Lennerd is an Afrikaner seemingly on a US H-2A visa, and works on a farm somewhere in North Dakota. On the sprawling fields rise monstrous tractors – the sort that look unlike anything one would ordinarily see on a plaas somewhere in Mzansi. Cows smack their lips in the background, and Lennerd cuts the camera to record another video for his growing list of TikTok followers on what life is like for immigrants who’ve temporarily traded in ‘Nkosi Sikelela’ for the ‘Star-Spangled Banner’. Or, as some of his footage suggests, the braai for the barbecue.
In Afrikaans, he breaks down how the North Dakotans might receive an outsider from Africa –attitudes, fast trucks, GMO produce, and ‘okay’ beer. Thanks to conveniences like self-checkout counters, Uncle Sam has long run rings around South Africa.
The brandy just doesn’t come anywhere close to our home-brewed brands, and the people are often ‘ongeskikte bliksems’, but at least there are abundant opportunities for anybody who is willing to put his head down and break a sweat.
His salary is paid in dollars. He enjoys perks and incentives he could only dream of in South africa, and can make loads more cash if he sets his mind to it.
In fact, through Trump’s refugee programme for Afrikaners (which generously situates beneficiaries until they are able to provide their own upkeep), Lennerd’s parents have also recently touched down in Virginia. It’s a rather generous gesture, but with one bitter caveat – once you’ve been granted asylum, there’s no room to change your mind.
‘You will, unfortunately, have to come and stay,’ says Lennerd, ‘you cannot go back.’ One refugee family recently learnt this the hard way when they briefly returned to South Africa for medical attention, only to be denied re-entry into the United States.
But all of this seems rather trivial compared to the abrupt decision taken by Washington last week, namely to place travel bans on South African officials whom it believes are responsible for discrimination against whites and other minorities — notably the country’s race-based B-BBEE laws and the supposed genocide of white farmers.
With this unexpected move, the Trump administration has taken off the gloves and is bearing down hard on anyone who would seek to challenge or question the veracity of its accusations. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s announcement came amid concerns about President Cyril Ramaphosa’s health following his visit to the BRICS’s summit two weeks ago.
The sheer timing of the announcement has opened the entire matter to all manner of speculation and conspiracy theory. It comes in the wake of the BRICS Summit as well as the announcement by the Afrikaner group Lex Libertas that it would place 3000 crosses – each bearing the name of a murdered farmer – at the National Mall in Washington, DC.
None of the US officials and diplomats who have since opened their mouths on the matter have tried to hide that Trump has it in for the Republic. Down to a man, they have been scathing; are dead set on a predetermined goal; and made it clear that they willl not tolerate any differing opinions. The US ambassador to South Africa, Leo Brent Bozell III, went as far as tweeting that the sanctions are ‘the first step in a series of escalatory measures’. They all seem to be reading from the same script.
As could be expected, this has brought Ramaphosa out to say that he remains ‘willing and prepared to continue engaging with the United States as we engage with all other countries in the world. Where there are challenges, we will go in with our dignity, with our sovereignty, to engage with those countries without bowing our heads and treating those nations respectfully and expecting them to treat us also respectfully.’
International Relations and Cooperation Minister Ronald Lamola has told South Africans to prepare for the worst. Clearly, Trump is not going to change his mind. One feels for The Republic: concede to US demands, and you will look weak. You will lose face with the majority of the people, and given Trump’s vicious style, one doubts that the man will be truly satisfied with anything short of Ramaphosa abandoning the Israeli case at the ICJ and offering a grovelling apology. Whether on the playground or in politics, bullies are never easy to appease.
Also unsurprisingly, the purveyors of the ‘white persecution’ campaign, namely Afriforum, Solidariteit and Lex Libertas, seem rather chuffed about how things have played out. They are set to embark on yet another American roadshow to take the issue of farm murders to the MAGA heartland.
By contrast, the organisation Afrikaners for South Africa (AfSA) – which has sought to counter the ‘white genocide’ claim – has stated that those organisations don’t speak for all Afrikaners, and the actions of a few should not be used to stigmatise an entire group.
It added that Bozell’s statement on X was needlessly belligerent’, and ‘amounted to pressure to change South Africa’s laws, court outcomes and foreign policy’.
The DA MP serving on the International Relations Committee, Ryan Smith, stated: ‘We do not need any other country to hold a mirror to our face. We can see the effects of failed domestic policy for ourselves. The ANC does not need to be told by the USA that its policies are failing. It only needs to look at its plummeting electoral support as more and more South Africans reject its policies and governance that have repeatedly failed us all. We have a strong democracy and strong institutions. The ANC does not need visa restrictions. it will face its own consequences at the South African ballot box later this year.’
So while Lamola and the Buffalo are sweating bullets in the face of Trump’s ire, the ‘white genocide’ men will be out there fanning the flames. Others will be scrambling to pour water over them, and other people like Lennerd will be mulling over the choice of whether to stay at home or move permanently to the US. The rest of us will cross our fingers that the tensions will subside, because when all is said and done, South Africa remains home – potholes and all.
Featured image: The White Cross Monument in Limpopo. Source: Afriforum Facebook page.