Mel Viljoen warns Afrikaner refugee applicants: ‘Don’t make any permanent decisions’

Mel Viljoen, who returned to South Africa after being arrested and detained in a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility, has warned South Africans considering the Afrikaner refugee resettlement programme not to make hasty, permanent moves.

Warning to applicants

Speaking on Jacaranda FM, Viljoen told presenter Martin Bester:

“Don’t make any permanent decisions, don’t sell everything here. Experience another place as a resident, not as a tourist. The grass is not greener on the other side. It’s just another country with more people”.

She said she had been in contact with several refugees who had arrived in the United States and that they had complained of feeling “lonely” and “abandoned”.

On expectations in the US

Viljoen warned that the United States would not necessarily receive applicants with open arms, saying:

“It sounds like Donald Trump is helping us, but he really isn’t. There’s no one on the other side waiting for you with open arms to help you and guide you.”

She also said authorities placed refugees into what she described as “the most horrific destinations where there is no Starbucks” and added:

“They are ultimately hoping to get more farmers who can farm their land”.

Views on how the US frames South Africa

Viljoen claimed the United States spread misinformation about South Africa to further its own agenda and said:

“It is a strategy that Americans do really well is to create narratives. They are extremely divided. Farmer murders are crime-based…they are not killed based on their skin colour.”

Background and follow-up

The article notes that Viljoen and her husband, Peet, were arrested in the United States on allegations of shoplifting and detained for overstaying a tourist visa, claims they both deny. After the incidents, Viljoen appealed to South Africans, particularly black people, to forgive the couple for previous racist remarks.

The piece also records that Viljoen and Peet previously posted a viral video in which she said there was a “white genocide” in South Africa and that “Trump was right”. She later clarified that her racist views were based on her own perspective and apologised for her “generalised” opinions. The couple have renounced their support for Donald Trump and criticised ICE detention centres for what they called a “horrific infringement of human rights”. Viljoen added:

“South Africa is not that bad”.

She also referenced her fondness for Woolworths and said she had forgiven people.

Commentary in public debate

The article references a separate public comment from former DA member Roman Cabanac, who posted on social media that the Afrikaner refugee programme was “not good for the Afrikaners. It’s good for America” and warned the programme would result in “Americans with Afrikaner heritage”.