South African president criticises white refugees fleeing to US
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has criticized a group of 59 white South Africans who recently arrived in the United States as refugees, calling them “cowards” for leaving and saying they “don’t fit the bill” for genuine refugee status.
According to BBC News, the group arrived in the US on May 12. It includes both adults and young children who were granted refugee status by the Trump administration due to the supposed danger they faced in South Africa.
Both President Trump and his political ally Elon Musk have repeatedly claimed that a “genocide” is being carried out against the white population in South Africa–claims that have been widely discredited as false and lacking credible evidence.
The decision to grant refugee status to the 59 individuals is likely more closely tied to a controversial new land reform law signed by President Ramaphosa in January. The law allows the South African government to seize privately owned land without compensating the owners if it is considered to be in the “public interest”. It has been framed as an effort to address systemic inequality in land ownership and farming.
However, many white South Africans believe the law unfairly targets them, as they own a majority of private land in the country.
Speaking at an African CEO forum in the Ivorian city of Abidjan on May 12, President Ramaphosa revealed he had a lengthy phone conversation with US President Donald Trump discussing the issue.
During the call, Ramaphosa emphasized South Africa’s unique history of reconciliation between its white colonial population, and its indigenous Black citizens. He rejected the claims of “genocide” against white South Africans as simply “not true”.
Both leaders agreed to meet in person to continue discussions and work toward a mutual understanding.
The diplomatic tension between the US and South Africa comes as the country faces other regional challenges. As previously reported by Maghrebi, South African peacekeepers were recently forced to withdraw from eastern Congo following a surge in rebel activity that claimed the lives of several South African soldiers.
The withdrawal has been viewed as a humiliation for South Africa, as their forces were unable to contain the situation and were left with no choice but to evacuate.
BBC News/ Maghrebi
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