I am writing this column on an Amtrak train to Newark. My destination is immigration court, where I will try and obtain asylum for an abused woman from Central America. So you can imagine that I have more than a little interest in the topic of refugees.

That’s why my antenna went up when I heard about the small group of Afrikaners from South Africa who, according to trustworthy reports, have been given expedited processing as … refugees.

The mainstream media, much of which is Trump-phobic, has made it a point of mentioning that the Afrikaners are white, which is self-evident to anyone who understands South African history. They are the descendants of Dutch settlers who instituted the evil policy of Apartheid, which enslaved generations of non-white Africans.

There is nothing that can ever justify a regime that in many ways mirrored the race laws of Weimar Republic Germany.

It is possible that the Afrikaners who were given preferred status by our government were alive during Apartheid and even contributed to it, since the regime only ended 30 years ago.

It is even probable that the majority of the refugees benefited from the bloody and horrific crimes of the South African government, which dehumanized an entire race of indigenous people. As such, it is extremely difficult to have any sympathy for them. I don’t.

And I am outraged that they have been given preferential status over Afghans, Sudanese and many other populations that have been told their applications for refugee admission have been put on an indefinite hold.

Trump either does not know, or does not care, that giving special preference to affluent white landowners, many of whom are farmers whose lands were appropriated by the post-Apartheid government in an attempt to make amends for generations of racial injustice, looks really bad.

These are not men and women who were political dissidents like Alexei Navalny. They are not people who fought for religious freedom like the Roman Catholic priests rotting in the jails of Nicaragua. Or for a more apt parallel, these are not indigenous land rights activists like Berta Caceres from Honduras who was gunned down because of her activism.

These are people who can’t deal with the fact that they no longer have power in a country where they wielded it for generations, with impunity. That is not, to my mind, a refugee.

On the other hand, there is credible evidence that radical anti-white zealots like Julius Makena have openly called for the murder of Afrikaner farmers, and that he has a substantial following.

There have been incidents of violence against whites, again mostly landowners who are fighting back against attempts to appropriate their lands. This seems to be much more along the lines of private criminal activity, something which has rarely been accepted as a ground for asylum.

For example, extortion by private gangs is virtually never recognized as a basis for granting asylum.

Nonetheless, I’m not opposed to giving these individuals an opportunity to plead their cases. They may very well qualify as refugees under the law, and their race and affluence should not be held against them. That is the definition of racism.

But the obscenity and the hypocrisy in all of this is the Trump administration’s willingness to protect white descendants of Apartheid’s beneficiaries while at the same time freezing the refugee admissions of people of color, many of whom, like the Afghans, assisted the U.S. during the war.

How can any decent American justify that? That is also, to my mind, the definition of racism.

But perhaps this anomaly will shed light on the random and inequitable system of justice provided under our immigration laws.

Maybe, just maybe, this will trigger an understanding that no matter who you are, regardless of race or economic status or gender, the laws should be blind when assessing your right to protection.

You’re a white farmer with a sordid history but your life is in danger? Okay, we’ll consider your claim.

You’re a poor Latina whose husband, a police officer, raped you and your life is in danger? Okay, we’ll consider your claim and we won’t turn you back at the border.

You’re a gay hairdresser from Venezuela with tattoos? Okay, we’ll consider your claim and we won’t just deport you to a notorious prison in El Salvador.

If the white farmers get a pass, the rest of the world deserves equal consideration.

Copyright 2025 Christine Flowers