{"id":1330,"date":"2025-05-14T05:52:10","date_gmt":"2025-05-14T05:52:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/?p=1330"},"modified":"2025-05-14T05:52:10","modified_gmt":"2025-05-14T05:52:10","slug":"white-south-africans-enter-the-u-s-as-refugees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/?p=1330","title":{"rendered":"White South Africans Enter the U.S. as Refugees"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<br \/><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Welcome to <em>Foreign Policy<\/em>\u2019s Africa Brief.<\/p>\n<p>The highlights this week: Afrikaners touch down in Virginia as <strong>refugees<\/strong>, a federal judge temporarily blocks the Trump administration from deporting<strong> migrants to Libya<\/strong>, and a power struggle within the Tigray People\u2019s Liberation Front renews fears of<strong> conflict in Ethiopia<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<div class=\"newsletter-unit-signup--shortcode-fallback\">\n<h2 class=\"dek-heading\">\n                <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/category\/africa-brief\/\">Sign up<\/a>  to receive Africa Brief in your inbox every Wednesday.            <\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div data-shortcode-newsletter=\"africa_brief\" class=\"newsletter-unit-signup newsletter-unit-signup--shortcode email-capture--step-1 newsletter-unit-signup--shortcode-africa_brief\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-africa_brief newsletter-shortcode-africa_brief\">\n<div class=\"show-on-email-capture--signed-up hide-from-newsletter-subscriber newsletter-unit-signup--shortcode--container\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-unit newsletters-page newsletter-row\">\n<div class=\"newsletter-africa_brief\">\n<h2 class=\"dek-heading\">Sign up to receive Africa Brief in your inbox every Wednesday.<\/h2>\n<p>\n                        <button class=\"button\">Sign Up<\/button>\n                    <\/p>\n<div class=\"grid--flex newsletter-africa_brief newsletter-signup-container\" role=\"group\" aria-label=\"Africa Brief sign up form\" tabindex=\"0\">\n<div class=\"buttons\">\n<div class=\"hide-from-newsletter-subscriber privacy-policy-container\">\n<div class=\"privacy-policy-acknowledge\">\n<p><small>By submitting your email, you agree to the <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/privacy\/\" target=\"_blank\">Privacy Policy<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/termsofuse\/\" target=\"_blank\">Terms of Use<\/a> and to receive email correspondence from us. You may opt out at any time.<\/small><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\n    <label for=\"email-africa_brief\">Enter your email<\/label><br \/>\n    <input type=\"email\" name=\"email\" class=\"hide-from-reg hide-from-sub\" id=\"email-africa_brief\" aria-required=\"true\" required=\"\"\/><\/p>\n<p>    <button class=\"button button--signup \" data-newsletter-id=\"africa_brief\" data-sourceid=\"In-article unit\">Sign Up<\/button>\n  <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<hr\/>\n<h3>Trump Welcomes South Africans as Refugees<\/h3>\n<p>The first wave of 59 white South Africans to enter the United States as refugees arrived outside of Washington on Monday.<\/p>\n<p>Although U.S. President Donald Trump suspended the country\u2019s refugee program on the first day of his second term, he issued an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/presidential-actions\/2025\/02\/addressing-egregious-actions-of-the-republic-of-south-africa\/\">executive order<\/a> in February making an exception for Afrikaners, descendants of mostly Dutch settlers in South Africa.<\/p>\n<p>This came in response to a new law that allows Pretoria to seize unused land under limited circumstances to address <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2024\/05\/27\/south-africa-election-anc-land-reform-matters\/\">land inequality<\/a>. Trump has <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/TrumpDailyPosts\/status\/1886195198793032057\">claimed<\/a> that the South African government is \u201cconfiscating land\u201d and \u201ctreating certain classes of people very badly,\u201d but no <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/articles\/crljn5046epo\">land<\/a> has been seized thus far.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhat\u2019s happening in South Africa fits the textbook definition of why the refugee program was created,\u201d White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/rapidresponse47\/status\/1920921120007487558?s=46It\">told<\/a> reporters last week. \u201cThis is race-based persecution.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Pretoria slammed the resettlement effort but <a href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/US\/wireStory\/group-49-white-south-africans-leaves-us-after-121696684\">said<\/a> it would not block anyone who wished to leave. In a <a href=\"https:\/\/dirco.gov.za\/government-of-south-africa-engages-united-states-on-resettlement-concerns\/\">statement<\/a> last week, South Africa\u2019s foreign ministry described it as an \u201centirely politically motivated\u201d move against a democratic country that \u201chas in fact suffered true persecution under Apartheid rule and has worked tirelessly to prevent such levels of discrimination from ever occurring again.