A group of around 50 white South Africans arrived on Monday for resettlement in the United States after US President Donald Trump granted them refugee status as victims of what he called “genocide”.
Trump essentially halted refugee arrivals after taking office, but is making an exception for the Afrikaners despite Pretoria’s insistence that they do not face persecution in their homeland.
“Welcome to the land of the free,” Deputy Secretary of State Chris Landau said as he greeted the South Africans, several of whom were waving small American flags, at Dulles Airport in Virginia following their flight from Johannesburg.
“We’re sending a clear message that the United States really rejects the egregious persecution of people on the basis of race in South Africa,” Landau said.
Speaking at the White House before the group’s arrival, Trump, who is expected to meet South African leaders next week, said the Afrikaners were fleeing a “terrible situation” back home.
