Doubts raised over persecution of white S. Africans

The Trump administration is bringing a small number of white South Africans to the United States as refugees next week in what it says is the start of a larger relocation effort for a minority group who are being persecuted by their Black-led government because of their race.

- 

The South Africans’ applications are being fast-tracked by the US after President Donald Trump announced the relocation programme in February. The Trump administration has taken an anti-migrant stance, suspending refugee programmes and halting arrivals from other parts of the world, including Iraq, Afghanistan and most countries in sub-Saharan Africa.

Refugee groups have questioned why some white South Africans are being prioritised, according to the Associated Press.

The South African government said the US allegations that the white minority Afrikaners in question are being persecuted are “completely false,” the result of misinformation and an inaccurate view of its country. It cited the fact that Afrikaners are among the richest and most successful people in the country, and said they are amongst “the most economically privileged.”