South Africa’s new US envoy Roelf Meyer told the BBC a genocide targeting white Afrikaners “does not exist,” rejecting Trump’s claim. Police data show most crime victims, including on farms, are Black; farm violence accounts for a smaller number of homicides.
Nearly 13,000 refugees have been admitted to the US since last year, all but three South African; the administration plans to admit up to 17,500 more Afrikaners as refugees over the next 12 months. A White House spokeswoman said Afrikaners are being raped, maimed, killed and driven off their property. Lielie, who moved to Texas under the program, said she felt safer walking around there. She said she saw people enter the farm where she lived with her family three times, but nothing was stolen and they were unharmed; she said friends nearby were brutally attacked.
Every South African party, including those representing Afrikaners, has discredited genocide claims. Farm violence, often motivated by robberies, is a smaller share of homicides; experts say South Africa’s crime problem does not qualify as persecution. The US last week announced visa restrictions on South Africans it said were responsible for race-based discrimination against white people, warning of further action. Meyer wants the executive order behind the refugee pathway revoked, says South Africa has addressed US concerns, and notes its land-expropriation law awaits a court ruling. He urged US help to fight crime, including equipment to speed police response.
