision-makers in the United States of America,” Pretoria said.
Trump claimed on Friday the law would “enable the government of South Africa to seize ethnic minority Afrikaners’ agricultural property without compensation”.
The allegation came in an executive order, which also noted foreign policy clashes between the United States and South Africa over the war in Gaza, particularly Pretoria’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.
Gersende RAMBOURG
South Africa on Saturday condemned a “campaign of misinformation” after US President Donald Trump issued an order freezing aid to the country over a law he alleges allows land to be seized from white farmers.
“We are concerned by what seems to be a campaign of misinformation and propaganda aimed at misrepresenting our great nation,” the government said.
Land ownership is a contentious issue in South Africa, with most farmland still owned by white people three decades after the end of apartheid. It is a legacy of a policy of expropriating land from the black population that endured during apartheid and the colonial period before it.
“It is disappointing to observe that such narratives seem to have found favour among decision-makers in the United States of America,” Pretoria said.
Trump claimed on Friday the law would “enable the government of South Africa to seize ethnic minority Afrikaners’ agricultural property without compensation”.
The allegation came in an executive order, which also noted foreign policy clashes between the United States and South Africa over the war in Gaza, particularly Pretoria’s genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.
US President Donald Trump and South African counterpart Cyril Ramaphosa have been at odds on multiple issues – Copyright AFP/File Ting Shen, ALFREDO ZUNIGA
South Africa’s foreign ministry said it “has taken note” of Trump’s executive order but added: “It is of great concern that the foundational premise of this order lacks factual accuracy and fails to recognize South Africa’s profound and painful history of colonialism and apartheid.”
“It is ironic that the executive order makes provision for refugee status in the US for a group in South Africa that remains amongst the most economically privileged, while vulnerable people in the US from other parts of the world are being deported and denied asylum despite real hardship.”
The South African president’s office has denied any intention of “seizing lands”.
Trump’s executive order pledges to assist the “ethnic minority Afrikaners” — descendants of the first European settlers, including offering refugee status to what it said were “racially disfavoured landowners”.
State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce said Saturday that “persecuted South African farmers and other innocent victims being targeted solely based on their race who choose to resettle in America will be welcome.”
“The United States will also defend the rights and interests of those remaining descendants of settlers threatened with expropriation without compensation and other intolerable abuses,” she said on X.
– ‘Afrikaners or Amerikaners?’ –
President Cyril Ramaphosa said in a national address on Thursday his country would not be “intimidated” by the United States.
“We are witnessing the rise of nationalism, protectionism, the pursuit of narrow interests and the decline of common cause,” Ramaphosa said.
Trump made a blanket claim that the South African land law would allow the government to seize Afrikaners’ property “without compensation”.
The law, which came into force in January, clarifies the legal framework for expropriations. Most legal experts stress it does not add new content.
It allows the government, as a matter of public interest, to decide on expropriations without compensation — but only in certain exceptional circumstances where it would be “just and equitable”.
For several days, South Africans of all racial origins have taken to social media to mock the US stance.
“Should we now call them Amerikaners?” quipped one person on Saturday.
“Should we expect wine estates or safari reserves to be evacuated?” joked another. Most estates and private reserves in the country belong to white families.
On Saturday, Afriforum, a small organisation dedicated to “protecting and promoting the Afrikaner identity”, expressed its “great appreciation” to Trump, while stressing that white South Africans’ place was in their home country.
White South Africans make up around seven percent of the population, according to date from 2022. Afrikaners make up a proportion of that group.
Trump’s ally Elon Musk, who was born in South Africa under apartheid, has accused Ramaphosa’s government of having “openly racist ownership laws”.
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