Continued……The tension between South Africa and the US escalated after South African President Cyril Ramaphosa signed a land expropriation law in January, which permits the government to take privately owned land in certain situations deemed ‘just and equitable and in the public interest.’

Swipe through to uncover the facts. Let us know if the baseless claims made by white nationalists and their supporters in Washington measure up.

Sources

https://archive.ph/lGd00

https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/realigning-the-united-states-refugee-admissions-program/

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-45282088

https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/02/addressing-egregious-actions-of-the-republic-of-south-africa/

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cwyj1198wy3o

https://archive.ph/dVv4T#selection-1985.451-1985.501

https://bbc.com/news/articles/crljn5046epo

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/2/10/white-victimhood-to-g20-whats-behind-trumps-attacks-on-south-africa

https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1886321811937189902

https://www.unhcr.org/sites/default/files/legacy-pdf/4ec262df9.pdf

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvg9w4n6gp5o

https://archive.ph/Ve1ow

https://medium.com/@hrnews1/white-south-africans-are-only-7-of-the-total-population-yet-own-72-of-the-farmland-13b9266c56ae

https://southafrica-info.com/people/south-africa-population/

https://www.sahistory.org.za/article/history-apartheid-south-africa

AFRIKANER ‘REFUGEES’ REACH U.S.

So, the first White South African ‘refugees’ have escaped a country where they belong to a minority that (*checks notes*) owns nearly all the land and sits on nearly all the wealth!? Yes, these are strange times indeed.

Allegedly ‘persecuted’ White South Africans arrived in the U.S. on 12 May 2025, landing at Dulles International Airport. They’d been invited by Donald Trump, and their travel expenses were taken care of by his government. They will be settled in various US states, receive aid, can expect entry-level jobs, and are now on a path to US citizenship.

Trump made the asylum offer in reaction to South Africa’s new Land Expropriation Law. This allows seizures in very limited circumstances as part of efforts to address historical colonial injustices.

Continued……. President Cyril Ramaphosa rejects the idea that White South Africans are persecuted. They reportedly make up 7% of the country’s population, but own over 70% of all commercial land. Another example of their privileged status in South Africa is the fact that, on average, they earn 18 times as much as Black people in the country.

Sources
https://www.npr.org/2025/05/12/nx-s1-5395067/first-group-afrikaner-refugees-arrive

https://travelpander.com/a-comprehensive-guide-to-white-privilege-in-south-africa/

Continued……. In 1996, a US federal court ruled that the city used excessive force and violated constitutional protections against unreasonable search and seizure. The court ordered the city to pay $1.5 million to a MOVE bombing survivor, Ramona Africa, and the families of two k*lled MOVE members. In 2005, a court awarded $12.83 million to residents of the Black working-class neighbourhood who had lost their homes, but an appeals court in 2008 reduced the amount to $150,000 per homeowner.

Then, in 2021, a controversy ensued when a Princeton University forensic anthropology course allegedly did a 'case study' using the remains of two of the k*lled children. After protests and public scrutiny, Princeton retired the course. The city stated the families had not claimed the remains. Yet, in May 2021, Philadelphia Health Commissioner Thomas Farley resigned following news that in 2017, he had ordered the cremation and disposal of victims' remains without identifying them or contacting family members. A day after Farley's resignation, staff at the Medical Examiner's Office found a box labelled 'MOVE' containing uncremated remains.

Sources

https://www.cbsnews.com/philadelphia/news/move-bombing-philadelphia-reflection-day-city-council

https://www.zinnedproject.org/news/tdih/move-bombing

https://collaborativehistory.gse.upenn.edu/stories/long-shadow-move-fire

SOUTH AFRICA: PRIVILEGED SETTLERS WON’T LEAVE

On 7 February, former US President Donald Trump signed an executive order to allow the resettlement of white South Africans in the US despite a refugee ban on other countries. The move came under the guise of the so-called ‘unjust racial discrimination.’ Then, on 12 May, the US government welcomed the first group of Afrikaner ‘refugees’ on US soil.

The hard right’s outrage re-emerged after South African President Cyril Ramaphosa signed a land expropriation bill in January.

Continued…….. Trump advisor and South Africa-born tech billionaire Elon Musk also peddled unfounded claims of a ‘white g*nocide.’ Interestingly, during apartheid, the US government extended no such offer to Black South Africans for facing actual persecution at the hands of white settlers. In fact, the US supported the apartheid regime by blocking UN sanctions and maintaining strong economic ties with the regime. Further, many Afrikaners rejected this offer in February. 

The legacy of the apartheid regime continues to disenfranchise Black South Africans today. Despite making up more than 80 per cent of the population, Blacks hold only about 4 per cent of private farmland. Meanwhile, white settlers, who make up less than 8 per cent of the population, own over 70 per cent of private farmland.

