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One of the 49 Afrikaners at OR Tambo Airport about to board a plane to the US
The African National Congress (ANC) has rejected the US decision to grant refugee status to 49 Afrikaners moving to the United States.
The UN has not ruled that the group has refugee status.
This comes as the Trump administration decided to consider applications from Afrikaners after the US President claimed genocide against the group was taking place in South Africa.
The government in South Africa has strongly rejected the accusation.
ANC National Spokesperson Mahlengi Bhengu-Motsiri agrees with the South African government’s position.
“Let it be categorically stated that there are no Afrikaner refugees in South Africa. No section of our society is hounded, persecuted, or subject to ethnic victimization. These claims are a fabrication and a cowardly political construct designed to delegitimize our democracy and insult the sacrifices made by generations who fought for freedom. The misuse of refugee protections to shield right-wing anti-transformation elements is a violation of the spirit and letter of international law.”
Meanwhile, a Senior Democrat who serves on the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee says it’s baffling why the Trump administration is admitting white Afrikaners for resettlement, while continuing an indefinite suspension for thousands of other legitimate asylum seekers who have fled persecution.
Senator Jeane Shaheen released a statement pointing to what she called a United Nations finding that found that no South Africans were eligible for refugee status.
This comes as the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church told the US government that it wouldn’t help resettle the Afrikaners. Bishop Sean Rowe writes that the Church would not help with the resettlement of the newly arrived white South Africa arguing that it was painful to watch one group of refugees, selected in a highly unusual manner, receive preferential treatment over many others who had been waiting in refugee camps or dangerous conditions for years.
The Church will now end its decades long refugee resettlement partnership with the federal government. While Senator Jeane Shaheen described the admission of Afrikaners in front of others in line as a clearly politically motivated decision and an effort to rewrite history. She called on the administration to clarify why the group qualified for resettlement and why they were prioritized over others including Afghans and Sudanese who have fled their homes due to conflict and persecution.
Video: White Afrikaners arrive in the US: Sophie Mokoena updates
