In the last year, the US has admitted just 13,000 refugees — a fraction of the number it has accepted in previous years. And almost all of those new arrivals have been white South Africans.
The Trump administration says Afrikaners are fleeing persecution in South Africa. But there is little evidence of attacks specifically targeting the country’s white Afrikaner minority. South Africa’s new ambassador to the US has told the BBC that the idea of a mass attack against white Afrikaners simply does not exist.
So why have Afrikaners been given preferential access to the US refugee programme? And what has life in America been like for those who have made the journey?
Today on The Global Story, the BBC’s North America correspondent Ione Wells and Africa producer Ed Habershon share their conversations with the Afrikaners who are using new refugee policies to immigrate to the US — and the South African officials who say the Trump administration is overlooking the full picture.
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In this video:
0:00 Why are white South Africans getting a fast track to the US?
1:00 Why were there white crosses put up in Washington’s National Mall?
4:11 Where does this story begin with the Trump administration?
6:14 The significance of Trumps executive order
7:12 The meeting of Donald Trump and Cyril Ramaphosa
9:08 Violence against white farmers
10:13 How many people have come through the refugee scheme?
11:55 Speaking to a white South African who moved to Texas
16:04 What is the criticism of the white genocide claims in SA?
19:11 The current tensions between the US and South Africa
20:26 Roelf Meyer interview clips
22:26 The Trump administration’s expansion of the refugee scheme
Subscribe to our channel here: https://bbc.in/bbcnews
For the latest news download the BBC News app or visit BBC.com/news
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