President Trump’s declaration that Afrikaners are refugees has sparked controversy, for it raises several complex issues.Afrikaners are the descendants of Dutch settlers. The Dutch began settling in small numbers in what is now South Africa in 1652. Later other European groups settled there and intermingled with the Dutch. Many Afrikaners moved to rural areas in the mid-1800s, but a large community continued to live in Cape Town. Those who moved signed an agreement with the King of the Zulu for land in the region. Although the king betrayed the Afrikaners, the agreement was later upheld. But as British rule over South African territories expanded, some Afrikaners — uncomfortable with British rule — moved to an area depopulated by the conflict between the Zulu and the Basotho. .In the late 1800s, two wars between the Afrikaners and the British were fought and the British were the victors of the second war. The Afrikaner states were incorporated into the British territories. Recent DNA studies of the Afrikaners showed that overwhelming they are of mixed race, including a small percentage of African ancestry.The recent meeting between South Africa’s president Ramaphosa and President Trump in Washington, DC, provided valuable insight.President Ramaphosa acknowledged the murders of some white Afrikaners. However, since the country does not collect racial statistics on murder victims, the numbers are disputed.Researchers studying the attacks on the Afrikaner farmers concluded that insufficient data exist to determine the extent of the issue. Further, reports about the Afrikaners often note that in 2024, the South African government passed a new land expropriation without compensation law, replacing the older law that required compensation. Critics have warned that the new law could be abused but to date no court cases involving such abuse have been reported. .Genocide Watch, a Washington, D.C.–based NGO and a member of the international Alliance Against Genocide, stated in 2000 that the South African government needed to do more to stop attacks on Afrikaner farmers.The British Sunday Times article by Dan McDougall (28 March 2010) was titled, 'White Farmers ‘being wiped out.’ The article reported that approximately 3,000 white farmers in South Africa had been murdered since the 1990s. These and other reports have contributed to the international discussion on South Africa’s land issues and the safety of Afrikaners.Unfortunately, the American media are often the primary source for worldwide coverage of international news; American political rhetoric tends to bias this coverage. This is evident today, in the coverage of South African issues..President Trump use of the term 'genocide' when discussing the Afrikaners, provoked an immediate reaction from anti-Trump commentators, i.e. most of the American media which, instead of investigating the situation in South Africa, began debating the meaning of genocide.President Ramaphosa mentioned during his meeting with President Trump that his political party is not responsible for these crimes. This significant statement has been largely overlooked by the media. President Ramaphosa is the head of the African National Congress, which was instrumental in the anti-apartheid movement and included figures like Nelson Mandela.The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF,) a South African Marxist-Leninist party that promotes Black nationalism, holds about ten percent of the seats in the National Assembly. The EFF holds rallies at which they frequently sing “Kill the Boer,” Boer being another name for Afrikaners. Additionally, the EFF advocate seizing land owned by Afrikaners through what is called land reform policies. A video of an EFF rally was shown during the meeting between the two presidents..In South Africa, the EFF leverages land ownership and racial rhetoric to bolster its political power. Some of the Afrikaners have been murdered, allegedly for political reasons but insufficient data exist on the numbers of these incidents. Sadly, American political discourse is skewing the interpretation of South African events for internal purposes.One hallmark of Western society is the idea of extending compassion to everyone, even if it is undeserved. This compassion stems from the Christian teachings of Jesus.There is no doubt that Afrikaners’ farms come under attack and farm owners are murdered. Debating the meaning of genocide therefore is futile: The farmers face clear threats, when a political party is openly advocating for their murder.Western tradition urges us to extend compassion to these victims. If president Trump wishes to classify the Afrikaners as refugees, he has the authority to do so. It is a blemish on Canada’s reputation that, when advocates called for Prime Minister Trudeau to classify Afrikaners as refugees, he declined.Dr. A.W. Barber is the former Director of Asian Studies at the University of Calgary. He is internationally active and has wide-ranging interests.
