In February 2025, President Donald Trump announced plans to offer refugee status to Afrikaans farmers hoping to escape what he described as a “genocide” in South Africa.
In ‘White Asylum: America’s South African Refugees’, BBC Africa Eye correspondent Claire Mawisa travels to South Africa’s Free State to investigate the claims and to understand who is trying to leave, and why.
The documentary includes contributors with a broad range of perspectives across South Africa, offering insight into how some people in the country view the situation.
Claire meets Marthinus, a farm manager who, after losing his grandfather in a farm attack, fears for his family’s safety and has applied for refugee status.
She also speaks to farmers, residents and victims of violence who present differing views on claims of an unfolding genocide. Farm murders are a reality, and often brutal. But as this BBC Africa Eye documentary finds, violence across South Africa spreads across races and classes.
The film investigates how fear, crime and online narratives have combined to create one of the most politically charged asylum routes in the world, and what this means for those determined to leave, and those who remain.
Claire Mawisa, BBC Africa Eye Correspondent, said: “This documentary set out to understand what is driving people to leave and to explore what is happening on the ground in South Africa. We spoke with people experiencing the situation firsthand. This is a story about South Africans, and it was important to reflect the realities and the range of perspectives within the country.”
Where to watch?
- ‘White Asylum: America’s South African Refugees’ will be available from Monday, 8 December
- International: The English version of the documentary will be available on BBC News Africa YouTube channel.
- UK audiences: Watch on BBC Global Eye on BBC Two at 7 pm GMT and BBC iPlayer
- The documentary will also be shown on TV channels internationally broadcasting BBC Eye documentaries.
