Seems the whole country and beyond is abuzz with the granting of refugee status to one Brandon Huntley, by Canadian immigration, on inter alia the grounds that he is the target for persecution by “African, South Africans”. Considering that this plays out as black South Africans picking on white South Africans for being white, it can only create a shit storm of epic proportions.
The Ottawa Sun reported that Huntley had provided “clear and convincing proof of the South African government’s inability or unwillingness to protect him” to a Canadian immigration and refugee board.
His evidence showed “a picture of indifference and inability or unwillingness” of the South African government to protect “white South Africans from persecution by African South Africans” said tribunal panel chair William Davis.
“I find that the claimant would stand out like a ’sore thumb’ due to his colour in any part of the country,” said Davis. (The Times)
What this boils down to is that Huntley alleges that he was a victim of crime in that he was attacked seven times by Africans (to use his description) and called some choice names by his attackers. Obviously those investigating these attacks will find out at which police station he reported them and what was done to follow up.
I have a feeling there won’t be too many dockets opened — prove me wrong.
Of course the fact that many thousands of South Africans of all races come under attack from criminals and as a matter of course are called names best not repeated here, seems to have been overlooked by the Canadian immigration and refugee board. So too the fact that the Constitution of the country makes it illegal to practise racism of the kind described by Mr Huntley.
No doubt there are many South Africans who are outraged at the failure of the government to deal with crime as well as black on white racism, sometimes originating from ministers themselves. There is merit in their argument but this must not distract from one vital point — it is not the law of the country. The failure occurs because too often those charged with overseeing or enforcing the law, outright refuse or neglect to do so.
As opposed to apartheid where discrimination was legislated.
Moreover the Canadian board failed to examine South Africa properly or they would have been made aware that the most affluent community in the country remains the whites. As such they are a target for crime as is the case of any affluent community the world over.
Of course numbering about 5 million plus it is hard to imagine how they perceived Huntley standing out as a “sore thumb”.
Two points need to be highlighted :
Firstly Huntley seemed to be keen on gaining residence in Canada as his trips to and fro make clear. It is not inconceivable that in his zest to acquire Canadian citizenship he over-elaborated — being kind — his experiences in order to impress the board. I’m sure it never crossed his mind that this could create a diplomatic incident. Like many of my clients it probably started out as “who’ll ever know?”
Secondly it must be a requirement of that Canadian board that only those with a full frontal lobotomy are entitled to apply for positions. If they wished to assist Huntley then they should have brought it under one of the standard grounds of entry or sent him back. As things stand now they are suggesting that a white South African (from the 5 million) stands out like a sore thumb, is the only target for crime — when crime is prevalent among all races, and all countries — and is victimised by the country (for that is what the decision represents) when its laws demand the exact opposite.
While there is room for vast improvement in South Africa, don’t confuse that with the moronic ruling of a bunch of lazy do-gooders who obviously did little or no research before arriving at their decision. By supporting them as proof of the problems in this country you in fact trivialise real concerns because their decision is patently ridiculous and based upon misconception and a failure to do even the minimum research.
Keep the focus on crime and racism right where it is because there is no shortage of actual examples highlighting the plight of many South Africans.
This is a get-out-of-jail card for the real perpetrators.
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111 Responses to “Brandon Huntley: Canadian sans sore thumb”
Traps, it’s okay, you can call the Canadian authorities racist, including this idiot who says I’m a criminal.
What we see as nothing special, abnormal or especially problematic with regards to someone being targeted for violence and the reasons behind it, the Canadians clearly see as especially problematic.
Maybe the Canadians simply have higher standards with regards to what is acceptable and what isn’t. It only takes living in a first world country to realise how bad South Africa actually is. Most South Africans havn’t noticed the gradual drop in standards because they have nothing to compare their situation to.
Read into it what you want. One thing is for sure, the ANC government is no longer being treated with kid-gloves by the international community. And the cracks are beginning to show. Either the ANC needs to get its act together, or its time for the DA to take over.
I have a feeling seven dockets were opened and lost — prove me wrong.
Mr Trapido, with your experience and knowledge of criminal law, if someone breaks into your house, wakes you up, rapes and tortures you, and then leaves taking nothing but your car, what were they there to do? Can you remember many cases like that where the criminals were white and the victims black? Can you remember many cases where the criminals were black and the victims black? It seems to me that there is a particular brand of violence reserved for white South Africans.
Scoff at this as much as you want, but your outrage matches his oppurtunism imho. I have had two parents and five friends leave South Africa from being on the receiveing end of too many pistol whippings - all with dockets opened, none with criminals caught - not to take him seriously. And always with some choice language.
Mr Trapido, the only reason I open cases with the police is for record purposes and for insurance purposes.
The granting of refugee status to SA citizens have been approved not only in Canada but as well in Australia. I have knowledge of people that has been granted refugee status, in Australia, with less serious convincing evidence as with Brandon Huntley. Making a case with the police about crime incidents is in many cases a waste of time and and a futile exercise. I trust that government can wake up in seeking that it is not the colour of Brandon’s skin, but rather his desire to live in a country where he feels safe and welcome that motivated his seeking refugee status. The fact that he does not want to live in SA does not eliminate the fact that he has legitimate reasons for fleeing from SA due to high levels of violence and crime.
As others have pointed out on talk radio - why did he not follow normal immigration procedures to gain Canadian residency instead of relying on refugee procedures? But Canada is now in a catch 22 situation - they cannot send him home since his notority in SA will likely result in him being victimised/mocked here. But probably legally and diplomatically, the Refugee board decision will likely be revised. Guess they will just have to find another reason.
The upside of this is that he can never return to SA while legally a refugee in Canada or his refugee status will be revoked. Not knowing him personally, this approach gives me the impression he is racist and SA is well shot of him - Canada can have him.
IMHO, this episode should make us reflect on our own system for granting asylum to refugees in SA, which is sometimes contradictory to our international diplomacy.
I’m disappointed to find that your writings are as flawed,inaccurate and hysterical as the majority of the deluge of commentary that this story has triggered in this paper. Who ever said Mr. Huntley was granted Canadian CITIZENSHIP? There are two totally separate legal processes and legal jurisdictions to deal with requests for sanctuary as a refugee versus applicationfor status as a Canadian citizen. I would have thought a lawyer would have known that.
The process of becoming a Canadian citizen is very different from becoming a refugee - you have to show knowledge of the Canada the country, and commitment to its constitution and values. The country you chose to leave is totally irrelevant in citizenship proceedings.
