“This is the land of the free” is what US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau told 49 Afrikaners who touched down in Washington, on Monday.

He, alongside US Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security, Troy Edgar, welcomed some of the men, women and children granted refugee status in the US.

Meanwhile, President Cyril Ramaphosa believes the Afrikaans-speaking South Africans who had left the country to be refugees in the US are against the transformation of their home country.

Speaking on a panel at the Africa CEO Forum in Côte d’Ivoire, Ramaphosa maintained that the Afrikaaners are not being persecuted in South Africa. He apparently conveyed this to US President Donald Trump during a previous conversation.

At the same time, US President Donald Trump is also maintaining his stance that white South Africans are facing racial discrimination and persecution. He spoke during a press conference at the White House on Monday.

International Relations Minister, Ronald Lamola, said the South African government is considering how it should handle relations with Afrikaners in the US. Especially in the case that they decide to return home.

Lamola said his department is working on a strategy for handling this situation.

He also confirmed that the South African and US heads of state will be meeting on this matter. This follows ongoing, and recent engagements between the two nations on the resettling of Afrikaner citizens in the US.

“Whilst South Africa challenges the United States’ assessments of alleged refugee status, it will not block citizens who seek to depart the country from doing so, as it also observes their right of freedom of movement and freedom of choice, specifically the right to leave the country,” read a statement  by the Department of International Relations and Cooperation on 9 May.

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This article has been updated with additional information.