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The Citizen
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Citizen
Trump-Musk breakup: Will 49 ‘refugees' return to South Africa?
Trump's relationship with Musk has been described as transactional. The first group of Afrikaners from South Africa to arrive for resettlement listen to remarks from US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau and US Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Troy Edgar (both out of frame), after they arrived at Washington Dulles International Airport in Dulles, Virginia, on May 12, 2025. Picture: SAUL LOEB / AFP The future of 49 South Africans who have taken up refugee status in the United States is uncertain, as developments in the White House point towards Donald Trump being disillusioned over the white genocide claims he has made about South Africa. Trump's ally and confidant pastor Mark Burns has been in South Africa for a few days investigating claims of a white genocide. He told a local broadcaster that he would report back to the White House that he had found no evidence of a white genocide. Meanwhile, on Thursday, a public spat broke out between Trump and South African-born billionaire Elon Musk. The two figures even made serious threats against each other on social media. There were claims that Musk was part of a disinformation campaign about South Africa and its 'race-based' laws. Politics in the White House International relations expert Anthoni Van Nieuwkerk told The Citizen the White House is now receiving the correct information about the false claims of a white genocide in South Africa. 'I think Trump is rethinking his belief that there is a white genocide; he might back off from this, and it will lead to egg on the face of those who started this disinformation campaign,' he said. Van Nieuwkerk said a number of exposés by journalists around the world have disproved the information that Trump presented as fact during his meeting with the South African delegation in Washington. 'These developments will allow South Africa and the U.S to reset relations and start over on a stronger basis,' he said. What's next for the 'refugees' Van Nieuwkerk said the 49 refugees were in a precarious situation with the uncertainty of what Trump would do next. 'They will be left with no home, and they might even want to return home, because if the appetite for accommodating Afrikaners goes away and it loses its importance, then those people will be left stranded. 'By the way, it is not automatic that they will have a safe home, jobs, and comfort. They will have to compete with others for the same benefits, some of them might return because politics have now shifted fundamentally. 'This special dispensation for Afrikaners will fade away over time and very quickly. Fewer and fewer Afrikaners will take up this offer because it is very unclear what they will walk into on the other end,' he said. Despite this, Van Nieuwkerk believes that there is no evidence to suggest that Musk was behind the disinformation campaign about South Africa. He also believes that Trump's feud with Musk has no direct implications for South Africa's relationship with the United States. ALSO READ: Trump's latest offer is not just for Afrikaners Was Musk involved? Meanwhile, political analyst Ntsikelelo Breakfast said the fallout between Trump and Musk is beneficial to South Africa. 'It is clear that Trump was indebted to Elon Musk. The question is how he was going to be indebted. Trump was just a mouthpiece. 'The whole white genocide thing did not come from him. It could have had something to do with Elon Musk,' he said. NOW READ: Magwenya: Ramaphosa optimistic after Trump meeting boosts US-SA ties
The Hindu
4 days ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Citing ‘unjust racial discrimination', Trump grants asylum to White Afrikaners
On May 12, 49 White Afrikaners landed at the Washington Dulles International Airport — making them the first group resettled under a new Trump administration initiative. U.S. officials greeted them as beneficiaries of President Donald Trump's new resettlement programme. Mr. Trump endorsed the Afrikaner community's claims of 'white genocide' and endangered 'Afrikaner' identity. Subsequently, he offered them asylum by fast-tracking their applications. He cited 'unjust racial discrimination' to defend the urgency behind the move. New land reform law White Afrikaners have expressed growing resentment since the passage of a new land-reform law in January 2025. This law permits the government to seize privately owned land without compensation. This is only if it is 'just and equitable and in the public interest' to do so. The law aims to correct historically disproportionate land ownership. The Black African population comprises approximately 80% of South Africa's 63 million-strong population. Yet, they only own 4% of the total land. More than 72% land is under White ownership, although they form only 7% of the total population. The reform has triggered a backlash among segments of the Afrikaner community, who frame it as systemic racial persecution. Many claim threats to their life and land. However, no land has either been seized or formally taken over under the new act to date. Even so, existing crime patterns are used to portray a picture of targeted killings. These claims have not been scrutinised, but are relayed by the Trump government publicly. U.S. Refugee Act The United States Refugee Act, 1980 limits the applicability of refugee status. They must demonstrate a well-founded fear of persecution based on race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership of a particular social group. Neither U.S. law nor the UN Refugee Convention, 1951, makes concessions for economic insecurity or country-wide crime. On this count, the choice to accord refugee status does not