There’s a joke in South Africa that it’s so easy to claim asylum here, even the Swiss could do so. It’s easy to believe. At our local shopping centre in Johannesburg, the security guards hail from various safe African countries – Tanzania, Zambia and Malawi. All are on refugee permits that are renewed every few months, often with a bribe.
If there’s murderous intent among South Africa’s poorest, it’s not directed at white people
There are countless illegal migrants and refugees from as far away as Pakistan and Bangladesh. Ironic then that president Cyril Ramaphosa is making such a fuss about the 49 Afrikaners who have been granted asylum in the United States.
During his visit to the White House this week, Ramaphosa was ambushed by US president Donald Trump, who raised the plight of white farmers in South Africa. It made Ramaphosa squirm, but Trump is only partly right about the situation on the ground.
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