In applications for asylum the country you’re retreating from is in focus - as it was in Huntley’s case.
Have you read the court records on the Huntley decision? What is your basis for alleging bias or incompetence?
I think it was a great decision because it is triggering honest and open discourse on what is at the heart of our troubles in South Africa - racism is as institutionalised now as it was under the Nats. Not as in-your-face as the Immorality Act or Group Areas Act, but as material in its impact on our daily lives. The virulence is frightening - from both sides of the divide.
I prefer a person like Brandon Huntley who displays his phobia for African South Africans openly and has sold his South African birth-right for Canadian citizenship openly.
What is worse, is fellow South Africans, pretending to be non-racial but harbouring anti-African South African hatred and being closet Canadians and Australians. This manifests itselfs in many forms.
Not only is the affluence of white people a factor in their being victims of crime, but the reporting of crime against white people is wider and more emotive, partly because they have greater communicative power, and voices in the media. But in general white people receive a higher degree of service even at police stations than the rest. So i Guess ‘african south africans’ (wt-!) will be even more eligible to get into canada. hmmm, think i should get my application in..
Strange how the term ‘Africans’ seems very clear on its meaning in such a context for the likes of Huntely, however at all other times they fight to be called ‘African’ too.
Maybe the fact that there are those still called ‘Indians’ no matter how long they’ve been here should make others comfortable in being called ‘European’ forever too.
In your eternal quest to justify the actions of the current ruling party, you have completely missed (or missed expressing) the point. A precedent has now been set. I’m sure granting him asylum was not done without much measure behind closed doors. The result : Canada now welcomes political asylum applications from White south Africans.
the Canadian government obviously values our potential contribution to their society more than the ANC government does, and now welcomes us on the grounds of racial and violent discrimination against white South Africans, which I’m sure there will be many vehement denials about (especially from the ‘if you don’t like it here you can pack your bags and fuck off’ crowd) in the peanut gallery today.
Traps, Traps… you leave me wondering who REALLY are the “lazy do-gooders who obviously do little or no research”!
Firstly, black-on-white crime in SA is NOT just about the global “affluent community” argument that you advance - there is “no shortage of actual examples highlighting” barbarically vicious violence inflicted on whites that has nothing at all to do with robbery by the needy, and everything to do with racial hatred and revenge - what planet were you on during the Amy Biehl trial, mate?!
Secondly, discrimination IS still legislated in the New South Africa - it’s enshrined in the Constitution as “fair” discrimination IF it’s deemed to be righting a past wrong. So the ANC government uses that to pass legislation that allows them to “fairly” discriminate against whites by denying them jobs and education opportunities, take away their farms and fire-arms licences, etc., etc. Then the Government make more laws, policies, appointments and disbandments that effectively cripple the law enforcement agencies, ensuring that the flood of hate crimes goes unpunished in the vast majority of cases - effectively it’s open season for anybody wishing to perpetrate hate crimes on whites, mate.
Lastly, you have no right to insult the hundreds of thousands of whites who have decided to leave South Africa because of their very real personal experiences of victimisation, persecution and government “indifference and inability or unwillingness to provide protection” - or the boards that accept us into their communities.
I am afraid this is only be the beginning. Perception is reality. Anybody who does not qualify for an ancestry visa to wherever, and does not have any notable skills set like say Kev can use the racial classification on issues around AA and BEE as grounds for asylum. Sounds outrageous? To most it sounds like the West is taking one of its “own who is not wanted in South Africa”. There are many black illegal immigrants from South Africa in Canada and the UK who would love grounds for asylum or simply put leave to stay legally in the UK or Canada. I used to think it was only black Zimbabweans of whom a significant number actually hit the road before their white compatriots were “pushed out”.I remember those years 2000-2003 before the advent of the visa regimes on Zimbabweans.
Seriously though.
There is a case that was brought by a Zimbabwean woman of Asian descent who claimed asylum last year in New Zealand on the grounds that she perceived her ethnicity made her susceptible to attack by certain elements of the majority race especially since she could not demonstrate allegiance to the Harare regime. In addition people of her race i.e. Indians were being presuured to “rent out” their business premises by militant elements of economic indigenisation (empowerment). She also felt her prospects of getting a good career were diminished because of her race.
Victimisation serveys continue to show that whites are far less likely to be victims of ALL crimes than any other demographic in South Africa. As far as I can remember white men are still about 100 times less likely to be murdered than their black counterparts. The perception that whites in general are being targeted because of their skin colour has no basis in fact– there is only anecdotal evidence which is weak at the best of times. Economically whites still enjoy an unemployment rate below 5%, which compares favourably with most 1st world countries. Since 2000 this figure has actually dropped by about a % whereas it has increased for most other demographics. The argument that whites are disproportunately victims of crime and AA is laughable. What is not funny is that crime in SA is out of control and that something needs to be done for all south africans, especially those who are most vulnerable i.e. those living in our townships.
[mundundu’s real name] thinks this guy who went and got asylum in canada because he’s white really got it because he doesn’t have game. he’s from *cape town*, which is a place still run, from top to bottom, by white folks. if he can’t succeed *here*, it’s not because he’s white, it’s because he’s a loser.
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there were some countries where he could away with saying that. hell, there are even some parts of south africa where he could get away with saying that. but to be an english speaker from cape town? oh for fuck’s sake. puh-leez.
take a peek at the anc’s provincial and provincial to national lists from the western cape for the last elections. even they, the party of bee, had a disproportionate number of white folks on their list. [im still a bit miffed that ina conradie isn’t the premier of kzn. but that’s for another day.]
i really hope this guy gets mugged in scarborough when he’s buying drugs. oh, is that racist?
Does this then not afford all South African’s refugee status? The issue here is that the tribunal believed that whites were specifically being targeted. While this may be true in a handful of cases there is no evidence to show that this is the norm, not even the tired old bee arguments. Fact of the matter is that research continues to show that whites are proportionately still better off in terms of every indicator. If anyone qualifys for refuge it’s our young black women living in our townships how are disproportunately the victims of crime. The fact that the tribunal failed to recognise this is what makes their ruling racist.
I bet people who would leap into Huntley’s defence (after he said all those unsavoury things about South Africa in his quest for asylum in Canada) would conveniently forget that even people at the receiving end of the brunt of the farmers [pale-skinned, of course!] are also called names that are unprintable on these pages. The next thing we can hear is that Canada has offered a dark-skinned farmworker asylum because of the persecution at the hands of the pale-skinned farmers.
