US welcomes Afrikaner refugees: Hypocrisy or humanitarian?

The claim by the Trump administration that they are refugees is an abuse of the word

- Sheree Bega & Mandisa Nyathi

The group of Afrikaners who arrived in the United States this week after being granted refugee status by the Trump administration for allegedly being victims of racial discrimination may be fish out of water in their new home.

The 49 people who arrived in the US on Monday might not have a full understanding of race and class relations in their host country, said Lisa Otto, an associate professor of African diplomacy and foreign policy at the University of Johannesburg.

“I honestly think that they’re going to get a little bit of a surprise when they get that side,” she said.

“I just don’t know what it is that they were expecting. Is it a case of us thinking that America is the land of milk and honey; a place we see on TV where it’s the land of opportunity and where, for argument's sake, it’s still okay to be a white person there?

“I don’t know whether they have an appreciation of what the race and class dynamics are like in the US and whether they feel that their political ideology is going to be sufficient to enable them to assimilate.”

US media outlets have reported about a guidance memo purportedly handed to the new arrivals which stated, among others, that the South Africans are “expected to support yourself quickly in finding work”.

“Adults are expected to accept entry-level employment in fields like warehousing, manufacturing and customer service. You can work toward higher-level employment over time ... Any credentials from your home country may not automatically transfer to the United States,” it said.

Otto recalled how her daughter was delivered by a Syrian refugee doctor in the United Kingdom, who had to retrain because his qualifications from home were not accepted there.