Faith Nyasuguta
U.S. President Donald Trump’s offer to resettle white South Africans as refugees has been met with rejection from Afrikaner groups, who insist on staying and addressing perceived injustices in their homeland. Trump’s executive order, signed on Friday, also cut U.S. aid to South Africa in response to a controversial land expropriation act signed by President Cyril Ramaphosa last month.
The order allows for the resettlement of “Afrikaners in South Africa who are victims of unjust racial discrimination” in the U.S. Afrikaners, predominantly white descendants of Dutch and French settlers, own much of South Africa’s farmland. However, many Afrikaners are uninterested in leaving, believing the situation does not warrant seeking asylum abroad.
“If you haven’t got any problems here, why would you want to go?” asked Neville van der Merwe, a 78-year-old pensioner from Bothasig, near Cape Town. “People are carrying on like normal. What are you going to do over there?”
The land act signed by Ramaphosa aims to redress racial disparities in land ownership, a legacy of South Africa’s colonial and apartheid history. Currently, white South Africans, who make up just 7.2% of the country’s population of 63 million, still own about three-quarters of privately held land.
The African National Congress (ANC) government argues that the policy is necessary for economic and social justice, while Trump’s administration has accused it of promoting racial discrimination against white landowners.
The ANC dismissed Trump’s decision to cut aid as an overreaction fueled by misinformation from AfriForum, a prominent Afrikaner advocacy group. Despite lobbying the Trump administration in the past, AfriForum has firmly rejected the resettlement offer.
“Emigration only offers an opportunity for Afrikaners who are willing to risk potentially sacrificing their cultural identity. The price for that is simply too high,” said AfriForum CEO Kallie Kriel on Saturday.
The Solidarity Movement, which includes AfriForum and the Solidarity trade union, echoed this sentiment, emphasizing its commitment to South Africa. The movement represents around 600,000 Afrikaner families and two million individuals.
“We may disagree with the ANC, but we love our country. Some individuals may choose to emigrate, but repatriation of Afrikaners as refugees is not a solution for us,” the group stated.
Orania, a self-sufficient Afrikaner-only town in central South Africa, also rejected Trump’s offer, reinforcing its mission to preserve Afrikaner culture within the country.
“Afrikaners do not want to be refugees. We love and are committed to our homeland,” Orania representatives said.
Although South Africa’s land policies since the end of apartheid have never involved forced seizures of white-owned land, the land debate remains contentious. Some Afrikaners view Trump’s offer as a symbolic gesture rather than a practical solution.
“I think it’s a very nice gesture from Donald Trump to offer us asylum,” said Werner van Niekerk, a 57-year-old carpenter in Bothasig, without clarifying whether he would consider emigrating.
Others saw humor in the situation.
“Some questions: is there a test to determine your Afrikanership? Must you hold AfriForum membership? Will Elon help with some startup cash? Are there bakkies (pick-up trucks) in the U.S.?” South African author Pieter du Toit quipped on X, referring to South African-born billionaire Elon Musk, who has criticized the ANC government for its “openly racist ownership laws.”
While some Afrikaners appreciate Trump’s gesture, the prevailing sentiment remains clear, most are choosing to stay and fight for their place in South Africa rather than seek refuge elsewhere.
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