US Government Charter Flying to bring Afrikaans to Us: NPR

Afrikaans South Africans support U.S. President Donald Trump in front of the U.S. Embassy in Pretoria, South Africa on February 15, 2025. Jerome Delay/AP Closed subtitles

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Jerome Delay/AP

Johannesburg, South Africa - A group of 49 white Afrikaans granted refugee status by the Trump administration left South Africa on a charter flight paid by the U.S. government and will arrive at Dulles Airport on Monday.

The Afrikaans, mainly descended from Dutch colonists, saw a trolley at the airport in Johannesburg but refused to talk to the media. They are expected to hold a press conference upon arrival in the United States, where they will be welcomed by U.S. officials.

A document seen by NPR said that upon arrival there will be food and "children's items." It said the Refugee Services Office in the Catholic Diocese of Virginia will provide assistance on site. After the press conference, families will set out to their final destinations in several states, including Minnesota, Nevada and Idaho.

Now, South Africans will have a pathway to U.S. citizenship and are eligible for government benefits.

Another document seen by NPR includes detailed guides on the arrival of South Africans. Family members of the Dutch Americans will be granted refugee status to help them. It says those who do not have families in the country will be “placed in a place where local organizations provide support for you.”

It says: "Your case manager picks you up from the airport and takes you to the house they arrange for you. This home may be temporary (such as a hotel) and a local organization can help you determine longer-term housing."

South Africans are also told: "You are expected to support yourself quickly in finding a job. Adults are expected to receive entry-level employment in areas such as warehouses, manufacturing and customer service. You can work hard to improve higher levels of employment opportunities over time."

However, the document states: "Any credentials from your home country may not be automatically transferred to the United States." Many Afrikaans applicants will be interested in the last point - some of them are farmers and have previously told NPR they want to continue farming in the United States

South Africans are incredible

In February, President Trump signed an executive order saying that minority Afrikaans have been treated unjustly in South Africa and provide them with possible resettlement in the United States, following aid from his return to South Africa, which may have sought help in South Africa since he returned to his cross, which has also been on his cross since he returned to his dei policy and support for the Palestinians.

Trump also said the South African government is seizing land from Afrikaans, but there is no evidence. The South African government did pass an agrarian reform law earlier this year, which was sanctioned in rare cases in unpaid compensation, but zero land has been seized. In fact, although white people in South Africa make up 7% of the population, they still own about 70% of commercial farmland.

The South African government was surprised by Trump's attack, saying he was attracted by false information. A spokesman for President Ramaphosa slammed Washington after learning in news reports that the first group of Afrikaners were granted refugee status and traveled to the United States.

"Although under false narratives, these people will not be blocked," spokesman Vincent Magwenya told NPR. "There is no legal or any factual basis to approve the executive order of the lawsuit. In this case, none of the provisions of international law regarding the definition of refugees apply."

"It is disturbing that people must acknowledge that our sovereignty as a country has been severely damaged and violated by the United States," Magwenya added.

It was not only the South African government that expressed its differences. Many South Africans - black and white - ban the small right-wing minority, which is incredible. NPR talked to ordinary citizens who cared about racial relations when Nelson Mandela welcomed a multiracial democracy three decades after the end of the racist institutional system (Africa Policy).

Many South Africans have entered social media to post memes and comedy videos, persecuted and joked about white people leaving the United States who would miss their “privileged life, domestic workers and beach vacations.”

However, not all Afrikaans in South Africa are thriving. And - Like people in the racial realm, some have suffered violent crime and attacks. They may be these stories they told when they arrived in Dulles.

American refugee advocates point out how unusual it is to deal with the Dutch so quickly - about three months between Trump's execution of the order and the first crowd leaving the United States. Typically, applications for refugee status in the United States can take years to process.

A U.S. government employee who had no authorization to talk to the media told NPR they believe what was happening in this situation was "immigration fraud."

South Africans arrived after Trump effectively suspended U.S. refugee enrollment plans in January.

“Nationwide, refugee resettlement agencies have been closed or laid off employees, and for the upcoming refugees to the United States, their travel authorization has been cancelled, and thousands are now waiting and facing danger,” Kenn Speicher, who has built the New Nord refugee, a support network in the DC area, said.