While thinking about it, this Huntley fella must have been very smart to crawl his way into the hearts of the Canadian immigration authorities (with his carefully contrived story of his persecution at the hands of his dark-skinned compatriots).
It needs to said, also, that the extent to which this whole Huntley asylum has received media coverage in SA (particularly the response from the ANC), is itself symptomatic of a racially polarised nation that is battling to come to terms with the reality of diversity it always purports to espouse and treasure.
Just wait until you have a dark-skinned ‘Brandon Huntley’ who escapes the claws of the “repressive” Helen Zille’s supremacists in the Western Cape (and opts to leave that province for another province). I bet the reaction from the ranks of the Democratic Allsorts to such a ‘Brandon Huntley’ would not be dissimilar to the ANC’s rancorous response we see and hear presently.
Perhaps Africans and people of African descent need to come up with a different word, instead of racism, to describe the system of beliefs, both in its putative scientific articulation or general popular expression, which has sought to deny our humanity. In terms of these beliefs, the fact that Africans have allegedly never developed a “civilization”, “technology”, etc can be attributed to our biological inferiority. These beliefs were first elaborated in such classic Enlightenment texts as the French Philosophes’ Encyclopedie, for example discussed in Kwame Appiah “In My Father’s House,” or Thomas Jefferson’s “Notes on the State of Virginia.” It is bizarre how Jefferson’s slur against Africans, that “their griefs are transient. Those numberless afflictions, which render it doubtful whether heaven has given life to us in mercy or in wrath, are less felt, and sooner forgotten with them,” was echoed almost verbatim by David Bullard in his now notorious Sunday Times column. Personally I think the suitable word is supremacy, or supremacism, as in “white supremacists are ever complaining of racism perpetrated by blacks.” Clearly the subtext to the bitter complaints about our government is the entrenched and pervasive belief that blacks are inherently incapable of ensuring a modern state can function or that civilization can be sustained. “Just look at Africa,” in the pithy words of James D Watson.
a friend of mine was at the consulate in pretoria today. that is *all* they were talking about, and even the staff, who are supposed to not have an opinion, basically said that if the consulate in cape town were still open, this dude wouldn’t have gotten his asylum status.
–
and while dockets are often lost, they are lost less often in the white parts of town [since white folks just love to complain and complain loudly and to the media about such things].
it’s just really ridic. i sincerely wish and hope that he becomes a victim of racially-motivated violence on that side. i’m not even going to front and sugarcoat it. [canadian and american police forces tend to cover up hate crimes when the victims are white ostensibly-heterosexual males just as much as south africa does. imagine that.]
Quoting Jean, “It only takes living in a first world country to realise how bad South Africa actually is”?
Excuse me? I am a British immigrant to South Africa, and I can tell you that I would FAR rather live here than in the UK, Europe, or North America (all of which I have lived in). Don’t get me wrong, there are issues, but all countries have issues and frankly I think SA has fewer than very many.
Crime, while bad, is totally overexaggerated. Recently the UK was named most the country with the most violent crime, ahead of SA and from my experience I believe it! I’ve never been the victim of Crime in SA, but was several times in England.
My standard of living is far higher here, and much research indicates that for the educated class it’s still the highest on Earth. South Africa is more efficient than probably every country I have lived in. Only Switzerland and the USA even begin to rival it, and then at 3-4x the cost with little more income than a professional earns here.
Likewise, I find SA MORE integrated and open than anywhere else I’ve ever lived. Clearly. I am proud to now call it home.
This man is absurd, and embarassing. As someone who is (now) a proud South African you can keep your so called ‘first world’. I’ve lived there, I’m from there, and SA beats it clearly!
The Canadian refugee panel got it 100% right. Huntley — and thousands of whites in SA — ARE being subjected to life-threatening danger on a daily basis by black criminals targeting them because white equals rich, contemptible and weak and easy prey for crooks both inside and outside of the ANC regime. Well done, Canada!
I tend to agree that in general, white people receive a higher degree of service even at police stations than the rest, and are less likely to be the victims of crime than others. Not in any way to cheapen our appalling crime stats, but our crime is colour blind. I am far more concerned about all the black Zimbabweans who are victims of crime in SA and have very little protection from the state. I have also spoken to numerous black SA crime victims who have had very little help from the police.
South Africa has been viewed for many years by various western countries as exemplifying the fight against overt racism on behalf of all the world. All countries tend to serve the global community in exemplifying some issue or other. With South Africa its race and racism. This view was prompted primarily by Apartheid (giving racism an official title by the way) and by Mandela, Tutu, and the miracle of the Rainbow Nation miraculously unfolding the 94 Transition.
Because many expected South Africa to set and complete the defeat of racism as a joyous example for all, there has been nothing but disappointment for the international community, as they have observed the reverse unfolding. South Africa is now rightly viewed as one of the most violent, racist and crime ravished countries amongst any of the global community’s Democratic members. Our nightmare stories are published in the western world almost daily. And South Africa gives them lots to think about and abhor with disbelief.
We should note that responding to international criticism with racist insult is viewed as juvenile and immature. What ignorant idiocy to display to the world.
By working in Canada, Huntley has experienced living in an integrated country without fear of attack, feeling safe and knowing true freedom. One can hardly say the same about SA.
What is so amazing about “African South Africans”? That is the way Government refers to Black South Africans on many forms, where race needs to be detailed.
Of course, it is a ludicrous decision, but racist? I am not 100% certain. Legal recourse is not a legitimate argument against his case. After all, many people in war situations have legal rights to life, protection - it is just so happens that the chance of these rights being guaranteed by their respective States is minimal. War is not necessary. Need I make a reference to Zimbabwe? People in such situations, when fleeing should be given a status as refugee.
Sometimes States fail to recognize and guarantee minority rights. How about repressed Tamils in Sri Lanka? Kosovans, in Serbia and Montenegro (before Kosovo became independent)?
One could argue, that IF Huntley opened 7 cases, and the police did not investigate, or keep the dockets etc., the same may have applied to him.
Not saying it is the correct decision, but to say there are no substantial grounds for such a decision, is to make a mockery of international conventions.
Dear Wells
I have to agree with you. The Bullard column must have been the most offensive thing I have ever read, and not only did it suggest that blacks can’t run a modern state, but even more disgracefully, that they are indifferent to the suffering and loss of their own children. This is a blatant lie as well as offensive.