comply with legal requirements. Further, international refugee law also disallows voluntary return to the refugee's home country. In this case, many of the refugees intend to go back home for holidays and to attend to business. There are also inconsistencies in the broader narrative. There is a fundamental issue in granting refugee status to White 'Afrikaners' as a group. It is not a homogeneous unit as it exists today. Historically, Afrikaners are the primary descendants of the Boers (Dutch colonisers). But today, Afrikaners comprise people from many different colonising countries. Bereft of their home country's identity, they formed this coalition of new races and cultures. Even the Afrikaans language is not the sole preserve of the Boer community. It is a language formed from Dutch, Khoisan, Malay, and many of the 12 official languages of the country. With time and inter-racial blending, this distinction has blurred further. At present, 60% or more of Afrikaans-speaking people are non-White. Popular misconceptions Amid this, misinformation is circulating that White Afrikaners are being killed for their racial identity. Is there an epidemic of crime in the country? Yes. But it is not White-directed. South Africa does have one of the highest per capita crime rates in the world (45 murders for every 1,00,000 people). Yet, only 0.3 % of these murders are farm-related or farm killings. In 2022, only 50 of the 23,000 murders were farm-related. Although the South African government does not release racially-segregated crime data, the police report that victims of rural crimes are mostly Black. There is a factual basis to support the 'White extermination' argument. National crime affects everybody. Statistically, White South Africans are less likely to be murdered than black South African. The lack of data backing this step by the U.S. government is just the beginning. Seen in a larger context, the Afrikaner refugees don't make a good case for asylum. They are not under any state-driven persecution, nor is there any fear of state excesses. Shift in U.S. policies The decision to grant asylum to white Afrikaners comes on the heels of the Trump administration halting other refugee admissions. Entry from war-torn countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Myanmar, Afghanistan, and Palestine has been suspended till further notice. People from these countries are better placed legally to seek asylum, and yet many are denied. In January, the Trump administration suspended the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP). This stops refugee processing in its tracks. Every 90 days, the Department of Homeland Security will submit reports to the U.S. President. If refugee applications are 'aligned' with U.S. interests, they will move forward. As a consequence, applications are considered on a case-by-case basis. In February, Mr. Trump signed an executive order accelerating the application of White Afrikaners. Their resettlement, within three months, sits uncomfortably in the face of the broader pause in intake. Meanwhile, 1,20,000 refugees have been waiting in line for months, some of them for years. They have gone through the mandatory medical and security screening and vetting. Thousands in refugee camps worldwide wait for UN Refugee Agency referrals. Refugees on the U.S's southern border are generally barred from applying for asylum as well. Moving forward Elon Musk's conspiracy theories gain traction given his South-African roots. Fears are stoked by Julius Malema, leader of the far-left Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF). He repeatedly sings 'Kill the Boer', an anti-apartheid song that increases the feeling of victimisation. The courts have not ruled this song as hate speech or incitement to violence. For now, Afrikaners in the U.S. are on their way to settling down in states such as New York, Idaho, Iowa, and North Carolina. (Manaswini Vijayakumar is an intern at 'The Hindu')
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
From trash to takeoff: Virginia eyes sustainable fuel future for aviation
Washington Dulles International Airport in Dulles, Virginia (Photo by Getty Images) As President Donald Trump's administration scales back national climate initiatives, local leaders in the Washington Metropolitan region are stepping up to push for cleaner skies — with jet fuel made from trash, crops and forest waste. At the heart of the push is Sustainable Aviation Fuel, or SAF, a biofuel derived from sources like corn grain, municipal solid waste, wet waste, and agricultural residues. Though not yet widely used, SAF is gaining traction thanks to its lower emissions and growing interest from regional policymakers. The aviation industry has yet to fully embrace the alternative fuel, largely due to the high cost of production and limited infrastructure for storage costs. But with international interest rising and U.S. climate policies shifting, local leaders remain hopeful that a wider transition is on the horizon. In the first three quarters of 2024, U.S. production of SAF reached 30 million gallons — a sharp increase of just five million in 2021, according to recent data collected by the U.S. Department of Energy. 'I'm very optimistic about its ability to survive because it goes straight to the farmers, and it is really about American-made products,' said Ed Hubbard, general counsel and vice president of governmental affairs for the Renewable Fuels Association. 