United States President Donald Trump has mobilised multiple teams to convert commercial office space in Pretoria into an emergency refugee centre for thousands of white Afrikaners.
According to a recent report from The New York Times, the Trump administration is spearheading an initiative dubbed “Mission South Africa,” aimed at relocating white Afrikaners who claim to be facing challenges in South Africa.
The process will be rolled out in phases.
The teams are reportedly studying more than 8200 requests expressing interest in resettling to the US and have already identified 100 Afrikaners who could be approved for refugee status.
The administration has reportedly also provided security escorts to officials conducting the interviews of potential refugees.
US officials stationed in South Africa are expected to present long-term strategies aimed at ensuring the effective implementation of the president's vision for the dignified resettlement of eligible Afrikaner applicants by mid-April.
This was outlined in a memo sent from the US Embassy in Pretoria to the State Department in Washington earlier this month.
The administration's focus on white Afrikaners comes at a time when the US is effectively barring the entry of other refugees, including approximately 20 000 individuals from countries such as Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Syria - who had been cleared for resettlement prior to President Trump's tenure.
According to the New York Times, the programme also positions the United States at the center of a heated debate in South Africa, where certain members of the white Afrikaner minority have initiated a campaign claiming to be the true victims in the post-apartheid era.
The US has so far suspended financial aid to South Africa, including through USAID.
Trump said several reasons, including the recently signed Expropriation Act by President Cyril Ramaphosa was an attack on the white minority, particularly farmers.
Cape Times