If you don’t know what that Canadian body’s terms of reference or criteria for declaring someone a refugee are, it’s difficult to justify comments like ‘needing a full frontal lobotomy’. I, for one, would not expect a refugee to bring documentary evidence of his or her oppression to a hearing. If their story is credible and fits the criteria for granting refugee status then who are we to criticise the verdict? Perhaps Mr Huntley showed them his stab wounds and that influenced their decision.
Dear Siphiwo
Not all of them are missing their country of origin. Some of them are here through thick and thin, to work with our African brothers and sisters to make SA a success come what may, through good times and bad, and are as loyal to this continent as anyone. If this sounds like a pledge, that’s because it is.
All I can say good for him, get out any way you can. This country is going down the toilet at one hell of a rate. Our “president” is a joke, our unemployment, our crime and our educational systems are all something to laugh at. They have messed it up, and they still blame apartheid, it is time they grow a backbone and start accepting the fact that they are the problem and the reason things are going down hill.
The only piece worth reading is the comment from Madoda:
“I prefer a person like Brandon Huntley who displays his phobia for African South Africans openly and has sold his South African birth-right for Canadian citizenship openly. What is worse, is fellow South Africans, pretending to be non-racial but harbouring anti-African South African hatred and being closet Canadians and Australians. This manifests itselfs in many forms”
True journalism!
Tell me Mr Trapido, is the only way for you to keep your job is to be politically ANC correct?
If this is the best that you can come up with then it is clear that there is no freedom of press in South Africa!
Whether or not the much vaunted SA constitution makes racism or racist attacks illegal is neither here nor there….a constitution is no more than waste paper unless it is enforced.
I ma sure it didn’t escape your notice that recently a number of ILLEGAL racist attacks on “foreigners” resulted in people being burned alive …whilst onlookers (including a policeman) watched and giggled.
Where was your constitution then?
Both you and I KNOW full well that racism AND race hatred in SA is government sponsored.
Racism as in the fact that jobs are advertised daily for those of one skin color only.
Race Hatred as in the well tolerated utterances from ANC honchos like “one settler one bullet” and “kill the farmer” etc.
Both you and I also know that many SAffers fully believe that reporting crimes to the Police is a waste of time.
The plain and simple facts are that European South Africans ARE being targeted based on skin color.
They are targeted by the SA govt. through race based job selection etc. and they are targeted by the crims.
That much has now been decided by the Canadians.
Good for them.
I hope you will join me in wishing Brandon……..and all the thousands or millions of others who want to get out … well.
“The perception that whites in general are being targeted because of their skin colour has no basis in fact– ”
I sometimes wonder whether the stress of SA life somehow distorts the facts.
White skinned people ARE being targeted as I showed in my last post.
Where else in the word is it legal to advertise a job for a person with a black skin color?
Which other politicians in the world could get away with making statements like “one settler one bullet”
Or “kill the farmer kill the Boer” ?
You also said :
” If anyone qualifys for refuge it’s our young black women living in our townships how are disproportunately the victims of crime. The fact that the tribunal failed to recognise this is what makes their ruling racis”
Mark , Mark ,Mark …..get with the program.
The “tribunal” was not called to discuss issues with black women in SA townships….or the Zuma rape case ….or SA load-shedding …or Peter De Villiers.
It was called to hear a case involving ONE individuals claimed persecution.
I think you need a 6 month DE-Tox in a normal country….invite Michael Trapido to come with you.
Canada is recognizing officially what people have been experiencing in SA for a long time: the white population is being persecuted for being white; it is assummed that all white people are ignorant and racist, and guilty of the transgressions of the past. For all the black racists above: I was born here, and am as much an African as any of you. I never supported Apartheid, but also not the disgrace that is the New South Africa. Stop making a mockery of all that is good and decent, and perhaps the world will take you more seriously.
If 80% of the population is black then 80% of victims of crime should be black - DUH!
BUT whites ARE targetted, and stop trying to pretend they are not. The vast majority of crimes are by people who know each other - in the violent stranger crimes catagory proportionally THE MAJORITY OF VICTIMS ARE WHITE!
Mark
The reason there are less white unemployed is because they emigrate if they can’t get jobs - which is also why their percentage of the population has dropped since 1994.
To Wella,
I thought it was Sir Francis Crick (I guess the co-winner of the Nobel prize perhaps with Watson, correct me if I am wrong - must have been a different Watson) that blatantly gave racist attributes to governance of Africa just this last year.
It is sad that we are all so closely related and yet see so many differences.
Don’t know about you lot but I’m certainly getting my refugee application ready - been shot twice and am sure called worse things than Mr Huntley when it all happened.
Do you want to know why WE whinge and whine? Because we KNOW that the potential of OUR country is limitless and we intend to see it achieve the brightest future possible.
BUT, to sit around and scapegoat and not enforce the very constitutional democracy that we have by our own actions, then we only have ourselves to blame.
WE are the government and no amount of sidelining the issue under the pretense of race, politics or outright BULLSHIT as in the case Brandon Carl Huntley must get in the way of us ensuring this goal.
And depending on the viewpoints of alleged “1st World” countries to castigate us ALL as a bunch of baboons is a cause not worth pursuing. I tire of this crap and bless and forget this sorry sack of crap Brandon Carl Huntley because karma is a BITCH and she takes no prisoners.
Once the falsifications of his case are reviewed, he’ll be back in Mowbray and this time WHITE guys are going to beat your ass up for giving us all a bad name!
Whew, all this fuss over one (1) person who happens to be white. I’m sure the Nats and East Germans used to whine just as much when one of their “citizens” was granted refugee status somewhere based on being picked on in his home country. That people like Traps are apologists for the current ANC government behaviour is just sad. These oaficials should sorting service delivery etc etc.
I believe there are 2 facts. First, the SA crime rate is up there with the worst in the world (reported crime and catching and conviction of criminals). Plenty of this crime has some racial by line but race is probably not the prime motive. Second, AA/BEE legislation has a specifc and clear race based targets and stipulations.
Mr Huntley was able to get the Canadian authorities to accept these two facts as a basis for giving him refugee status.
In Canada, if you are a member of a ‘visible minority’ you are automatically awarded ‘under-dog’ status.