'If you can fall within the framework of 'American energy, greatness and dominance,' I think that those are the aspects that survive throughout the process.' Hubbard warned that if the Trump administration withdraws incentives for SAF, it would contradict its own America First Investment Policy — a doctrine designed to pressure companies into manufacturing domestically instead of overseas. On Tuesday, Hubbard joined a panel discussion in Washington, D.C., focused on raising awareness about SAF. The event highlighted the formation of a working group, a directory of aviation-related associations, and plans for a traveling presentation aimed at engaging government and aviation leaders. The panel was hosted by the Greater Washington Region Clean Cities Coalition (GWRCCC), which works to promote affordable, local transportation fuels, energy-efficient mobility systems, and other fuel-saving practices. The federal government developed a strategy to encourage the commercial-scale production of SAF through a plan called the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Grand Challenge. Under President Joe Biden's administration, the initiative set primary goals to reduce costs, bolster energy security, and significantly increase the production and use of SAF. Key targets include achieving a 50% reduction in life cycle emissions compared to traditional fuels and meeting production milestones of three billion gallons annually by 2030 and 35 billion gallons by 2050 — enough to meet all domestic demand. Given the significant impact of jet travel on the environment, advocates hope SAF can help mitigate the pollution it causes. In 2022, aviation accounted for 2% of global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA), and that share is expected to grow. The agency noted that aviation has experienced faster growth in recent decades than rail, road, and shipping. 'They pollute the environment, and the closer you live to those environments, the more negative it is on public health,' said Antoine Thompson, CEO and executive director for GWRCCC. Data provided by GWRCCC at Tuesday's meeting showed a combined 622 private and public airports between Maryland and Virginia. Virginia began considering sustainability strategies at its airports earlier than other states. The commonwealth has a total of 406 public and private airports, 400 of which are privately owned. In July 2016, the Virginia Department of Aviation (VDOA) commissioned the Virginia Airports Sustainability Management Plan — a voluntary guide for Virginia's public airports to define their own sustainability priorities and needs. Rusty Harrington, chief planner with VDOA, was one of the contributors to the plan. 'We have so many people that are working in parallel, and (the meeting) has been an opportunity for us to see what everyone else is working on and find some mutual common ground opportunities,' Harrington said. Beyond SAF, Harrington noted that researchers also exploring advancements in engine technology, as well as the use of using electrification and hydrogen resources. As for Virginia's role in environmental stewardship, Harrington said the commonwealth is taking it very seriously. 'We want to protect the resources that we have, and we want to lessen our impacts in almost every activity we do — from design, construction, operation, maintenance of our airports — with the goal of securing and balancing the economic, the environmental and the social impacts of any of our actions,' Harrington said. 'We like to think we're doing a very good job of that because it's inherent in whatever we do in airport development.' The coalition has not yet set a date for a future meeting. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Photos: New 14-gate concourse coming to Dulles International Airport
DULLES, Va. () — The Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) is counting down to the big reveal of its new 435,000 square-foot concourse. In anticipation of the new addition, officials showed renderings of the new facility, Concourse E. The state-of-the-art establishment will give passengers direct access from the airport's AeroTrain system, provide an enhanced customer experience and increase IAD's capacity for domestic and international flights. PREVIOUS COVERAGE | Dulles International to get $35M in federal funding; BWI getting $14.5M Concourse E will feature over 46,000 square feet of new shopping opportunities, dining and other amenities. The new facility will come with 14 new gates, jetbridges at every gate, comfortable seating and direct access to the AeroTrain. To top it all off, there will also be a new 40,000 square foot United Airlines club lounge and space on the upper level. Officials said the new concourse fits the vision of the Dulles Airport Master Plan, which is designed to ensure that the airport evolves around continued growth. IAD noted that its record-setting passenger growth is outpacing the current terminal gate capacity, especially for United Airlines. The airport said that existing United Airlines gates A, C and D are fully utilized several times each day, leaving waiting areas and concession locations full. As a result, the United's waiting areas need more room to connect flyers. Construction for Concourse E is expected to be completed by 2026. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
The Intercept
21-05-2025
- Politics
- The Intercept
How Trump's Embrace of Afrikaner "Refugees" Became a Joke in South Africa
