Afrikaners leave South Africa amid controversy

FORTY-nine Afrikaners departed South Africa for the United States on Sunday.

- XOLILE MTEMBU

US president Donald Trump repeatedly said that this group was fleeing racial persecution in the country and would welcome them into the US with open arms.

This unprecedented process, however, has seen some South Africans in disbelief over Trump’s ‘folly’

Activist Pieter Kriel told JOL that the 49 people who left the country are escaping equality not violence. “You are not refugees; you are just a case study of white flight dressed up as martyrdom,” he said. “South Africa didn't send you away, you ran ...Violence affects all communities, not just white farmers”

Kriel attributed the nation’s violence to a breakdown in safety and rubbished claims of white genocide. “You are part of a7% minority but somehow still manage to control over 70% of the country’s wealth. That is not persecution, that is privilege on a guilt trip.