Donald Trump’s imaginary genocide

Last week, the first group of refugees from South Africa arrived in the United States and according to president Trump they were fleeing a “genocide”. Trump has been speaking about the plight of white South Africans for a while now, partly at the behest of Elon Musk. But if you ask most locals – or even our president – and you’ll hear a very different story.

Around 50 people lined up quietly at the Johannesburg airport with piles of suitcases. On arrival in the US they smiled and waved American flags, while being welcomed by officials. But a few days later, when the South African president Cyril Ramaphosa visited the White House, the atmosphere was less genial, especially when Trump raised the issue of what he called “white genocide”. Ramaphosa told his host he should listen to the voices of ordinary South Africans, which is unlikely to happen any time soon.

South Africans take a very different view of these Afrikaner “refugees” and their decision to leave has been named “The Great Tsek” on social media. It’s a play on words, based on die Groot Trek, “the great trek” an epic journey of Dutch-speaking families in ox-drawn wagons from the Cape of Good Hope, through mountains and valleys, inland. It plays an important role in the history and cultural development of Afrikaners. But “The Great Tsek” can probably best be translated as “the big fuck off”.

People are so annoyed because the “white genocide” story overlooks the many forms of suffering faced by the vast majority of South Africans. It also ignores the entire history of Apartheid.

But, beyond all this, the fact that the “Great Tsekkers” have gone to the US still stings. The American administration has repeatedly targeted South Africa, from cutting crucial aid funding, to unceremoniously sending our ambassador home. And yet these 50 people still want to go there?

Beyond that, I worry that they amount to little more than a distraction. Fifty people have taken a plane ride, and yet I’m constantly getting calls about the thousands of lives affected by cuts to health and aid programs. And we still have a huge crime problem.

It makes me think of my recent trip to the US. In the queue to send a parcel, my home country came up in casual conversation. “Oh, I heard how Donald Trump is doing wonderful things for the people there with the genocide,” the lady behind me said, seemingly delighted to be in the know.

I told her that Trump’s meddling was neither welcome nor helpful. But, that’s not why I mention it. What strikes me is how she simply said “oh”, turned around and soon chatted to someone else.

Maybe I was a bit curt, or maybe she decided she wasn’t up for a political chat after all. But the fact that my answer made her feel there was no space to discuss the issue further, even with a white South African like me, is worrying. It shows that Ramaphosa was right – the willingness and ability to listen is not there.

For that one person, and I assume for millions of other people around the world, the issue of 50 people flying from Joburg to the US will likely get lost in the news cycle. But to the millions of South Africans who are neither offered nor interested in refugee status elsewhere, the Trump administration’s current focus on our country really matters. How the US decides to act next, including on trade deals and aid decisions, may affect us all – and that matters much more than the Great anything.