Former South African Ambassador to the United States, Ebrahim Rasool, has detailed the challenges he faced in Washington, as cracks started to appear in the diplomatic relationship between the two countries.
In a statement released hours after his return to South Africa, on Sunday 23 March, Rasool highlighted the struggles South Africa faced in the international arena.
READ: US ‘persona non grata’ Rasool has ‘no regrets’ as he touches down in CT
“After months of relentless attacks that South Africa has had to endure, it is good to feel the dignity of being African,” he remarked.
He also addressed the personal toll of his diplomatic mission, stating, “After weeks of sustained assaults on my character and reputation—being called a terrorist, jihadist, Islamist, anti-Semite—it is good to be home where we value ubuntu, where we see the human in each other.”
Rasool lamented that his mission was cut short, expressing his preference to have completed critical milestones. “I would much rather have successfully reinstated the USA’s aid funds for fighting poverty and disease in our country,” he said, referencing the funding cuts based on what he called “a blatant lie told by a fringe group, transmitted by powerful diasporans, and believed by the powerful in the USA.”
He also wrote about the conditions under which he was expected to conduct diplomacy.
“In all of the more than 20 meetings with Senators and Congress Members, in the weekly forums we addressed of Thinktanks and Business Associations, in the few meetings with the Administration, we were forced to discuss seriously how Afrikaners could be refugees in the USA, while ANC leaders are threatened with personal sanctions. We had to avoid arguing how there was a genocide in Israel, in the face of threats to punish us for using Cuban doctors as ‘forced labour’.”
He also underscored the importance of South Africa’s foreign policy independence. “Our relationship with the USA is critically important, and we must continue to pursue dialogue and engagement—even in the face of misguided and damaging executive orders,” Rasool stated. “But while we gratefully value our trade with the USA, imagine we withdrew from BRICS and dropped our non-alignment, only to be left with an unpredictable USA.”
Despite these challenges, Rasool remains optimistic about the potential for improved diplomatic ties. “We must fight for the relationship, but not at the expense of our dignity because we will not be bullied,” he asserted.
International Relations Minister Ronald Lamola met with Rasool on Monday 24 March. Lamola will now submit a formal report to President Cyril Ramaphosa for his consideration.
