US President Donald Trump’s executive order offering refugee status to white South Africans fleeing alleged persecution has been met with resistance from prominent Afrikaner organizations. While Trump framed his order as a humanitarian gesture, even right-wing white lobby groups in South Africa have dismissed the offer, stating their commitment to remaining in the country and addressing perceived injustices under Black majority rule.
AfriForum CEO Kallie Kriel made it clear that Afrikaners are unwilling to leave South Africa despite political tensions.
“Emigration only offers an opportunity for Afrikaners who are willing to risk potentially sacrificing their descendants’ cultural identity as Afrikaners. The price for that is simply too high,” Kriel stated on Saturday.
Solidarity movement expresses commitment to South Africa
The Solidarity Movement, which includes AfriForum and the Solidarity trade union and represents approximately 600,000 Afrikaner families and 2 million individuals, reiterated their dedication to remaining in the country.
“We may disagree with the ANC, but we love our country. As in any community, there are individuals who wish to emigrate, but repatriation of Afrikaners as refugees is not a solution for us,” the Movement said.
Orania rejects Trump’s offer
Representatives of Orania, an Afrikaner-only enclave, also dismissed Trump’s proposal for resettlement in the US.
“Afrikaners do not want to be refugees. We love and are committed to our homeland,” Orania representatives affirmed.
Trump’s executive order cuts aid to South Africa
On Friday (February 7), Donald Trump signed an executive order to cut American aid to South Africa. The decision was based on an expropriation law signed by President Cyril Ramaphosa in an effort to address land ownership disparities stemming from South Africa’s history of apartheid.
The order includes provisions for “Afrikaners in South Africa who are victims of unjust racial discrimination” to be granted refugee status in the US.
Land reform and historical context
Afrikaners, who are predominantly white descendants of early Dutch and French settlers, own a significant portion of South Africa’s farmland. The new expropriation law aims to redistribute land to correct historical inequalities.
Three-quarters of privately owned land remains in the hands of the white minority, despite white people making up just 7.2% of South Africa’s 63 million population, according to statistics.
Historically, South Africa’s British rulers allocated most farmland to whites. In 1950, the apartheid-era National Party seized 85% of the land, displacing 3.5 million Black South Africans from their homes.
ANC accuses Trump of spreading misinformation
The ruling African National Congress (ANC) criticised Trump’s actions, stating that he is amplifying misinformation spread by AfriForum.
The ANC, the largest party in South Africa’s ruling coalition, maintains that the expropriation law is a necessary step toward economic justice.
(With Reuters inputs)
