The South African Department of International Relations and Cooperation on Monday insisted that the group of 49 Afrikaners who left South Africa, heading to the United States under President Donald Trump’s offer, are not refugees.
On Monday morning, IOL reported that a chartered plane carrying 49 South African Afrikaners departed for the United States on Sunday night under Trump’s offer for the “discriminated” South African individuals and families to relocate.
The first batch of Afrikaner refugees left OR Tambo International Airport on a flight operated by the Tulsa, Oklahoma-based charter company Omni Air International, and are expected to land in Washington on Monday evening.
Speaking to broadcaster Newzroom Afrika, Chrispin Phiri, spokesperson for Minister of International Relations and Cooperation, Ronald Lamola said the notion being peddled, that Afrikaners are being persecuted in South Africa, is false.
“We understand it is 49 people who have taken up the offer for refugee status in the United States. Just to be clear, the South African government unequivocally states that these are not refugees. In a country like ours, some of us went to schools where we were taught Afrikaans and by the way Afrikaans is still a medium of instruction and language in many of our schools,” said Phiri.
“We have judges, ministers, former mayors, we have streets named after Afrikaner heroes and Afrikaner nationals in the liberation context as well. To this day, you can drive on Voortrekker Street in any town in South Africa.
“This idea that Afrikaners are being persecuted is completely false, let alone the fact that Afrikaners are not just white people. There are also Africans who are Afrikaners so this is something that we have stated quite unequivocally, that we contest the status of them being refugees. But we also said we are not going to stand in the way,” he said.
The group of 49 left the country on their South African passports and the government in Pretoria said there is no intention to deprive them of citizenship.
Phiri however highlighted that once the individuals are accepted into the United States refugee system, they cannot be returned to South Africa by the US government – for any reason.
“Here is the difficulty, possibly for these individuals … if they accept refugee status in the United States and they are facilitated as refugees, the United States cannot return them to South Africa for whatever reason. They cannot be deported by the government of the United States,” said Phiri.
“They may self-deport themselves by coming back to South Africa but that will also mean they then renounce their refugee status in the United States. It is really a complex situation.”
IOL news
Wish he could get them all and solve the problem once and for all. Like what they have been hoping some Arab States would do for the Gazans!
RACIST REINFORCEMENTS – VERY DISGRACEFUL
No doubt,entranced by Hollywood movies
Black Americans for Trump been crying like they didn’t know what was to happen. The don’t even like legal African migrant, great slap in the face.
Yes,folks like Julius Malema being trying to be American ages,now
Nice that they are welcomed by a country where they will not face racial discrimination.
Also, according to the new guidelines, they will also allow other races as refugees as long as they can prove racial discrimination.
Lol…@As long as they can prove racial descrimination.
Please cite those guideline so in the fine print, I may discover I have been desriminated as well….(sarcasm)
We agree they are not refugees. They are REFUFEES.
These are immigrants not refugees, let them go. What happens if the black ones decide to leave too citing discrimination for supporting the other immigrants?…just saying.