The Canadian ‘under-dog’ protection policy can have some hilarious consequences as in the case of Mr. Huntley who was obviously perceived by the Canadian refugee board as ‘member of a visible minority’ who has been ‘discriminated against’ in matters of the right to security of the person and property, right to earn a living, right to equal access to human and social services in his home country, etc.
Conscientious Canadians define themselves as ‘NOT Americans!’ (harrumphh) and always want to err on the side of ‘motherhood’– translated as always taking the non-controversial position on all matters. Irony is lost on the careerist do-gooders who NEVER want to be guilty of ’setting dangerous precedents’. In their terms, they had to accept Huntley’s refugee status because his case ticked all the right ‘under-dog’ boxes!
Canadians save the world one ‘under-dog’ at a time. Accusations that Canadians discriminate against ANY ‘minority’ will be met with national indignation. If one’s intentions are ‘pure’ how can one go wrong?
Dealing with ambiguity and irony are not Canadian strong points.
I also think Huntley’s case is nutty but hoped it would be the spark that ignited a real debte about crime in South Africa. Pale skinned S. Africans suffer much less from crime (most being able to afford protection) but our Black skinned comrades suffer badly, hence we ALL need to debate calmly and without finger pointing about how to tackle this scourge that is hurting us ALL in SA.
Huntley is in for a bit of a shock when he discovers that Canada is one of the most multi-cultural places in the world. He can run, but he can’t hide from his darker skinned brethren.
Good riddance.
Siphiwo Siphiwo, you sound 110% like the blinked Nat supporters in the 80’s who told white liberal protesters to f… off - are you actually real or just an old Nat pumping out the same old hate speech?
Its the duty of the white community to speak out against the outrageous claims of this idiot Brandon Huntley. Where is that white DA party when they need to speak up?
This moron went overboard out of desperation to stay in Canada and does not fully understand the the harm he is causing to both black and whites in SA by playing the race card. Blacks may now feel justified in telling whites to pack up and leave for Canada (maybe Australia may also grant refugee status to white SAns) if they can’t stand the heat. Whites on the other hand, will continue to live in the delusion that that they are the primary targets of crime. This continued polarization along racial lines continues to rip the rich fabric of our diverse society -our greatest asset!
In terms of these beliefs, the fact that Africans have allegedly never developed a “civilization”, “technology”, etc can be attributed to our biological inferiority.
This statement is devoid of any truth.
The above belief by bigots that the Sub-Sahara Africa, New Guinea, Australia, North America and the hundreds of other civilizations/ cultures “discovered” by the colonial expansionists during the course of the last 600 years, are “biologically inferior” is not only unsubstantiated, but refuted in anthropological circles.
What is evident is that environmental factors have played a critical role in human development and cultures that have evolved over the millemia have been exposed to a myriad of different environmental conditions that have determined their so called civilized status.
This progress can be lightheartedly summarized by saying; “If it doesn’t itch don’t scratch it”. If I lived on a Polynesian island many years ago who the hell would want the telephone anyway.
The bugger doesn’t seem to have marketable skills to offer to Canada so he opted for the easiest way out (which in fact must be the most difficult) and the sloppy Canadians authorities obliged. Citizen/refugee/resident/vagrant, I really don’t give a hoot what his status is in Canada.
South Africans harrumphing in indignation because their nasty little secret is finally out : that many blacks ARE racists too. Not only the long-reviled whites.
Well, it all had to come out, sooner or later. Canada cottoned on to it a little bit sooner than the rest.
Whats amusing me the most (after being bemused by Brandon himself) is the fuss “patriotic” Seffricans and the State/ANC (same thing until Jesus returns!) are making of this. In any country with a scintilla of confidence in itself and its value, this would be shrugged off as a whacky non-issue. The truth is that he has touched a very very raw nerve. The squeals are evidence of the fact that deep down the squealers venting know that the result bespeaks the rotteness of South African society and how there has been and is a consistent and almost deliberate failure of its various elites and particularly the new government (for the most part) to actually improve the country in word and deed. All forms of difficulties and technical gaps can be overcome if the elites have the social ingenuity to build consistently good social institutions. But in this era the only crime punishable is disloyalty to the party.
I think we’re all guilty of perpetuating racial stereotyping and for given credit to the issue, notwithstanding the lies/sensationalism contained in Mr Huntley’s statements. What, however is of cardinal importance is that he has the democratic right, enshrined in our Constitution and Bill of Rights, to choose without fear and or favour to decide where he wants to live, etc. He opted for that right, maybe not in the way many of us would’ve liked, but he made his decision. Let’s show the world that we encourage disagreement, democractic practices, etc. We have shown the world that we are a nation/country of people who rise above our challenges/differences. And just for my White brother(s) and or sister(s), stop feeling like a victim and stop fearing other races cos the inevitability that many had hope for after our attainment of democracy, did not happen.
It doesnt matter if whites are emmigrating proportionatily (i.e % of population who are unemployed) those who remain still enjoy higher incomes, better employment opportunities and are less likely to be victims of crime. Checkout Stats SA’s website for hard figures.
Traps, firstly, you wont find dockets of his alleged muggings, simply because he never reported any of these to the police (his own words, not mine).
Secondly, whatever anyone says, I believe that this man is deranged and I agree with Mundundu, and I as well refuse to sugarcoat my extreme dislike of the man. Good riddance of extremely bad rubbish.
@ Mark Robertson. While Jefferson bluntly states that Africans can only show “transient grief,” it is extraordinary how Bullard could glibly and vividly evoke the same aspersion against Africans 200 years later, thus my rhetorical flourish “almost verbatim.”
@ David Hurst. Francis Crick died in 2004, and James D Watson’s controversial remarks about political correctness constraining people from being honest about the universally acknowledged inferiority of Africans were reported in the British Sunday Times in 2007.
And the story from the link below, which was also reported in the New York Times, proves my point that the belief in African inferiority informs most criticism of our government.
This is a truncated report: “At least nine dialysis patients contracted hepatitis C while receiving treatment at a Manhattan-based Life Care Dialysis Center, which treated 70 to 100 patients daily at 30 stations. According to the CDC, the dialysis clinic did not inform any of the patients they had been infected.
Over the past decade, there have been 33 outbreaks in non-hospital healthcare settings in the United States. These outbreaks have resulted in 448 people acquiring hepatitis B or C infections and thousands more being placed at risk, according to a CDC report in the Jan. 6 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine”.
Had this happened here some among us would have been ranting about how incompetent the ANC government is, rather than reflecting the perils of poor infection control.