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>South Africa is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2019\/05\/07\/africa\/south-africa-elections-inequality-intl\">widely considered<\/a> the world\u2019s most unequal nation. Under white minority rule, Black South Africans were confined to just <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gov.za\/news\/events\/commemorative-events\/1913-natives-land-act-centenary\">13 percent<\/a> of the country\u2019s land and could not own land in all other areas designated as white-only.<\/p>\n<p>More than three decades after the end of apartheid, Black South Africans hold only around <a href=\"https:\/\/eprints.lse.ac.uk\/125939\/3\/III-WP-146.pdf\">1 percent<\/a> of the wealth held by their white counterparts. White South Africans, who account for 7 percent of the population, own around <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/graphics\/SAFRICA-ELECTION\/ECONOMY\/egpbonzrgvq\/\">70 percent<\/a> of private land; their Black counterparts, who make up 80 percent of the population, own just 4 percent.<\/p>\n<p>Despite this, Trump and his South African-born billionaire advisor Elon Musk maintain that a<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/elonmusk\/status\/1686037774510497792\"> genocide<\/a> is being committed against white South Africans. \u201cWhite farmers are being brutally killed,\u201d Trump said on Monday. The claims have been widely <a href=\"https:\/\/factcheck.afp.com\/doc.afp.com.36ZD7HY\">discredited<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>South Africa does not report crime broken down by race, but police statistics show that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailymaverick.co.za\/article\/2025-03-19-we-must-be-clear-theres-no-white-genocide-in-sa-frustrated-mps-urge\/\">12 murders<\/a> were recorded on farms and small agricultural land over the last three months of 2024; only one victim was a farmer.<\/p>\n<p>Afrikaner lobby group AfriForum, which led a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.timeslive.co.za\/politics\/2025-02-26-afriforum-and-solidarity-call-for-sustained-pressure-on-arrogant-ramophosa-government-during-us-trip\/\">delegation<\/a> to Washington in February, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politicsweb.co.za\/documents\/mchunu-provided-with-details-of-farm-murders--afri\">disputed<\/a> these numbers, claiming that farm murders have hit white South Africans particularly hard, but did not provide further evidence.<\/p>\n<p>Rights groups have criticized Trump\u2019s decision to resettle white South Africans, particularly as his administration has frozen refugee resettlement from the rest of the world, including for thousands of Afghans who <a href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/Politics\/trump-order-leaves-afghans-approved-resettle-us-limbo\/story?id=117947379\">helped<\/a> the U.S. military in Afghanistan.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c[Afrikaners] are people who were not living in refugee camps, who hadn\u2019t fled their country,\u201d Bill Frelick, the director of Human Rights Watch\u2019s refugee rights program, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/news\/2025\/5\/12\/trump-administration-welcomes-59-white-south-africans-as-refugees-to-the-us\">told<\/a> <em>Al Jazeera<\/em>. \u201cIt\u2019s not like these are among the most vulnerable refugees of the world.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe hypocrisy is as clear as it is cruel,\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/afghanevac\/status\/1920947870728921443\/photo\/1\">said<\/a> Shawn VanDiver, the head of refugee advocacy group #AfghanEvac.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h3>The Week Ahead<strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><strong>Thursday, May 15: <\/strong>The United Nations Security Council receives a briefing on the International Criminal Court investigation in Libya.<\/p>\n<p>Nigeria releases inflation data for April.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h3>What We\u2019re Watching<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Trump\u2019s deportation plans.<\/strong> A federal judge temporarily <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/articles\/c5yry9y089eo\">blocked<\/a> the Trump administration from deporting migrants to Libya last Wednesday, <a href=\"https:\/\/storage.courtlistener.com\/recap\/gov.uscourts.mad.282404\/gov.uscourts.mad.282404.91.0_4.pdf\">ruling<\/a> that it would \u201cclearly violate\u201d a previous injunction that blocked the U.S. government from deporting migrants to countries other than their own without due process.<\/p>\n<p>The Trump administration was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/05\/06\/us\/politics\/trump-libya-migrants.html\">poised<\/a> to send migrants to Libya as early as last week. Since Trump took office, top U.S. officials have engaged in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2025\/04\/30\/politics\/migrants-libya-rwanda-trump\">talks<\/a> with Rwanda and Libya, among other countries, on receiving deported migrants and asylum-seekers.<\/p>\n<p>Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh, the prime minister of Libya\u2019s internationally recognized Government of National Unity, <u>said<\/u> on social media last week that his country \u201crefuses to be a destination for the deportation of migrants.\u201d But his government <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/news\/us-news\/us-deporting-migrants-libya-rcna205383\">suggested<\/a> that \u201csome parallel parties that are not subject to legitimacy\u201d may be coordinating with the White House.