In brief
With violent crime prevalent in South Africa, many white farmers, such as Marthinus, have pursued refugee status in the US, fearing attacks and an uncertain future. However, this migration trend showcases a divide among the white South African community—some firmly believe they face systemic targeting while others argue crime affects all farmers, regardless of race. This tension highlights ongoing issues of perception, fear, and reality in contemporary South Africa, especially in the context of its troubled past.
The 4m-high (13ft) electric steel gates, capped with spikes, creak open as Marthinus, a farmer, drives through in his pick-up truck. Cameras positioned at the entrance track his every move, while reams of barbed wire surround the farm in the rural Free State province in the heart of South Africa.It feels like a prison, he says as the gates clank shut behind him. If they want to come and kill us they can. At least it will take them time to get to me.The fear of being attacked is very real for the white Afrikaner, who manages a farm with his wife and two young daughters. He did not want us to use his full name.His grandfather and his wife's grandfather were both murdered in farm attacks, and he lives a two-hour drive from where the body of 21-year-old farm manager Brendan Horner was discovered five years ago, tied to a pole, with a rope around his neck.Marthinus says he can't take a chance with his own family and, in February, they applied for refugee status in the US.I'm prepared to do that to get a better life for my wife and children. Because I don't want to be slaughtered and be hanged on a pole, he says.Our Afrikaner people are an endangered species.Not all white South Africans agree that they're being targeted and black farmers are also victims of the country's high crime rate.It's estimated that thousands of Afrikaners - who are mostly white descendants of early European settlers - have begun the lengthy process of applying for refugee status in the US since President Donald Trump signed an executive order earlier this year, although the figures haven't been made public.Despite announcing in October that the US would reduce its yearly intake of refugees from 125,000 to 7,500, Trump has made the resettlement of Afrikaners a priority.For Marthinus, it's a way out.I will give my whole life just so that my wife and my kids can be safe. Living in fear, you know? Nobody deserves a life like that.The latest crime figures released in November for the first quarter of 2025 show there was an average of 63 murders every day. While this was a decrease on the same period in 2024, South Africa's homicide rate remains one of the highest in the world.As the plight of white farmers continues to invoke heated debate, many question whether the fears they face are rooted in actual threats or amplified perceptions stemming from a painful historical context. Amidst this complex situation, the voices of those affected—both black and white—reflect a society grappling with the legacies of its past and the realities of its present.
