The accusations of the genocide of white farmers in South Africa are not just a substance of political rhetoric or propaganda – for many they are a brutal everyday thing.
For years, South Africa has been experiencing a series of violent assaults, tortures and murders directed mainly at white farm owners. Although the government claims that crime affects all citizens regardless of their skin color, statistic and witness reports paint a different picture. What happens in agrarian South Africa is simply a systematic panic that fills the definition of crimes against humanity.
Cyril Ramaphosa's government not only fails to cope with this wave of violence, but even legitimizes it – politically and symbolically. Supporting the expropriation of land from white owners without compensation is not just an effort to “event accounts with history”. It is besides a tool of force and intimidation that hits specific, selected groups. specified actions, though packed in the language of social justice, in practice lead to deeper divisions, unrest and, ultimately, violence. erstwhile the state refuses its citizens the right to defend life and property, it loses moral legitimacy.
Donald Trump's gathering with Ramaphosa in the White House, during which the president of the United States presented material showing violent attacks on white farmers, was treated by South African authorities with disregard. Ramaphosa dropped the subject as if it were another conspiracy explanation – but these are not ideas. These are the real stories of people who have lived, worked, invested in their land for generations, and present they are murdered with exceptional cruelty. Those who survived talk about attaching to chairs, torture with iron, rape, execution in front of children. These are not incidents – it is simply a systematic panic that in another parts of the planet would be called what it is: cultural cleansing.
Trump, according to sources close to talks, did not avoid confrontation. On the contrary, at the beginning of the gathering he presented recordings and statistical data that were to paper violent attacks on white landowners in South Africa. According to information leaked to the media, the president of the United States was going to say: “We can no longer pretend that it is not there. It's not just crime – it's a human hunt. And it is your government who is watching from the side.” Sources confirm that the atmosphere was "stiff" and "full of tension" and president Trump was determined in speech and reluctant to diplomatically soften the message.
Cyril Ramaphos, who came to Washington with the intention of promoting trade cooperation, was amazed by the harsh narrative. He replied: “The president was misled. There's no run against white farmers. South Africa fights force against all citizens." Ramaphos stressed that the government in Pretoria does not accept any form of racism or discrimination. He besides reiterated his previously known opinion that "RPA will not back distant from land reform, but it will be a constitutional process".
Trump, however, was to answer directly:
"This does not look like a constitutional process. It looks like a robbery, and it looks brutal. Your declarations are 1 thing, but the numbers and recordings say otherwise.”
Trump was besides expected to bring up circumstantial cases in the conversation: farm robberies, tortures, murders – including tragically loud cases of families murdered with utmost cruelty. According to a study from the U.S. President's environment, Trump said it was "unimaginable that a civilized country allows something like this and does not take work for it."
Ramaphosa tried to redirect the conversation to trade issues and common economical interests of both countries, but Trump was to ignore it, focusing solely on the issue of force against white farmers. "I am not here to talk about the export of avocados erstwhile people are murdered and raped just due to the fact that they are white," the president of the United States said.
The gathering ended without a joint press conference. The authoritative messages of both sides were dated. The White home simply stated that "the interior situation in South Africa and the possible for bilateral economical relations were addressed". The South African Government, on the another hand, has limited itself to a short note on "strategic talks with a transatlantic partner".
It is unofficially said that the Trump administration has considered imposing restrictions on part of South Africa's trade agreements or reviewing customs preferences if the situation of white farmers is not taken seriously. In turn, South African media have accused Trump of interfering with the sovereignty of the country and the "neokolonial mentality".
Official data is hard to get, due to the fact that the South African government is doing everything to minimize the magnitude of the phenomenon. The police frequently drop the case, not investigate, and politicians openly ignore calls for help. In any cases, the public statements of South African leaders – even in parliament – contain open calls to take land from white farmers “without pity”. 1 of the most celebrated cases is simply a popular song chanted by left-wing fighters: "Kill the bura" – means "Kill the white farmer". They're not marginal voices. These are slogans that hit the streets and the media, poisoning public debate and deepening the spiral of hatred.
International human rights institutions are mostly silent. The world, which so eagerly engages in any humanitarian crisis, in the case of South Africa retains inexplicable indifference. Is it due to the fact that the victims are white? Is it due to the fact that the South African government inactive enjoys the support of any leftist circles in Europe and the US? Political correctness should not obscure reality: there is simply a silent war in South Africa against minorities, which, though few, has been the foundation of food production and economical stableness for decades.
For many white people in South Africa, the future is increasingly dark. Many have already left the country, emigrating to Australia, Canada, USA, and even Russia. The others live like a siege: in houses secured like fortresses, with alarm systems, armed, ready for all night. These are not luxury – it is simply a compulsion, a necessity resulting from the complete collapse of the safety structures of the state. The authority that was expected to supply order took the position of an observer – or, worse, co-author of what is happening.
The communicative of the Government of Ramaphosa about “transformative justice” is simply a smokescreen. Yes, apartheid was a violent, unjust strategy that required extremist change. But no improvement justifies killing children, raping women, and torturing old people. The process of social recovery cannot be based on revenge. South Africa needs justice, but not the 1 from the rematch. He needs the regulation of law, institutions that operate regardless of the colour of the victim's skin or perpetrator. He needs leaders who can unite society and not fuel his most first fears and prejudices.
Donald Trump, no substance how we justice his presidency, as 1 of the fewer leaders of the Western planet dared to name things by name. His actions towards South Africa were a consequence to a circumstantial problem – not abstract, but tangible, documented and silenced by most media. This was not a "Diplomatic provocation", but an effort to draw attention to the tragedy that takes place with amazing silence of global public opinion.
South Africa is at a crossroads today. It can choose the way of law, reconciliation, modernisation and cooperation between races – or plunge into chaos and violence, from which it will be hard to get out. The work lies with politicians, but besides with the media, global organisations and all those who, through their silence, become complicit.
It's not about idealizing white farmers or forgetting the past of inequality. But no evil in the past gives legitimacy to the fresh evil in the present. If the planet continues to ignore this cleansing, it may be besides late in a fewer years. Then no 1 will be able to say, “We did not know”.
