Almost 70,000 South African inquiries about US refugee relocation: Chamber

Nearly 70,000 South Africans have shown interest in relocating to the US under an offer extended by President Donald Trump.

This was revealed by Neil Diamond, president of the South African Chamber of Commerce in the US.

The chamber said it had sent a delegation to the US embassy in Pretoria this week to hand over the list of 67,042 registrations of interest filed with it since Trump's executive order was issued on February 7.

The inquiries were particularly from those who identified as Afrikaners between the ages of 25 and 45 and with an average of two to three dependents, Diamond told Xoli Mngambi on Newzroom Afrika on Tuesday.

“Many of them cited concerns over land reform and their perceived treatment in the country.”

He did not know their professions or backgrounds.

“We only gathered basic demographic information, not personal or occupational details.”

If those who inquired proceeded to apply for relocation, the cases would be vetted by US officials according to that country's usual protocols.

Diamond told Mngambi the chamber did not encourage or discourage anyone from leaving SA.

“We are not pushing any particular agenda.”

The chamber said while it has assisted South Africans wanting to “navigate this opportunity efficiently and effectively”, it was exiting the process and would not be involved any further. All future inquiries should be directed to the US embassy. It would return to its core mission of representing the interests of SA businesses in the US and promoting tourism.

Local farmers and representative Afrikaner groups previously told the Sunday Times they would be loathe to seek US refugee status. Theo de Jager, president of the Southern African Agricultural Initiative, said last month they had received about 50 inquiries and only one was from a commercial farmer.

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