By Douglas Jones
A wave of migration interest has gripped South Africa as nearly 70,000 people from the Afrikaner community have registered their desire to relocate to the United States. This comes after a controversial executive order issued by former U.S. President Donald Trump, which recognized Afrikaners as “victims of unjust racial discrimination” and paved the way for their resettlement.
The South African Chamber of Commerce in the USA (Saccusa) confirmed that its website was flooded with tens of thousands of inquiries from individuals eager to understand the relocation process. In what it described as a “pivotal step,” Saccusa has handed over the names of interested applicants to the U.S. embassy in Pretoria, signaling a possible mass migration.
An embassy official confirmed to the BBC that the list had indeed been received, though the next steps remain unclear. While Saccusa is not a government agency, its involvement in the process came unexpectedly as it became the primary point of contact for Afrikaners seeking more information about the U.S. offer.
The development has sparked debate in South Africa, with some viewing the move as an indictment of the country's racial policies, while others dismiss it as a political maneuver. Either way, the flood of applications underscores deep anxieties within the Afrikaner community, raising questions about the future of race relations and migration patterns in the country.