If all the abovementioned blogs are anything to go by - all white south africans would dearly love to go to very white english speaking countries. Some are now using desperate measures to get in. Perhaps that is what black South Africans (as one huge conspiratorial mass) has been doing all along!
BTW, I’m a white South African, and you know what, perhaps its the right way! I have tried living overseas and I could not succeed. White south africans who complain but never leave don’t have the financial resources and will probably not succeed anywhere else!!!!! (By a white south africans who hates his own race……..)
I have really enjoyed many of the posts this time round - Skatergeek1981, Dave Harris, Siobhan, Alex - good thinking makes good reading. Thanks. As for Pete Rooke - you just crack me up - Alex is a British Immigrant relating his PERSONAL EXPERIENCES of living in the UK as compared to RSA and you call him a fool “fool”? What happened to constructive engagement and common decency?
Siphiwo. BTW. Van Riebeck wasn’t the only settler to arrive at the Cape - the Xhosa & Zulu people were all migrating south at a similar time, to become settlers in Sunny SA themselves. So can we please move past the whole ‘Settlers’ name calling/ argument - it just doesn’t hold water.
Could anyone imagine what would be the attitude of the South African government if the Governments of all of the countries from which refugees to South Africa came such as Ethiopia,Zimbabwe,Malawi Etc demanded that South Africa not accept refugees because life back home is all hunky dory and the asylum seekers are liars ?
It is extremely well know what the percentage of black on white violence, robbery, murder and rape is. It is everything but white on black. The racial slurs and level of torture when crimes are committed against whites is now well documented. 3500 white farmers have been killed by blacks since 1994 in any other country this would constitute a genocide against an ethnic minority.
SA needs to take a long hard look at what the words integrity and conscience mean because they do not exist in the rainblown nation. There is a soullessness to SA and is rooted in the haves and have not’s willingness to conscienceless maim, torture, kill and steal with no regard for human life.
South African Boers fought the British for their independence and freedom then the blacks fought the Boers for their independence and freedom. Now no one has their freedom.
Freedom to walk in a park, along a river, on the beach in a shopping centre without fear. To sleep in your home raise your family and grow old without fear. SA has been living with this fear for so long people have forgotten what freedom really feels like.
Any person that slates another for wanting this kind of freedom not only accepts the actions of the current regime but condones it with them. Without true actionable non discriminatory law there will be anarchy.
Heavens help us! This horrid little incident has opened a festering wound in our country and poison has come pouring out. As usual, responses are polarised, and, predictably, many if not most white readers support Huntley. There they are, leaping in to whinge about crime and labelling all black people as criminals. Not to be outdone, black readers are claiming that all whites feel victimised and all would get out if only they could. Look at Madoda, who actually “prefers” pathetic racist opportunists like Huntley to other whites who according to him are merely hiding their racism. How have we come to this terrible point? What hatred are we harbouring in our hearts? One is hardly surprised that President Jacob Zuma has discouraged the opening of a new debate on racism, as all is seems to do is encourage the nastiest display of prejudice - on both sides of the racial so-called divide. Good riddance to Huntley. If only he was followed by some of your readers, both black and white…
Traps,as someone who once had political asylum and had to go through many hoops to get this status, with genuine reasons,it is clear that the Canadian panel is not working within the UNHCR definitions of political persecution. As a refugee Huntley will not be able to get Canadian citizenship for some years and will only be able to travel on a UNHCR travel document. Of course he would lose this status if he travelled to SA.
The panel have also made a number of boobs which has implications for white Canadians travelling and doing business in South Africa.
Your piece shows how rediculous this ruling is. The lawyer Kaplan that championed this case clearly had an agenda of setting a precedent for other South African immigration to Canada and found a chancer to work with.
The notion that all the whites in crowded pavement eateries and malls in Cape Town face race-based massacre at the hands of Africans is ridiculous.
Now would’nt it be even more embarresing if they did a proper investigation and lets say found that half of this mans extended family may be people of colour. Or that a relative lets say was married to an African and living in a township free of any harrasment. Would it make a difference to the Canadians if none of the rest of the mans family were in terrible danger. Some basic questions and investigation was not done. Are our investigative journalists doing a proper job?
I have no idea what the actual numbers are but I would not be exaggertaing to say that hundreds of thousands (even millions) of white South Africans have officially emigrated or simply slipped out of the country over the past 30 odd years. I have just spent 5 minutes tallying the number of family and friends who have left and it = 44. Because this has been happening without any fingers being pointed at the ANC there has been no outcry from government. The ANC are only concerned about Huntley because it has focussed global attention on them, and quite rightly so.
Would somebody care to point out the difference between Huntley and all the others that have left. Most of the official and unofficial emigrants have left because of fear for their future safety. This is as good a definition of refugee as any that I can think of.
anton kleinschmidt on September 3rd, 2009 at 3:11 pm
I agree with those who say that this individual did not have the professional skills needed to get residency, so he tried another trick. He was not the first - recently a SA family got residency in Canada after they claimed that the African sun was bad for their health - they do apparently have some skin condition.
Lets not forget that people from all over the world are trying all kinds of excuses to attempt to obtain residency in the west. I don’t know if Huntley’s claims are true, but I am surprised that the Canadian board did not examine the evidence.
For the record: Many white Zimbabwean farmers have been granted refugee status, as have black Zimbabweans and people from places like Sudan, Somalia, Iraq, Yugoslavia, Vietnam, etc. In Aus, I once met a (black) guy from Senegal who previously migrated to South Africa. He claimed that he left SA for Australia after he (as a foreigner) was the victim of multiple violent crimes in South Africa - he showed me the knife wounds.
When I left SA 25years ago, it was in large part because I did not want to patrol townships in Botha’s army. At the time I thought of claiming refugee status for that reason, but was fortunate enough to get skills-based residency. These days I am lucky enough to have both Canadian and Australian citizenships. I sympathise with true victims of crime, but I dread a flood of “refugees” from SA with racist motivations.
The varied responses are very interesting, especially as most seem to come from different time zones - SAns will write during office hours, right? Not during the early hours of the morning - and even now there’s nothing since 11am. Are u ozzie wanna bees and canadian refugees that homesick? is SA really that special? I know I thought so that’s why I brought my Scandanavian hubby back, and we bump into couples like us just about everywhere…1st worlders who just love SA
I have reason to believe that this Jon here is the former editor of the Right Wing Nazi and Hate Speech website www.southafricathetruthdotnet even the ignorrance is 100 per cent the same!
