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Officials and advocacy organizations accidental a 2nd radical of achromatic South Africans has arrived successful the United States nether a exile programme announced by the Trump administration
ByMICHELLE GUMEDE Associated Press
JOHANNESBURG -- A 2nd radical of achromatic South Africans has arrived successful the United States under a exile program announced by the Trump administration, officials and advocacy groups said Monday.
Nine people, including families and children, arrived precocious past week, said Jaco Kleynhans, caput of planetary liaison astatine the Solidarity Movement, a radical representing members of South Africa's achromatic Afrikaner minority. The radical traveled connected a commercialized flight, helium said.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Embassy said successful an email to The Associated Press that “refugees proceed to get successful the United States from South Africa connected commercialized flights arsenic portion of the Afrikaner resettlement program’s ongoing operations.”
An archetypal radical of 59 achromatic South Africans arrived astatine Dulles International Airport successful Virginia connected a chartered formation past period nether the caller programme announced by U.S. President Donald Trump successful February. The Trump medication fast-tracked the resettlement of achromatic South Africans aft indefinitely suspending different U.S. exile programs.
The Trump medication said it is offering exile presumption to achromatic South Africans it alleges are being persecuted by their Black-led authorities and are victims of racially motivated violence. The South African authorities has denied the allegations and said they are a mischaracterization of the country.
Trump has falsely claimed that achromatic South African farmers are targeted successful widespread attacks that magnitude to genocide and are having their onshore taken away. Trump confronted South African President Cyril Ramaphosa with those baseless claims during a gathering astatine the White House past month.
Ramaphosa has said the comparatively tiny fig of attacks connected achromatic farmers are portion of South Africa’s larger problems with convulsive crime, which affects each races.
The Trump medication initially said the exile programme was aimed astatine members of South Africa's Afrikaner minority, who are descendants of chiefly Dutch and French assemblage settlers. In caller guidance published by the U.S. Embassy past month, applicants indispensable beryllium “a subordinate of a radical minority” successful South Africa and “must beryllium capable to articulate a past acquisition of persecution oregon fearfulness of aboriginal persecution.”
There are astir 2.7 cardinal Afrikaners among South Africa's colonisation of 62 million, which is much than 80% Black. They are not the lone achromatic minority. There are astir 4.5 cardinal whites successful total, including those with British oregon different heritage.
The U.S. Embassy spokesperson said the U.S. “continues to reappraisal inquiries from individuals who person expressed involvement to the embassy successful resettling to the United States and is reaching retired to eligible individuals for exile interviews and processing."
While U.S. officials person not said however galore South Africans person applied to beryllium relocated, Kleynhans said determination person been astir 8,000 applications. Another radical helping achromatic South Africans use for exile presumption has said tens of thousands person applied.
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AP Africa news: https://apnews.com/hub/africa
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