<\/p>\n<p>Since 2014, Libya has been divided between Dbeibeh\u2019s U.N.-backed administration based in Tripoli and the de facto eastern Libyan government led by warlord Khalifa Haftar. Haftar\u2019s son <a href=\"https:\/\/libyaobserver.ly\/news\/saddam-haftar-meets-trump-advisor-washington\">met<\/a> with Trump\u2019s Africa advisor, Massad Boulos, in Washington last month.<\/p>\n<p>Libya has experienced instability for decades. <u><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2025\/may\/13\/tripoli-clashes-after-killing-of-militia-leader-abdel-ghani-al-kikli\">Armed fighting<\/a><\/u> broke out in Tripoli late on Monday following the killing of Abdel-Ghani al-Kikli, the leader of a powerful armed group, by a rival militia.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Congo\u2019s critical minerals.<\/strong> Gold miner Twangiza Mining said last week that M23 rebels had <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/china\/congo-gold-miner-halts-operations-tax-dispute-with-m23-rebel-administration-2025-05-09\/\">ordered<\/a> it to cease its operations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo\u2019s South Kivu province over a tax dispute. M23 wrested control of the area this year.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, KoBold Metals, a U.S. start-up backed by Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos, has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mining.com\/gates-bezos-backed-kobold-to-buy-stake-in-drc-lithium-project\/\">struck<\/a> a framework deal to buy Australia-based AVZ Minerals\u2019 stake in Congo\u2019s Manono lithium deposit, one of the world\u2019s largest lithium reserves. Congo revoked AVZ\u2019s mining rights in 2023. The government later granted some of the rights to Chinese company Zijin Mining.<\/p>\n<p>KoBold\u2019s agreement is part of a wider <a href=\"https:\/\/www.koboldmetals.com\/news\/kobold-metals-to-acquire-avzs-interests-in-the-manono-lithium-deposit-in-drc\/?aid=01\">peace-for-minerals<\/a> deal that Congo is pursuing with U.S. officials, who are racing to compete with China on critical minerals.<\/p>\n<p>It remains unclear how a broader deal would work, particularly as M23 now operates a <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/04\/30\/congo-conflict-m23-rebels-trump-rubio-us-peace-deal-critical-minerals\/\">parallel proxy government<\/a> across the territories it has captured since January, where it demands taxes from mining operations.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Eritrean troops in Ethiopia.<\/strong> Lt. Gen. Tadesse Werede, the new interim president of Ethiopia\u2019s Tigray region, said last week that around <a href=\"https:\/\/addisstandard.com\/up-to-40-of-tigray-still-occupied-by-external-forces-ensuring-territorial-integrity-a-priority-interim-president\/\">40 percent<\/a> of Tigray still remains under the control of Amhara militias and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.crisisgroup.org\/africa\/horn-africa\/ethiopiaeritrea\/ethiopia-and-eritrea-slide-closer-war-amid-tigray-upheaval\">Eritrean forces<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>In recent months, a power struggle within the Tigray People\u2019s Liberation Front (TPLF) has sparked concerns among security analysts that the region may return to war. Tadesse\u2019s predecessor, Getachew Reda, accused a dissident faction in the TPLF of working with Eritrean forces to try to instigate a coup in March.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/allafrica.com\/stories\/202505090267.html\">tensions<\/a> threaten the 2022 peace agreement signed in Pretoria, which ended a two-year civil war between the Ethiopian government, backed by Eritrea, and the TPLF.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Nigerian fiscal reforms. <\/strong>Last week, Nigeria\u2019s Senate <a href=\"https:\/\/www.premiumtimesng.com\/news\/top-news\/793005-senate-passes-remaining-tax-reform-bills.html\">passed<\/a> four tax reform bills as part of the government\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/04\/23\/nigeria-economy-trump-tariffs-south-africa-mining-oil-afcfta\/\">wide-ranging effort<\/a> to kick-start a sluggish economy.<\/p>\n<p>The bills, put forward by President Bola Tinubu, seek to streamline tax collection and increase government revenue. They include measures to modernize stamp duties, first <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2025-05-10\/nigeria-overhauls-colonial-era-tax-rules-in-pro-business-push\">introduced<\/a> by the British colonial government, and cover digital assets.<\/p>\n<p>Lawmakers rejected Tinubu\u2019s proposed increase in value-added tax from 7.5 percent to 12.5 percent in the draft legislation. The final bills need the president\u2019s signature to become law.<\/p>\n<p>Nigeria\u2019s tax-to-GDP ratio of around <a href=\"https:\/\/punchng.com\/passage-of-tax-reform-bills\/\">10.8 percent<\/a> is one of the world\u2019s lowest, and Abuja currently relies on oil revenue and borrowing to fund its budget. Abuja spent around <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/africa\/imf-says-nigeria-repays-34-billion-covid-19-funding-2025-05-08\/\">$4.66 billion<\/a> servicing foreign debt last year.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h3><strong>This Week in Culture<\/strong><strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p><strong>African cinema funds.