Anyway i am shocked that so many white South Africans feel so much hate for us and this as a community worker and someone who has spent 11 years of his life in community work and community building, I give up on unity, honestly!
I agree with you 100% on this one, not because I am naive of the problems facing our country, but because of the logic that was used by this poor fellow to get his wish. Personally I don’t have a problem and don’t think I will ever have a problem with a person who migrates to another country for better life. My only gripe is on people who feel the need to taint the image of their former countries to justify their reasons for leaving them. My other concern is with some comments here which seem to suggest people who don’t agree with Mr Huntley don’t know the difference between S.A and other first world countries. I would gladly change my views on this matter if any person on this forum can produce an evidence supporting the claim that “white” SAns are being exclusively targeted by criminals. Please don’t come up with spiced up horror stories that we all read from newspapers but cold hard facts. We’ll all like to see South Africa being crime free like the likes of Canada and some European countries, but in the mean while let us refrain from politicising crime to justify absurd arguments.
It is a facinating story. I can’t say I have had the same experiences as this guy, so it is a bit perplexing. While the story is interesting, I can’t see why everyone is getting so emotive about it? Everyone know’s it’s bullshit. The guy just got lucky. Move on please!
“There is merit in their argument but this must not distract from one vital point — it is not the law of the country……
As opposed to apartheid where discrimination was legislated.”
Again you are mistaken to say that discrimination is not law in South Africa. I presume this naturally are meant to contrast statutory discrimination during Apartheid with the present. The problem is discrimination is enacted in our very Constitution. Black Empowerment discriminates against whites. BEE discriminates against whites. When a Chinese person needs to be classified as “black” surely we seriously need to stop and reflect. Yes, constitutional discrimination needs to be fair and well intended but when Apartheid kicked off with the idea of separate geographical areas for different races, were that not also well intended? We now know what the evil result of the initial good intentions with Apartheid were. Canada has now declared the results of good intentions with constitutional discrimination to be evil and dehumanising and good cause for applications of this kind.
I would suggest that any canadian refugee board decision maker, lobotomised or not, who happened upon this thoughtleader commentary, or current news reports on this subject, or after 8 debates, et al, ad nauseum, would know that Mr Huntley was spot on.
There was a time when the Nats would trot out tame darkies like the Mangopes, and the Matanzimas, and others, thankfully lost to history, to explain how darkies loved apartheid, and how they had such a wonderful opportunity to develop in their own space. Dejavu
Your remarkable contribution has just such a Quisling feel to it, along with those of John Robbie, and Martin Williams and other white lackeys sitting uncomfortably in media positions and grovelling to be allowed another lick at the bowl.
If you are unaware that white kids and unemployed white adults especially males are being routinely
deprived of job opportunities, in an increasingly racist and hostile environment then you must be living in another country. Even so worthy a figure as Justice Kriegler recently drew attention to the abuse experienced by white members of the legal profession, who offered themselves for the relatively underpaid task of sitting on the bench: which fewer and fewer are choosing to do.
Affirmative action legislation is an abuse of human rights as implemented here, and a country that supports oppression in such places as Myan Mar, as we have, has so totally embarrassed its former supporters that the chickens are finally coming home to roost as well they may.
I can’t understand the fuss. If Huntley thinks he’ll be happier in Canada, good luck to him! In my small circle I know 2 families who couldn’t adjust to the culture and came home. And my white Australian nephew (ex SA-1985)was nearly killed while on a working holiday in Canada. He spent 6 weeks in hospital, minus vital organs, after being assaulted by 3 chaps with names that suggested that they were from a minority group. Just get over yourselves people.
In the old apartheid South Africa we often heard how the whole legislated structure and edifice of the apartheid system was itself violent and persecutory, never mind the enforcement of that institutionalised racism. Similarly, BEE and Affirmative Action constitute violent, legislated discrimination.They work against the wellbeing and freedom of people and their families.Quite apart from the outrageous physical violence we experience in this country Huntley would have had grounds on those discriminative practices alone to seek asylum in Canada. We musn’t, at one stage, speak of the violence of institutionalised apartheid and then call legislated discrimination by another name later on. Huntley had grounds for fearing the future by living in South Africa, whether or not he chose the best reasons in presenting his case.
The point is why SA whites should have to put up with any of this.
Why is there this assumption that whites must just accept this?
In the US, according to the department of justice regarding homicides:
“In 2005, offending rates for blacks were more than 7 times higher than the rates for whites” http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/homicide/race.htm
More and more secession via internal emigration of white taxpaying people and businesses appears to be the only solution.
Under the black government, the number of South african Whites declined by 16 percent from 1995 to 2005. A 16% drop in population is genocide.
“The white population, however, shrank from 5 215 000 in 1995 to 4 374 000 in 2005. This was a drop of 841 000 or 16.1%.”
Look, I would also be feeling a tad skittish as a member of a white minority, if my black president was singing “bring me my machine gun”. What could he possibly need the gun for, I would wonder? Not to mention that most black south africans would love nothing more than if their white counterparts would just all tumble into the ocean they came from and be gone for good. Grounds for emigrating? Why not.
What a good laugh the responses to this article have been! As a white South African living blissfully overseas I can only say that all this fuss looks alot like sour grapes. Good for Mr Huntley and hooray for Canada!
After reading all these comments and those on Politicsweb I can’t help but feel we could once again be left with egg all over our faces. We are so apt to be rash and emotional and when the evidence emerges we slink away and hope everyone forgets what idiots we are. What if Mr Huntley did not lie? What if the Canadians did their research properly? What if the lawyers tasked with investigating this expose all these violent crimes and it turns out things are even worse than we thought? So many people haven’t left without good reason. Is it really the case that more people have died violently since the ANC came to power than ever died under the apartheid government? Why are we so quick to condemn and so very, very slow to understand? I would rather wait for the situation to be clarified and make an informed decision before condemning the man. The same thing holds true for the Caster Semenya situation. It is just possible that we should reserve our judgement until such time as we know the facts. As for constantly labelling people racists, it’s just water off a ducks back now. Like wanting a divorce and being called a wh…? When would you not be called that?
Live with reality. The whites have more skills so they earn more. The blacks do not have them - and after 15 years blame your own government’s education policy.
