White South African farmers claiming persecution at home seek refuge in Australia
News reports emerged earlier this year revealing that white farmers in South Africa had faced persecution after the country's government approved a new law allowing for the confiscation of their lands, which would be transferred to black citizens.
Following the reports, Australian Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton announced his willingness to start fast-tracking humanitarian visas for South Africans who had endured violent rural crime at home and wished to move Down Under. The step was slammed by the South African opposition, which called Australia, and those willing to escape there, ‘racist.’
The controversial legislation was endorsed by South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who pledged to hand the lands owned by white farmers since the 1600s to black citizens of the country without compensation for the owners. South Africa’s 50 million citizens are predominantly black, but 72 percent of...
Dr. Steven J. Lawson | 10/11/2009
