South African white genocide does not exist, new ambassador to US tells BBC
South Africa's new ambassador to Washington has a personal reason to challenge Donald Trump's assertion that there is a genocide against white Afrikaners - he is "a born Afrikaner" himself.
Meyer was one of the chief mediators to end white-minority rule, known as apartheid, in South Africa in the 1990s. He was appointed ambassador to the US in April after diplomatic relations between the US and South Africa soured.
Last year, Trump accused South Africa of white genocide in a meeting with President Cyril Ramaphosa at the White House and launched a US refugee pathway for Afrikaners.
Among them was Lielie, the name she uses publicly, who moved with her family to Texas from South Africa, where they had lived on her stepfather's farm, growing macadamia nuts and bananas.
"Nothing was stolen, we weren't harmed, but there are friends of my husband, people that lived around us - they were brutally attacked," she said.
Donald Trump confronted South African counterpart Cyril Ramaphosa over widely discredited claims that genocide was being committed against white people
The Trump administration is planning to admit up to 17,500 additional white Afrikaners as refugees over the next 12 months, according to a notice sent to Congress on Tuesday.
"While the South African government and many in the media have brushed off the horrific lived experiences of this community, the Trump administration continues to process applications for refugee status because the president has a humanitarian heart."
Du Venage is a council member of the Freedom Front Plus, a right-wing Afrikaner party, and argues that there is a "political drive towards killing white people, and killing the farmers on the farms".
SJ Du Venage, who lives on South Africa's west coast, alleges there's a "political drive towards killing white people"
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- South Africa's new ambassador to Washington has a personal reason to challenge Donald Trump's assertion that there is a genocide against white Afrikaners - he is "a born Afrikaner" himself.
- Meyer was one of the chief mediators to end white-minority rule, known as apartheid, in South Africa in the 1990s. He was appointed ambassador to the US in April after diplomatic relations between the US and South Africa soured.
- Last year, Trump accused South Africa of white genocide in a meeting with President Cyril Ramaphosa at the White House and launched a US refugee pathway for Afrikaners.
- Among them was Lielie, the name she uses publicly, who moved with her family to Texas from South Africa, where they had lived on her stepfather's farm, growing macadamia nuts and bananas.
- "Nothing was stolen, we weren't harmed, but there are friends of my husband, people that lived around us - they were brutally attacked," she said.