Latest news with #ErrolLangton
The Citizen
23-05-2025
- Politics
- The Citizen
‘I'm no sell-out': Political activist says leaving SA was a last resort
Langton, a 'refugee' under a US programme for SA farmers, says his departure reflects SA's deepening crisis and not disloyalty. Refugee to the United States under the Trump-era Afrikaner resettlement programme, politician Errol Langton, a former organiser for right of centre party the United Independent Movement (UIM) on the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast, says he's no sell-out for heading to what he believes are greener pastures. Langton was part of the first cohort of 49 asylum seekers who left for the US at the invitation of President Donald Trump. He said he fought for a better SA until his departure last week as an improved version of the country had not materialised. Tipping point Langton said the tipping point for him was worsening socioeconomic conditions and 'a lack of accountability'. He said he hoped his exit would inspire change and directly impact the country positively. Langton questioned the viability of continued political participation in a country where, according to him, economic and social collapse was accelerating unchecked. 'Tell me, how many jobs are being created? Do not misquote me and make any reference to race or culture. I am asking how many jobs, non-government jobs, have been created? How much has the economy grown over the past 31 years? How many trillions have been looted?' he asked. ALSO READ: Ramaphosa not 'apprehensive' about meeting with Trump, Presidency says [VIDEO] State interventions such as social relief grants, argued Langton, could not replace a functioning economy. 'Those social relief of distress grants will eventually go away, then what? More people will starve. Those paying taxes will walk away, too,' he said. Echoing the Make America Great Again rationale for welcoming Afrikaners from South Africa, he raised concerns about rural safety and claimed the extent of violence in farming communities was underplayed. Praise MAGA's concerns about rural safety The refugee programme was introduced to offer asylum to white South African farmers, citing persecution and rural violence. 'The world and media are so hung up on how many farm murders there are and that it is not genocide. It is a lie that the government tells itself and the rest of the world. 'Do you need to be murdered to be persecuted? I argue that those who survive vicious rape and assault are the statistic that should be measured.' ALSO READ: The Voet'Tsekkers fly while Afrikaans turns 100 Langton suggested black farmers should be included. 'What about the black farmers who have less of a voice, who perpetually have their livelihood taken away from them through livestock theft, assault and so on? All farmers work hard to put food on the country's tables and what do they get in return?' he asked. He drew parallels between South Africa and historical examples of what he called cultural genocide, citing the Alhambra Decree against Jews in 15th century Spain, the suppression of Tibetan culture in the 1950s, the treatment of Uyghurs in China and the forced deportations of ethnic groups under the Soviet regime. Parallels between SA and 'cultural genocide' He argued that the persecution of South African farmers and lack of state protection amounted to a form of systemic erasure. 'Do you need to be murdered to be persecuted?' he asked. 'Those who survive vicious rape and assault are the statistic that should be measured.' ALSO READ: Afrikaner 'refugees' spot a ruse Langton said the suffering of rural communities was ignored by those in power and dismissed by the media, warning that future generations would look back and 'see a different picture'. He was heavily criticised in the media for just being Caucasian, neither a working farmer nor Afrikaner. Langton also lashed out at local media. 'Shame on local media' 'Shame on you, as a member of the South African media, you should be fighting to expose the reality of South Africa, not looking for a headline to sell some news rags.' He said, as a rule, he avoided media interviews and regretted speaking to The Citizen and before that, other journalists. 'It has brought me nothing but hate and heartache,' he said. ALSO READ: Second chance for Amerikaner 'refugees' But Langton said he continued to support the ideals of the UIM and efforts of its leadership. 'I continue to believe the UIM offers a strong platform with dedicated candidates working to improve the lives of South Africans.' He said his relocation had not changed his hope that ordinary South Africans will one day 'evict the blood suckers that are the current government'.
