White South Africans Face Rejection in US Refugee Program Amid Claims of Discrimination > 월드뉴스

When Donald Trump announced in February 2025 that the US would accept Afrikaners from South Africa as refugees, many white South Africans believed they would finally escape what they perceived as racial persecution in their homeland. However, recent months have seen dozens of applicants to the refugee program receive rejection letters, leaving them bewildered and anxious about their futures. Trump had claimed a “white genocide” was occurring in South Africa, which fueled hopes among these individuals seeking refuge.

Following Trump's executive order, the first group of 68 white South Africans arrived in the US in May 2025. The US subsequently closed its refugee program to others fleeing war and persecution. As of now, over 13,000 white South Africans have relocated to the US, with more than 2,600 admitted in August alone. Afrikaners, who are descendants of Dutch and French settlers, ruled during apartheid, which repressed the black majority while benefiting white citizens.

Since apartheid ended more than 30 years ago, affirmative action policies have aimed to uplift the black population, resulting in a significant black elite and middle class. Official statistics indicate that approximately 38% of black South Africans are unemployed, compared to 9% of white South Africans. Many white South Africans now feel victimized by these policies and high crime rates, which they believe disproportionately affect them.

The far-right groups have highlighted violent crimes against white farmers as proof of targeted discrimination, despite official crime data not supporting these claims. This narrative has been amplified by Trump, despite pushback from the South African government.

On June 30, social media groups for refugee applicants began to buzz with reports of rejection letters being sent out. The letters from USCIS stated that applicants were ineligible for further processing, with no option for appeal. The exact number of rejections remains unclear, as USCIS has not disclosed application statistics.

One WhatsApp group, created for those who received rejections, had 311 members as of September 10, with fluctuating membership. While many rejection letters lacked specific reasons, some applicants obtained additional information through Freedom of Information Act requests.

Health authorities in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have declared that the Ebola outbreak has peaked, with infection rates beginning to slow for the first time since the epidemic was announced in May. Congolese Health Minister Samuel Roger Kamba confirmed a decrease in the transmission of the Bundibugyo variant of the virus.

Kamba noted that the number of new cases had fallen from approximately 120 per day to around 80. Additionally, ten of the 62 health zones have reported no new cases for over 22 days, allowing officials to remove six zones from the outbreak list. Four other zones can be removed after surpassing 21 days without new infections.

The outbreak, which was officially declared on May 15, has primarily affected Ituri province, where ongoing conflict has complicated response efforts. It is the 17th Ebola outbreak in the DRC since the disease was first identified in 1976.

Despite the progress, Kamba emphasized the importance of maintaining strict preventive measures. No effective treatment for the Bundibugyo variant has been found, although clinical trials are ongoing. The DRC received over 70,000 doses of the Ervebo vaccine last month, which is effective against the more common Zaire Ebola virus.

As of September 14, the health ministry reported more than 7,200 confirmed cases and over 3,475 deaths. While some officials welcomed the progress, MP Iracan Gratien de Saint-Nicolas urged caution against what he termed "triumphalism." He called for transparency in data to bolster public confidence in the government's claims of control over the outbreak.

Gratien expressed skepticism regarding the government's announcement, insisting that objective indicators must support claims of containment. He highlighted the need for lessons learned from previous failures in epidemiological surveillance that contributed to the outbreak's rapid spread.

The Panama Canal is set to further reduce maritime traffic as drought conditions worsen, attributed to the El Niño climate phenomenon. This decision will significantly impact one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, which accounts for 5% of global maritime trade and 40% of US container traffic.

Starting in October, the canal will allow an average of 29.5 vessels to transit daily, a decrease of 18% from the 36 vessels permitted in August. This follows a previous reduction in September, where daily transits were cut from 36 to 32. The drought has severely affected logistics, with vessels waiting up to ten days to enter the canal, leading to a container ship reportedly paying around $4 million to skip the queue.

The situation has been exacerbated by the ongoing conflict in the Strait of Hormuz, complicating logistics and increasing shipping costs. Authorities have warned that restrictions may intensify as El Niño is expected to peak later this year, marking one of the strongest occurrences in four decades.

The canal, which connects the Caribbean Sea to the Pacific Ocean, relies on fresh water from rivers feeding Lake Gatun. Officials reported that rainfall levels have been lower than anticipated, prompting concerns over the water levels necessary for safe navigation.

In 2023, water levels were so low that authorities reduced daily transits from 38 to 22, resulting in significant shipping bottlenecks. The extreme weather conditions associated with El Niño have led to record-breaking heat across Central and South America, affecting nine countries.

An analysis of meteorological data indicated that over 52 countries globally set seasonal temperature records during this period, with more than a third of those affected located in Africa. These unprecedented weather patterns have resulted in extreme heatwaves, droughts, and other climate-related challenges across multiple regions.