U.S. President Donald Trump (R) greets President of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa as he arrives to the White House on May 21, 2025 in Washington, DC. Photo:A group of white descendants of Dutch settlers to South Africa landed at Washington Dulles International Airport last week, part of a new Trump administration program aimed at 'Afrikaners in South Africa who are victims of unjust racial discrimination.' The group, Trump officials claimed, were fleeing 'white genocide.' On social media, South Africans turned the departure into a joke, dubbing it the Great Tsek, in a double entendre referencing both the Great Trek — the historic migration of Dutch settlers from the Cape Colony into the interior of the country in the mid-1800s — and the word tsek , an Afrikaans colloquialism that crudely translates to 'fuck off.' The departure was the latest development in a saga that has shocked, worried, and amused South Africans, in equal measure. The events that led to that flight, and indeed to the executive order that enabled the flight, began during President Donald Trump's first term, in May 2018. Kallie Kriel, the CEO of an Afrikaner rights movement called AfriForum, and his deputy Ernst Roets, traveled to America to make the case to U.S. officials and diplomats that South Africa's Afrikaner farmers were being racially targeted and would be harmed by a proposed law that would expropriate land from owners who had not used it. In Washington, D.C., the men met with then-national security adviser John Bolton and staffers in Sen. Ted Cruz's office. Roets also secured an interview on Fox News. Tucker Carlson interviewed him about his book, 'Kill the Boer,' which the duo were using as a calling card on their trip. In it, Roets argues that since the end of apartheid, South African authorities have done little to protect white victims of farm murders. Carlson caught Trump's attention a few months later, when he ran a follow-up segment on 'white farm murders' in which the anchor insisted that the government of South Africa was 'taking land from white people on the basis of their skin color.' In response, Trump tweeted, 'I have asked Secretary of State @SecPompeo to closely study the South Africa land and farm seizures and expropriations and the large scale killing of farmers.' Kriel's lobbying trip had been hugely successful — but while he was interested in making global links, the Afrikaner's main focus was domestic South African politics. He knew the attention the visit had garnered would irritate the African National Congress government, which has been eager to safeguard its international reputation for peace, stability, and racial harmony, since it was first elected into power in 1994. America was just a handy backdrop: For AfriForum, the real prize was increasing its reach and influence back home in South Africa, where Afrikaners have played a significant role in national affairs since the arrival of the first Dutchman at the Cape of Good Hope in 1652. During the apartheid era, Afrikaners largely saw themselves as a self-sufficient white tribe of Africa. Their leaders were insular and distrusted global political institutions. After all, the Afrikaner nationalist rulers were reviled by the international community, which sanctioned their government and declared apartheid a crime against humanity. When apartheid was defeated by a negotiated settlement between the Afrikaner government and Nelson Mandela's African National Congress party following years of international and domestic pressure, Afrikaners were promised that they could keep their land, assets, and businesses, if they pledged to integrate into the wider society and respect a new Constitution that their leaders had helped to draft. At the level of political representation, the National Party, which had implemented apartheid and ruled the nation since 1948, collapsed after the first democratic elections. It folded into the Democratic Alliance a few years later, which, broadly speaking, represented white South Africans of both British and Afrikaner heritage. Many white people of course voted for the ANC and other political parties, but voting patterns show a clear preference amongst white people for the DA. The Afrikaner community's economic muscle has remained largely in place as its political strength has waned, but a cohort of organizations have emerged to present the acceptable face of white nationalist ideology: white victimhood. A cohort of organizations have emerged to present the acceptable face of white nationalist ideology: white victimhood. The largely white trade union Solidarity and its policy arm AfriForum have been able to assert this victimhood in response to the emergence of the Economic Freedom Fighters, a political party led by firebrand Julius Malema, who is popular with the country's youth. The EFF and AfriForum were engaged in a long-running court battle over the EFF's use of the Xhosa-language song 'Dubul' ibhunu,' which loosely translates as 'kill the Boer.' The song was popular in the 1970s and '80s as a chant by freedom fighters seeking to overthrow white minority rule. In court, AfriForum argued the song made Afrikaners feel unsafe. South Africa's Constitutional Court ruled that given its history, those singing 'Dubul' ibhunu' were protected 'under the rubric of freedom of speech.' For the last decade, as the court case wore on and AfriForum found its voice in America, Kriel became a familiar face in the South African media landscape. Unlike the dour Afrikaner leaders of the past who shied away from speaking English, Kriel is affable, comfortable speaking English, and a constant media presence who can debate smoothly. But his beliefs are still linked to his predecessors. He is on the record as stating that when Dutch settlers moved into the interior of the country in the 19th century, there were no inhabitants. Likewise, Roets comes across as an even-tempered policy wonk, a demeanor he put to use this week when he appeared on 'The Charlie Kirk Show.' After their flash of success catching the eye of the first Trump administration, AfriForum shifted their focus back to domestic politics after the unsympathetic Joe Biden came into the White House, building a litigation unit to fight for Afrikaner rights and campaigning against the slow-moving land bill. Then Trump returned. Within weeks, he issued his executive order, 'Addressing Egregious Actions of The Republic of South Africa.' South Africans, including those in AfriForum and Solidarity who had fed Trump the white genocide conspiracy in the first place, were plainly shocked. At first, the nation was furious with the Afrikaner