<\/strong> The African Export-Import Bank has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.screendaily.com\/news\/1bn-africa-film-fund-launched-to-support-film-production-and-distribution-across-continent\/5204655.article\">launched<\/a> a $1 billion Africa Film Fund to support film production on the continent.<\/p>\n<p>Africa\u2019s most successful film industry is Nigeria\u2019s Nollywood, which produces around <a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbesafrica.com\/cover-story\/2024\/08\/19\/big-ticket-nollywood-leading-the-charge-in-african-cinema\/\">2,500 films<\/a> per year, making it the world\u2019s third-biggest film industry after Hollywood and Bollywood. Nigeria\u2019s creative sector has the potential to generate around $25 billion per year, <a href=\"https:\/\/thenationonlineng.net\/creative-sector-can-contribute-25b-yearly-to-economy-says-cbn\/\">according<\/a> to Olayemi Cardoso, the governor of Nigeria\u2019s Central Bank.<\/p>\n<p>But film industries across the continent, including Nollywood, have been hampered by a lack of investment. Last year, both <a href=\"https:\/\/deadline.com\/2024\/01\/amazon-layoffs-africa-mena-europe-rebalance-1235796028\/\">Amazon<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2025\/may\/08\/nigerian-film-makers-pivot-to-youtube-as-streaming-firms-pull-back\">Netflix<\/a> cut back their content production in Africa. The continent is home to fewer than <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/global-development\/commentisfree\/2023\/nov\/13\/african-cinema-has-come-a-long-way-now-we-need-funds-and-faith-to-unleash-creativity\">1,700<\/a> cinema screens\u2014one for every 750,000 people.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Biennale curator dies.<\/strong> Cameroon-born curator Koyo Kouoh, the first African woman slated to lead the Venice Biennale, died on Saturday at the age of 57.<\/p>\n<p>Kouoh, who headed the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa in Cape Town, was due to reveal the title and theme of next year\u2019s exhibition in Venice on May 20. Her husband <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/05\/10\/arts\/design\/koyo-kouoh-dead.html\">said<\/a> she died of cancer following a recent diagnosis.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHer passing leaves an immense void in the world of contemporary art and in the international community of artists, curators, and scholars who had the privilege of knowing and admiring her extraordinary human and intellectual commitment,\u201d the Biennale <a href=\"https:\/\/www.labiennale.org\/en\/news\/passing-koyo-kouoh\">said<\/a> in a statement.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<h3>FP\u2019s Most Read This Week<\/h3>\n<hr\/>\n<h3>What We\u2019re Reading<\/h3>\n<p><strong>Strategic investments. <\/strong>Chinese companies have invested an estimated $10 billion in Morocco\u2019s electric vehicle and battery manufacturing industry in recent years as they look to circumvent European Union and U.S. tariffs, Patricia Cohen <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/05\/07\/business\/china-tariffs-morocco.html\">reports<\/a> in the <em>New York Times<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Rabat has a free trade agreement with Brussels; it has had a similar agreement with Washington but is now subject to Trump\u2019s blanket 10 percent tariff on imports. If the Trump administration adopts a \u201cfor-or-against-us stance,\u201d U.S.-China tensions could lead to hard choices for Morocco, Cohen writes.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Tunisia\u2019s rap pioneer. <\/strong>Lully Snake is the first Tunisian female musician to fuse rap with <em>mahraganat<\/em>, a style of hip-hop that emerged from the streets of Cairo, Jyhene Kebsi <a href=\"https:\/\/www.africasacountry.com\/2025\/05\/re-writing-the-rules-of-tunisian-rap\">writes<\/a> in <em>Africa Is a Country<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cInstead of reproducing the figure of the submissive North African woman, Lully Snake flips the script,\u201d and her <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=pjyyT86Nhl0\">music<\/a> and style challenge \u201cboth local misogyny and Western stereotypes about Maghrebi women,\u201d Kebsi writes.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/foreignpolicy.com\/2025\/05\/14\/white-south-africans-us-refugees-trump\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Welcome to Foreign Policy\u2019s Africa Brief. The highlights this week: Afrikaners touch down in Virginia as refugees, a federal judge temporarily blocks the Trump administration from deporting migrants to Libya, and a power struggle within the Tigray People\u2019s Liberation Front renews fears of conflict in Ethiopia. Sign up to receive Africa Brief in your inbox [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1331,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-1330","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-politcical-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1330","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1330"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1330\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1331"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1330"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1330"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/firearmupgrades.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1330"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}