The South African
18-05-2025
- Business
- The South African
Farmer or IT technician? Afrikaner 'refugee' questioned over title
Local businessman Errol Langton has clapped at critics who questioned his decision to go to the US as an 'Afrikaner refugee'. This comes as many South Africans – including his stepdaughter – have questioned his claims of being a 'farmer' and an 'Afrikaner'. Many have also called him 'opportunistic' for wanting to start again in another country. Errol and eight of his family members arrived in the US this week and are planning to settle down in Alabama. Speaking to the New York Times about being a 'refugee', Errol Langton described himself as a 'farmer' from KwaZulu-Natal's coastal town of Hibberdene. There, he supposedly grew spinach, mustard, Swiss chard, and sweet potatoes. Errol has chosen to settle in Birmingham, located in Alabama, the same city his brother immigrated to years before. However, Errol has decided to take up an 'IT job' in the sector he coincidentally worked in and owned a large-scale business back in South Africa. On social media, South Africans have labelled the 'Afrikaner refugee' as 'opportunistic'. Social commentator Bianca van Wyk said: 'How odd! A farmer who is now working an IT job in Birmingham! Mr Langton…you ran an IT company in South Africa. You have never farmed. Why are you blatantly lying?' TikToker user @sinnedbad jumped into the comments, posting: 'I worked with Errol as an Account Executive at an IT company in Sandton.' @biancasays3 #southafricanrefugees #southafrica #unitedstates ♬ original sound – BiancaSays3 Errol's stepdaughter, Geneve Gouws, also questioned his decision to leave South Africa. She said in a TikTok this week: 'I'm completely shocked. What do they need protection from exactly? They're not even Afrikaners.' The young woman went on to claim that Errol 'lied' in his application to become a 'refugee'. She also believed that his claims of being a 'victim of crime' were a result of domestic abuse incidents with her mother, whom he has since divorced. 'What lie do you have to tell to get to America?' she added. Speaking to the New York Times , Errol Langton stated that while it was 'terrible 'to be labeled as traitors and sellouts', he added that 'haters are going to hate'. Since then, the 'refugee' has posted a TikTok video – in an apparent American accent – from his 'new home in the USA'. Defending his actions, he said, 'I am of Afrikaner descent. My family made a decision a long time ago not to speak Afrikaans and switched to English. While his LinkedIn account lists him as the owner of an IT business, Langton also claims that he was indeed a farmer. He continued: 'I did farming. I owned a farm or at least leased a farm for more than three years, where I farmed with the leafy greens and tried to get commercial farming up and running'. He added: 'So tell me, why don't I qualify for this programme? 'I may speak English and be two generations away from being actively Afrikaans. But I am a South African Afrikaner, and that is a fact.' Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1 . Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp , Facebook , X, and Bluesky for the latest news.
The South African
16-05-2025
- Politics
- The South African
TikTok drama: 'Afrikaner refugee' accused of LYING to get to US
A Johannesburg man – Errol Langton – has been accused of 'lying' about being an Afrikaner in his bid to travel to the US as a 'refugee'. The claims were made by his stepdaughter in a series of TikTok videos. This week, 49 white South Africans arrived in thees United States as part of a resettlement programme signed off by President Donald Trump. In a video that has gone viral on TikTok, a young woman named Geneve Gouws claims she was shocked to see footage of her former stepfather and his eight family members arriving in the US as Afrikaner 'refugees'. She said: 'I'm completely shocked. What do they need protection from exactly? They're not even Afrikaners.' Gouws went on to claim that her former stepfather 'lied' in his application to become a 'refugee'. She also believed that his claims of being a 'victim of crime' were a result of domestic abuse incidents with her mother, whom he has since divorced. 'What lie do you have to tell to get to America?' she added. @genzithevamp5 lol I really can't believe it 😹 ♬ original sound – Geneveve Gouws @genzithevamp5 two sides hey. ♬ silence in 3 minutes – ⋆ 𝑀𝒶𝓇𝒸𝒮𝒩𝒦40 ⋆ On his own TikTok account, Langton – a South African businessman – defended his action of labelling himself as an Afrikaner 'refugee'. Responding to claims by his former stepdaughter, he said: 'I am of Afrikaner descent. My family made a decision a long time ago not to speak Afrikaans and switch over to English. Because that was the medium that was seen as most effective to get around and get things done. 'Not because of any dislike of Afrikaans, just purely a functional change'. @weatherman_za Just stating the facts, believe what you want but both sides need to be heard. ♬ original sound – WeatherMan_ZA While his LinkedIn account lists him as the owner of an IT business, Langton also claims that he was indeed a farmer. He continued: 'I did farming, I owned a farm or at least leased a farm for more than three years, where I farmed with the leafy greens and tried to get commercial farming up and running. He added: 'So tell me, why don't I qualify for this programme? 'I may speak English and be two generations away from being actively Afrikaans. But I am a South African Afrikaner, and that is a fact.' According to a statement from the US Mission to SA, applicants for the refugee resettlement programme must meet the following criteria… Be SA citizens; Be of Afrikaner ethnicity or belong to a racial minority group; and Must articulate a past experience of persecution or fear of future persecution. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1 . Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp , Facebook , X, and Bluesky for the latest news.
