A group of prominent Afrikaners have written an open letter – titled “Not in our name” – rejecting the views of US President Donald Trump about white South Africans.
The collective effort was signed by prominent figures like journalist Max du Preez, reverend Andries Cilliers from the Dutch Reformed Church, and Louise du Plessis from Lawyers for Human Rights.
In the last six months, Trump’s administration has facilitated a refugee resettlement programme, which is open to minorities, particularly white Afrikaner farmers.
AFRIKANER PEN OPEN LETTER REJECTING DONALD TRUMP’S VIEWS
Over the weekend, the group of Afrikaners penned a letter titled, “Not in our Name: Afrikaners Respond to the Misuse of Their Story in US Politics.”
In it, the group rejected the US president’s claims that the South African government is promoting a “white genocide” and “persecution of white people”.
A part of it read: “We reject the narrative that casts Afrikaners as victims of racial persecution in post-apartheid South Africa.
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“This framing, now being used to support the far-right ‘Great Replacement’ theory in the United States, is not only misleading but also dangerous. It distorts the realities of South Africa, weaponises our history, and reduces a complex social context and necessary levelling of playing fields into a simplistic symbol of white decline. ”
The idea that white South Africans deserve special asylum status because of their race undermines the very principles of the refugee programme. Vulnerability – not race – should guide humanitarian policy. To elevate above others is to reinforce a racialised worldview that elevates whiteness above others and sees white identity as under existential threat. This is not a reflection of our values or lived experiences”.
ANC WELCOMES STATEMENT
The ANC have welcomed the open letter from the group of Afrikaners.
It shared in a statement: “These freedom-loving South Africans recognise that the unity being forged in our country is essential to building a non-racial, non-sexist, democratic, and prosperous South Africa.
“They affirm that nation-building requires honesty about our painful past and a shared commitment to redress the deep inequalities caused by centuries of oppression.
It added: “The ANC notes with appreciation their clear rejection of attempts to distort South Africa’s history and weaponise it to advance far-right agendas abroad”.