organizations. The executive order was strongly worded and threatened sanctions. South Africans across all race groups criticized Kriel and Roets for convincing a foreign government to collectively punish the entire country over falsehoods. They were accused of peddling lies and disinformation and called traitors, as the nation worried that the U.S. would impose sanctions. Even AgriSA, a group that specifically represents the interests of farmers and has historically been dominated by Afrikaners, said 'claims linking farm murders to the signing of the [Land Expropriation] act are baseless and irresponsible.' As the anger mounted, AfriForum and Solidarity held a press conference in which they tried to distance themselves from Trump's order. With his tail between his legs, Kriel backtracked on his claims of a white genocide. He has gone on to turn down Trump's offer of asylum, insisting he was a patriotic South African who wanted to reaffirm 'our commitment, our recommitment, to the country and all its people.' In the months that have followed, South African's anger at both Trump and the Afrikaner interest groups seems to have abated. Following the tariff debacle, and Trump's attacks on American universities, his own public servants, foreign aid, and domestic affirmative-action programs, South Africans have concluded that the U.S. president's views on South Africa can't be taken too personally. Rather than rage against Trump, South Africans have opted to laugh. Rather than rage against Trump, South Africans have opted to laugh. Trump's February comment that 'terrible things are happening in South Africa' has become the basis of parody skits made by young South Africans — including Afrikaners — who have no interest in aligning themselves with nationalism. They have shared video clips, captioned 'terrible things are happening,' of white South Africans dancing and carousing with their Black compatriots, and made skits in which white South Africans speak, direct-to-camera, ironically about their terrible lives, as they record themselves in beautiful homes and are served drinks by Black staff. The humor points to the fact that racial hierarchies are in place in the country, just not in the ways Trump and his refugees are prepared to admit. Trump's proximity to wealthy white South Africans — from tech magnates like Elon Musk, his AI czar David Sacks, and Peter Thiel, who lived in apartheid South Africa and Namibia as a child, to the golfer Gary Player, with whom he is purportedly close — is notable. Yet the Afrikaners who landed in D.C. last week have little in common with Trump and his friends. For one thing, there is no doubt that many of them are struggling financially. To be sure, they are not impoverished or persecuted, and therefore do not warrant the label refugee. But in the context of a raging U.S. debate about diversity, equity, and inclusion, it is worth pointing out that the new arrivals represent the bottom rung of the Afrikaner socioeconomic ladder: those who have not been able to transition smoothly into post-apartheid South Africa without the protections that white skin privilege would have afforded them a generation ago. In the absence of formal white supremacy at home, they have opted to take up an offer to be the first beneficiaries of America's new international affirmative action scheme for white people. They are in America because, despite the head start of inherited privilege, being white is no longer the sole guarantee of a good life in South Africa. That they should experience their loss of privilege as so catastrophic that they are prepared to label it genocide is absurd, sad, and, to some amongst the political class certainly, infuriating. As a popular columnist in South Africa has noted, 'The white utopia that they believe will greet them is in fact a country at odds with itself as it deals with its own racial tensions and inequality. And one in which they will have neither special protection nor special voice.' Even President Cyril Ramaphosa, who has a reputation for graciousness and diplomacy, lost his cool, chastising the departed Afrikaners by saying, 'As South Africans, we are resilient. We don't run away from our problems. … When you run away, you are a coward.' For others, however, the real issue at the heart of the conflict between America and South Africa has nothing to do with the Afrikaners. As EFF founder Malema noted this past week, 'Those people know that there's no white person being killed in South Africa, but they use it to make us change our policies.' In other words, the claims of white genocide are a pretext for an administration that is keen to pressure South Africa to withdraw its case against Israel at the International Court of Justice — a matter that is specifically named as a point of contention in the executive order. In true Trump style, the white genocide claims also provide leverage for advancing Musk's attempt to secure a deal for his satellite internet company Starlink with the South African government. Regulators in South Africa have refused to greenlight the company's launch until it can bring onboard Black shareholders, as part of a long-standing commitment to affirmative actions laws designed to address the painful economic legacy of apartheid. Since last year's bruising election campaign that forced the ANC to form a minority government, the nation has struggled to come together. Trump's executive order has galvanized the country. Whether through laughter, anger, or tears, South Africans have been united in their refusal to be strong-armed by an administration that — by weaponizing our painful past — has lost the moral authority it once had. In pillorying Trump's commitment to the crude racism South Africa walked away from three decades ago, the Afrikaners in America have become a symbol of the country South Africa no longer wants to be.
