SAAI Leader Theo De Jager Calls on Donald Trump Not To Ignore the Sufferings of Black Farmers

• Theo de Jager, the leader of the Southern African Agri Initiative (SAAI), spoke out about Afrikaners moving to the United States
• He wrote an open letter to United States President Donald Trump who signed the executive order granting Afrikaners refugee status
• He expressed a strong desire for him and other farmers to stay and fight for the country and emphasised that black farmers struggle as much as white farmers if not more

Tebogo Mokwena, affiliated with Briefly News, provided local and international political analysis and interviews in South Africa for Daily Sun and Vutivi Business News during his nine years of experience.

LIMPOPO — Theo de Jager, a Limpopo-based farmer and the leader of the Southern African Agri Initiative (SAAI) has pleaded with the United States President Donald Trump not to exclude struggling black farmers from his foreign policies directed at South Africa. This was after Trump signed an Executive Order granting Afrikaners refugee status in the United States.

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What did the letter say?

De Jager posted the letter on his Facebook page. In it, he recognised Trump's leadership style and praised him as being a decisive leader who addresses stagnant politics and encourages reform and revival. He also appreciated the Executive Order and noted that for some, it may be the only viable path forward.

De Jager said despite his appreciation, he noted that the tension in the country is not constrained to racial division. He highlighted some of the issues and struggles black farmers face, including poor service delivery and corruption among others.

"Many black family farmers from other cultural communities suffer just as much— if not more— under the weight of corruption, poor service delivery and state inefficiencies. Families who are beneficiaries of land reform, and the traditional communities who share the rural spaces without commercial farmers, are delivered to the same challenges as us, and often worse," he said.

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What did he ask Trump?

He added that land reform failed to create a class of profitable black farmers who were denied title deeds. He asked that Trump does not punish hard-working black families who share the struggles of white farmers. He called on Trump to speak to those on the ground and not rely on the mainstream media's agendas.

Read the Facebook statement here.

What you need to know about the Executive Order

• International Relations Minister Ronald Lamola noted the Executive Order and slammed it for being based on unproven and false allegations.
• The Economic Freedom Fighters called for the citizenships of those who accept Trump's offer to be revoked.
• AfriForum declined Trump's offer for Afrikaners to relocate and said that Afrikaners are not going anywhere.

Over 10,000 Afrikaners enquired about relocating to the US

In a related article, Briefly News reported that the South African Chamber of Commerce in the United States received over 10,000 requests from Afrikaners who wanted to enquire about moving to the US.

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The Chamber of Commerce noted that Trump's Executive Order could result in an exodus of skilled workers and professionals and called on the government to find more constructive solutions.

Source: Briefly News