In his interview with BreakThrough News (@btnewsroom on X), Thapelo Mohapi explained to hosts @EugenePuryear (X) and @raniakhalek (X) that white settlers who refuse to take up Trump’s offer want to continue enforcing a system of white dominance, founded on the myth of white superiority. Mohapi, general secretary of Abahlali baseMjondolo (@abahlalibasemjondolo on Instagram and @abahlalibM on X), South Africa’s pro-democracy and land reclamation grassroots movement of over 150,000 shack dwellers, pointed out an irony: These settlers referred to themselves as ‘Europeans’ during the apartheid era (1948-94) to enforce systemic racial discrimination against Black South Africans and others. Yet, now, they want to establish ‘Afrikaner nationalism’ on South African soil.

Video credit: @btnewsroom (X)

Sources

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/may/11/trump-administration-south-african-refugees

https://www.gov.za/news/media-statements/president-cyril-ramaphosa-assents-expropriation-bill-23-jan-2025

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvg9w4n6gp5o

https://www.upi.com/Archives/1986/06/23/US-and-Britain-block-UN-sanctions-against-South-Africa/8848519883200/

https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2025-03-10-land-ownership-in-sa-the-facts-and-figures/

https://www.reuters.com/world/stark-divide-that-south-africas-land-act-seeks-bridge-2025-02-09/

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2025/2/9/no-thanks-white-south-africans-turn-down-trumps-us-immigration-offer

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/americas/white-south-africans-to-arrive-in-us-under-exception-to-trump-s-refugee-ban-report/3562100

https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/group-49-white-south-africans-leaves-us-after-121696684

https://za.usembassy.gov/president-trumps-executive-order-on-addressing-egregious-actions-of-the-republic-of-south-africa/

IBRAHIM TRAORÉ CALLS OUT FRANCE’S RACIST VIEW OF AFRICA

France’s view of Africa is racist, paternalistic and based on a perception of Black people as sub-humans, at least according to Burkina Faso’s president Ibrahim Traoré. In a recent interview with RT France, he said Paris’ declining influence in Africa is its own doing.

On 6 January 2025, French President Emmanuel Macron stated that African leaders ‘forgot to say thank you’ for his country’s previous military interventions on the continent. His comments came just weeks after Macron gave an offensive speech on the French-occupied island of Mayotte, which had just experienced a devastating cyclone that severely damaged the local infrastructure, stating, ‘If it weren’t for France, you’d be in 10,000 times deeper in sh*t.’

Continued……. More recently, on 23 April 2025, Macron claimed that the leaders of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger do not represent their people because ‘there was no election.’ He then claimed that Gabon, which signed a business collaboration deal with France on 22 February 2025, was a better model for Africa.

However, the people of the Sahel are showing the world another form of people power: direct political engagement through daily organisation to protect and defend the revolution. In Burkina Faso, for example, this is demonstrated through the Citizen’s Night Watch - volunteers who come out every night as the eyes and ears of the struggle. It’s this kind of people power that, arguably, has been advancing the interests of Africans at a far greater speed than any previous election.

Video credit: @RTenfrancais (X)

Sources

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/frances-macron-insulting-all-africans-says-burkina-faso-president/3450047

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsVzbegPpWk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxkk56oLpTk

https://www.liberation.fr/politique/si-cetait-pas-la-france-vous-seriez-10-000-fois-plus-dans-la-merde-les-propos-de-macron-a-mayotte-ne-passent-pas-20241220_TFRN3C54CJA6VE36Q7BO6MG7II/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OPppG79LSY

NEW ATTACK ON TRAORÉ BUT COMMENTS PASS THE VIBE CHECK ✅

In February, Burkina Faso's government accused Human Rights Watch (HRW) of fabricating reports and was effectively banned. On 12 May, HRW published another report accusing ‘pro-government militia’ of ‘ethnic attacks against civilians’ in March. Various media outlets have circulated the allegation. However, many are suspicious, viewing this as another imperial manoeuvre.

Nearly four decades ago, a similar smear campaign targeted Burkina Faso’s revolutionary leader Thomas Sankara, who was assassinated in October 1987. Journalist François Hauter revealed in 2008 that the French state had solicited him to write defamatory articles against Sankara.

Continued……This was allegedly part of a campaign orchestrated by France's foreign intelligence agency, which provided Hauter with discrediting information. His smear articles were published in 1986, about a year before Sankara’s murder. Hauter later said he felt used and culpable for his involvement in the plot against Sankara.

In 2011, misinformation and manufactured consent were employed to justify the NATO intervention in Libya and the assassination of Muammar Gaddafi. The US claimed that Gaddafi was planning mass killings of civilians, a lie that was later debunked. Similarly, the 2003 invasion of Iraq was justified by false claims that the country possessed weapons of mass destruction, which Washington later admitted were untrue.

Today, all means are being used to character assassinate Burkina Faso's president, Ibrahim Traoré. But it seems our people no longer fall for the same old tricks - at least judging by the Al Jazeera comments section below its article on the latest HRW allegations. Have a watch, and then let us know your thoughts.

