In a move designed to shake up the disparities of land ownership in South Africa, President Cyril Ramaphosa has called for the redistribution of farming lands.
And that doesn’t sit well with white South African farmers who reportedly now control about 73 percent of the country’s profitable farming land.
The South African parliament is in support of President Cyril Ramaphosa’s measure and passed the motion 241-83 in favor.
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So white South African farmers are taking action in a surprising way.
More than 10,500 people have reportedly signed a petition calling for President Donald Trump to allow white South African landowners, who have their land stripped as a result of the country’s exapropriation vote, to immigrate to the United States.
White South African farmers believe they are being pushed out of the country and stripped of their land without compensation, according to news.com.au.
The petition calls on Trump to “take the steps necessary to initiate an emergency immigration plan allowing white Boers to come to the United States.” Boer is the term used to describe South Africans of Dutch, German or Huguenot descent, and who are also commonly referred to as Afrikaners.
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The petition from white South African farmers also urges Trump to stop admitting refugees from Somalia and the Middle East, because they “cannot be properly vetted,” and instead welcome white South Africans into the US. The petition explains that white South Africans “can be easily vetted and also possess skills that make them compatible with our culture and civilization,” the petition says.
South Africa’s Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Department urged people not to fret in a series of tweets saying: “This is a serious matter. It’ll be handled through dialogue and in a stable manner. No need for beating war drums and creating unnecessary panic! South Africa belongs to all who live in it!” the CGTA wrote.
Given Donald Trump’s stated preference for white immigrants the South African farmers’ petition might receive a sympathetic audience.