“Give me your tired, your poor /
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free”
Those famous lines, part of a poem by Emma Lazarus, are inscribed on the base of the Statue of Liberty at the entrance of New York Harbour. The statue is traditionally regarded as an icon of freedom and a symbol of welcome to immigrants arriving by sea.
Perhaps the white Afrikaner refugee-emigrants to the US can be described as huddled. With their number reported to be between 49 and 59 (so far), they are certainly not a mass. Nor could they claim to have been unfree. Certainly, they must be tired of living in South Africa. We do not know if they are poor or how they are equipped to make a living in the US.
Of all President Donald Trump’s weird schemes and pronouncements, this red-carpeted migration invitation to what he describes as victims of genocide is the most bizarre. His narrative on this is not a matter of opinion, it is demonstrably false.
In his upcoming meeting with Trump, to gain tariff concessions, President Cyril Ramaphosa will be urged to stop something that is not happening. Trump seldom takes facts into account, so Ramaphosa will really have to “apply his mind” (as he likes to respond when there are difficulties) on how to negotiate with an unpredictable fantasist.
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