Sources

https://www.thomassankara.net/who-killed-thomas-sankara-by-bruno-jaffre/?lang=en

https://www.thomassankara.net/relations-france-burkina-quand-la-france-detestait-sankara/

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/oct/07/usa.iraq1

https://www.sipri.org/commentary/essay/2023/twenty-years-ago-iraq-ignoring-expert-weapons-inspectors-proved-be-fatal-mistake

https://www.hrw.org/news/2025/05/12/burkina-faso-army-directs-ethnic-massacres

https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20181025-how-the-world-was-misled-into-the-libyan-war/amp/

On 8 March 1987, a few months before his French-backed assassination on 15 October 1987, Burkina Faso's revolutionary president, Thomas Sankara (1949-87), delivered a powerful International Women’s Day speech. In this address, Sankara emphasised that women's liberation was inseparable from the broader struggle for African freedom and must be prioritised as a fundamental part of the revolution.

With Mother’s Day falling on 11 May this week, Sankara’s words remain profoundly relevant nearly four decades later. As we continue the struggle to reclaim African sovereignty, we must remember that women are society’s backbone and possess leadership capacity under liberatory conditions.

Sources

https://jacobin.com/2022/03/international-womens-day-feminism-burkina-faso-sankara

https://unitedworldint.com/21668-how-thomas-sankara-africas-che-guevara-was-killed-to-fulfill-french-neocolonialist-ambitions

https://files.libcom.org/files/thomas-sankara-womens-liberation-and-the-african-freedom-struggle.pdf

Continued………Could that explain why the media has consistently referred to Gendron as a ‘gunman’ or 'shooter' instead of a t*rrorist? Indeed, the US government has used ‘t*rrorism’ charges to detain people who organise against police violence, disrupt dairy/egg/meat industry operations and allegedly threaten profit-driven health insurance companies that deny coverage.

Gendron had penned a r*cist manifesto online before he targeted the majority-Black neighbourhood. The first page featured the Sonnenrad, a sun wheel symbol popular in N*zi Germany and still used by white supremacists. The manifesto included a reference to a popular white supremacist theory known as The Great Replacement, which argues that non-European people will soon outnumber the European population in the West and must, therefore, have their numbers reduced.

In the aftermath, Black people mourned the tragedy, while Pan-Africanist organisations across the country reiterated the call for urgent principled and tactical unity amongst African people worldwide. 

US federal prosecutors are seeking a death penalty charge against Gendron, sentenced to life in 2023.

Sources

https://edition.cnn.com/2022/05/15/us/buffalo-supermarket-shooting-sunday/index.html

https://archive.ph/2uNv7

https://archive.ph/owfYJ

https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5437&context=flr

https://academicworks.cuny.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?params=/context/gc_etds/article/4348/&path_info=auto_convert.pdf

https://abcnews.go.com/US/justice-department-pursue-death-penalty-buffalo-supermarket-shooter/story?id=106322955

https://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/tea/news/world/us-shooter-jailed-for-life-4125686

https://www.congress.gov/109/plaws/publ374/PLAW-109publ374.pdf

https://www.npr.org/2025/04/17/g-s1-61177/luigi-mangione-indictment-united-healthcare-death-penalty

https://foreignpolicy.com/2017/10/06/the-fbi-has-identified-a-new-domestic-terrorist-threat-and-its-black-identity-extremists

TRAORÉ CHAMPIONS TRADITIONAL FABRICS

Burkina Faso’s revolution is not restricted to politics. The country is shedding colonial symbols in favour of genuine African culture - including when it comes to dress and grooming.

Judges and lawyers are now required to wear gowns made using locally produced fabrics. Similarly, school children are being encouraged to wear locally made uniforms.

According to the Observatory of Economic Complexity, Burkina Faso imported $35 million in used clothes and textile articles in 2023. It’s hoped that switching to local fabrics will support businesses and create jobs. Another aim is to instil national pride and a sense of shared identity.

The initiative harks back to when Burkina's late leader, Thomas Sankara (1949-1987), popularised the local Faso Dan Fani fabric as a revolutionary symbol.

Continued…….. With so many vibrant outfits all over Africa, we should heed Burkina Faso’s inspiring example and proudly wear our traditional attire.

Video credit: WODE MAYA

Sources

https://www.aib.media/regions/2023/04/29/burkina-adoption-dun-decret-pour-valoriser-les-tissus-traditionnels/

https://blogs.loc.gov/law/2025/04/wait-it-is-not-about-wigs-the-story-of-faso-dan-fani-court-robes-in-burkina-faso/#:~:text=The%20New%20Look%20for%20Justice,made%20from%20Faso%20Dan%20Fani.

https://www.aib.media/boulkiemde-education-les-eleves-de-lecole-primaire-de-soula-sensibilises-au-port-du-faso-dan-fani/

https://ethicalfashioninitiative.org/stories/faso-danfani

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAFMk1O6Ycs

https://www.si.edu/object/faso-dan-fani-marka-textiles-burkina-faso-genevieve-hill-thomas%3Asiris_sil_1083857#:~:text=Summary,into%20sets%20of%20striped%20cloth.

https://oec.world/en/profile/bilateral-product/used-clothes-and-textile-articles/reporter/bfa