New York Times
15-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Times
An Afrikaner Farming Family Trades South Africa for Alabama
The Afrikaner family of nine looked around the small office space in Birmingham, Ala., feeling jet-lagged as they took in their new surroundings. Errol Langton, the patriarch of the white South African family, had spent much of his time so far with a pen in hand, signing required documents at a refugee coordinating office. His granddaughter played with toy blocks on the floor. His oldest son watched over her. They had just eaten noodles. Later, they would spend time looking for apartments. 'Everybody still doesn't believe that we're actually standing here,' Mr. Langton, 48, said in an interview, about 40 hours after landing at Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport. His family was among the first group of 59 South Africans who arrived in the United States this week, about three months after President Trump signed an executive order establishing refugee status for Afrikaners, the white ethnic minority that ruled during apartheid. The president essentially halted all refugee admission programs on his first day in office. But he soon created an expedited pathway for Afrikaners, who claim they have been discriminated against and subjected to violence because of their race, or have reason to believe they will be. Now, the Langton family has traded its South African hometown on the beach, Hibberdene, for a southern American city thousands of miles away. But Mr. Langton said he felt much safer already, as did his extended family who had joined him: his wife, son, three daughters, son-in-law and two grandchildren. Mr. Langton has a brother in Birmingham. But he said another factor had also drawn his family to the state. 'South Africa is a very warm country, and Alabama is very much the same,' he said, seeking shade on a humid, hot afternoon outside the refugee office. Since arriving in the United States on May 12, few Afrikaners have publicly spoken about leaving their country, their first impressions of America or what they make of the charged debate over their status as refugees. (While waiting at the airport in Johannesburg, the Afrikaners passengers said the U.S. embassy had instructed them not to speak with the news media.) Republicans have welcomed them. Before leaving for a trip to the Middle East, Mr. Trump told reporters: 'White farmers are being brutally killed, and the land is being confiscated in South Africa.' He added that the United States had 'essentially extended citizenship' to the group of Afrikaners because he said they were victims of a genocide. South African police data does not support the narrative of mass murder of white South Africans. And Mr. Trump's focus on Afrikaners has brought just as much attention to the tens of thousands of people whom his administration has decided to keep out, including Afghans who helped U.S. soldiers during the war in Afghanistan. In an hourlong interview with The New York Times, Mr. Langton said he had been trying to leave South Africa for 10 years and was grateful to President Trump. He said he had been threatened back home because he was 'a white guy and a farmer,' and that his business had suffered financially because of the hatred directed at Afrikaners. Mr. Langton also said South African government inspectors who visited his farm years ago had physically threatened him after demanding money. He described the threats as racially motivated. 'South Africa is a beautiful country, and it breaks my heart that we've left,' he said. 'And the majority of the people — Black, white, you name it, across all cultural divides — are brilliant, friendly people.' The problem, he added, was that 'white farmers are generally attacked with cause.' From April 2020 to March 2024, 225 people were killed on farms in South Africa, according to the South African police. Almost half of the victims — 101 — were current or former workers living on farms, who are mostly Black. Fifty-three of the victims were farmers, who are usually white. Mr. Langton pointed at his family when asked why he had been so eager to be among the first to leave. 'Those are the people that I did it for,' he said. On Wednesday, the family was at the offices of Inspiritus, a nonprofit resettlement agency that assists refugees in Alabama. The organization said in a statement that it was 'mandated to serve all refugees regardless of how they arrive.' 'It is our hope that opening refugee resettlement to Afrikaners means a move toward helping the over 20,000 vulnerable people who remain stranded — families and individuals from places like the Democratic Republic of Congo, Venezuela and Syria — who have fled violence, war and persecution and have completed the rigorous U.S. vetting process,' the agency said. Mr. Langton said he was in a group chat with the other Afrikaners who landed in the United States this week. 'Some people are lucky enough to have worked here before, and others have family out here,' he said. 'Unfortunately, some people are coming in completely alone. It's a daunting experience.' Asked what he thought of the criticism that he and his fellow Afrikaners had received, Mr. Langton said that 'haters are going to hate,' and that it was terrible 'to be labeled as traitors and sellouts.' He praised Mr. Trump for his crackdown on illegal immigration and said that he should not be criticized for focusing on white Afrikaners because, Mr. Langton argued, every president throughout history has 'prioritized different groups' of refugees. In 2020, the final full year of Mr. Trump's first term, under a drastically reduced refugee cap, the United States admitted about 11,000 refugees, a record low. Then President Joseph R. Biden Jr. revived the program. In the fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, about 100,000 refugees arrived to the country, the largest tally in nearly three decades. This new chapter, Mr. Langton said, felt 'very much surreal.' Though he emphasized that his family was already growing fond of Alabama and getting a feel for its football-obsessed culture. (They have not yet picked a college team to support.) 'Driving on the other side of the highway, on the other side of the road, is the only thing that's kind of really cementing it,' Mr. Langton said. Eager to remain a farmer, he had considered moving to Montana because of its rural, mountainous landscape. But his family hated the cold, so Alabama it was. In South Africa, Mr. Langton grew spinach, mustard, Swiss chard and sweet potatoes. Now, he said he would most likely work an IT job in Birmingham. But eventually he hopes to purchase a plot of land where his family can farm, raise chickens and perhaps run a commercial operation. Inside the local headquarters for Inspiritus, there was another batch of offices occupied by the Hispanic and Immigrant Center of Alabama, a group that helps Hispanic migrants. Several of the people inside were immigrants from Venezuela, who said they felt hurt by America's embrace of other refugees, and the apparent disdain for Latin Americans. Outside, Mr. Langton was organizing his family to finally leave the refugee office. Asked what his party affiliation would be if he became a U.S. citizen, Mr. Langton said: 'I think Democrats have lost their minds. So Republican, unless there's a reason for me to change.' Like many of his new neighbors in the deeply conservative state, would he soon purchase a piece of Trump memorabilia? 'It's too early to know if I'll put a Trump sticker on the back of a car I don't own yet,' he said.
