Who are the Afrikaners? Story of South Africa’s white tribe that Trump claims ‘facing a genocide’
The Afrikaner people are a white ethnic group native to South Africa, primarily descended from 17th-century Western European settlers who arrived at the southern tip of Africa.
US President Donald Trump has offered refuge to a group of 59 South Africa’s Afrikaners, claiming that they were facing genocide and discrimination in South Africa, a country where they make up some 7 percent of the population but own more than 70 percent of the land.
As they arrived at the Dulles International Airport, US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau welcomed them, saying, “We respect what you have had to deal with these last few years.”
Who are the Afrikaners?
Afrikaners are a white ethnic group in South Africa, descended mainly from Western Europeans, and then settled on the southern tip of Africa during the 17th Century.
They include a mix of Dutch (34.8%), German (33.7%) and French (13.2%) settlers and form a “unique cultural group”, which identified itself “completely with African soil”.
Their language Afrikaans, is similar to Dutch, according to South African History Online.
Also known as Boers, Afrikaners actually mean farmer, and the group is closely associated with farming.
They also played a major role in the creation and enforcement of apartheid, the racial segregation regime that lasted until 1994. However, it ended over 30 years ago, and Afrikaners continue to hold a wide area of land as well as wealth.
Here’s their story
The concern for Afrikaners intensified after the South African government introduced the Expropriation Act in early 2025 to address long-standing inequalities in land ownership, which was rooted from apartheid-era dispossession.
The act allows the state to acquire land without providing compensation under specific conditions, including when the land is unused, abandoned or held for speculative purposes.
However, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa defended the law, calling it a tool for equitable reform, not blanket confiscation.
He stressed that land redistribution is important to keep a check on past injustices and foster inclusive economic growth. However, the group has condemned it, calling it a direct attack on white South Africans’ property rights.
Earlier on Monday, Trump during a news conference, reiterated that white people have been facing systematic violence since the end of apartheid, or white minority rule, in South Africa.
In March, Trump took to Truth Social, stressing that South Africa is being “terrible” to farmers in their country, adding that South African farmers are invited into the US.
However, after the group of 59 Afrikaners arrived in the US, Ramaphosa called them “cowards”, adding “they’ll be back soon”.
“As South Africans, we are resilient. We don’t run away from our problems. We must stay here and solve our problems. When you run away you are a coward, and that’s a real cowardly act,” he said.
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