But remember that 160 years ago (NOT 300 years ago) when black and white started to conflict - the whites had a technological head start.
Look at the parts of Africa where there were no white settlers (like the Congo and Mali) and see that their blacks are worse off. The history of the world is that the conquered acquire the skills of the conquered - unconquered they would have no skills at all. Give me one example of an unconquered people who acquired skills?
Compared to some, this is a very civilised site. Very little name-calling. And a lot of sincere, thoughtful people, people I wish I could meet: Sabelo, Chris Harris, Alex, Wella, Mark Robertson - to mention only a few whose names I remember. What they all have in common, I think, is their dedication to South Africa and its people. I would like to echo what Mark said, along with his moving conclusion: If this sounds like a pledge, that is because it is one.
On a related matter, can someone help me connect the dots here? So, if the majority of crime in SA is metered against the populations’ majority (as suggested above by many), then why is it that the populations’ majority continues to vote for a government that, for 15 years, has done nothing about the situation? In all other societies, that is exactly how governments are kept in check on delivery or failure to deliver. Is it that crime is in fact not a problem at all? Or is it that crime is in fact metered out on the wealthy minority who in and of themselves cannot effect a change in government? Maybe crime is simply not the central issue in people’s mind, but then couldn’t we apply education, healthcare, etc., as issues and apply the same logic?
(Before anyone gets all excited, ‘majority’ and ‘minority’ above does NOT refer to skin colour, but to absolute numbers within the entire population, made up of all different hues)
This charlatan was declared “an illegal alien” and on appeal he then decided to seek asylum.When he was found-out it was not clear how he entered canada and for how long he has been there and in my view its that if one wants to go seek asylum one go in there as a tourist then apply for refugee status immediately not after you have been caught as an illegal and then declare yourself a refugee!!
A white mother who lost her husband in a hijacking and went to go seek asylum in Australia also claiming this was political crime and that the hijackers called her husband racial names was denied asylum because the South African government was asked to make an input and they also stated very clearly that they don`t have anti-white laws and that they don`t control criminals and so cannot be called to account for what invectives criminals passed onto their victims and she lost her application and an appeal despite the fact that she had documented proof of this crime and here you have a papbroek with no proof passing the test!NOO…THAT DAVIS MUST BE GRILLED!
FOR THE RECORD…CANADIAN MIGRATION IS DIFFERENT FROM THE REFUGEE BOARD AND IS NOT PARTY TO THE BOARD`S DECISIONS!
As a PROUD Canadian! This Huntley guy has simply done something that just about every other refugee in this country has done! That is abuse the generosity of Canadians! I’ve watch documentaries on our Refugee System and the whole thing makes me sick to my stomach. I’ve seen people come into this country and the Officer saying I don’t believe you. Then “having to” let them in the door to get their trial date in the meantime all perks included! Do I think he should have been approved? NO! But he is just one of “10s” of thousands of Refugees that from “day one” start abusing this Country! Great we’ve recruited a “Circus Carnie!” That will help improve our economy! I hear the welfare bill coming!
As for condemning Canada as “racist!” GET BENT South Africa! If I were a white guy I wouldn’t want to live there! I read that some South African said he would never travel here! Good! Half the time they never leave anyways just like buddy did and then their abusing our system! I have no intention of ever coming to your 3rd World Country either after this! I think we should strip Nelson Mandela of his ” honourary Canadian Citizenship.” Just another example of us handing citizenship and rights out like its candy in this country!
South Africa calling us racist! Such an “enlightened” country! I’m just glad your proximity to us is what it is! Can you move further?
Get Bent from Canada! on September 4th, 2009 at 1:40 pm
The “pledge” proffered by Mark and endorsed by Madeleine - I add my endorsement along with Madeleine’s sentiment - there are many well balanced, thoughtful and sincere people contributing to this blog starting with it’s leader,Michael Trapido,who sets the decent tone! Would be great to meet some of the people who contribute here.
FA specialist immigration lawyer said this week that “racism is alive and well in South Africa” in the wake of the controversial granting of asylum in Canada to crime victim Brandon Huntley.
In his application for asylum, Huntley argued that whites are targeted by black criminals in South Africa and that the government had not taken steps to protect them. He claimed he was attacked seven times during attempted robberies and muggings.
The African National Congress condemned the Canadian decision, rejecting it as “racist”, “sensationalist” and “alarming”.
Gary Eisenberg, who is considered one of South Africa’s top immigration lawyers, told the Mail & Guardian: “The ANC has reacted in this way because it affirms that racism is alive and well in South Africa, and this is something that many people in South Africa still deny. I call it a politics of denial.”
“I am saying this because we had a very serious spate of attacks on foreigners across South Africa. Any one of those foreigners who had obtained permanent residence or refugee status in SA could well have applied like Huntley, or could have walked into a Canadian emigration office in Cape Town or Johannesburg and applied for refugee status in the same way as Huntley did, and in my opinion would have been as successful as he was.”
Canada’s federal government now intends challenging the ruling before the federal court, following a request by SA government.
Eisenberg said there were plenty of precedents for Huntley’s actions, and there
Crime is sytemic - government failure to correct and turning a blind eye is tantamount to persecution - Crime must be prosecuted - failing which you have no law and order. It goes right to the top. and is a clear reflection of the need for citizens to turn to other countries for refuge. Wkae uo South Africa and smell the rooibos. ZERO to do with race, albeit the excuse.
Here in this country we have something called “Due Process”. The Government doesn’t agree with the Refugee Board’s decision so they appealed it. It will go to a court now and we’ll see the result. Perhaps SA could take a lesson from Canada and see that our system has a process and that violence isn’t required or used as in your country! You guys are so quick to call people “racists!” Its “criminal” in my opinion that you are so quick to jump the gun like that! Make such accusations when this guys case is still before our courts. That’s why in your country you have the problems that you do and we don’t! Although we are starting to have them because we let all these minority refugees in!
Take lectures, lessons and criticisms from South Africa on human rights and racism…..yah right!
The only real crime this Huntley committed was being white! Minority Refugees to this country have been doing it for decades! A minority refugee who abused the system to get into Canada? I am sure most Canadians would be shocked at that statement. NOT! He just saw an opportunity to jump on the ban wagon. Not like your immature response has helped us! What is the guy going to do now? Return to South Africa? He’ll be persecuted for sure! So now he’s likely to be in! Gee thanks SA for that mature responsible “International” response! NOT AGAIN!
Get Bent from Canada! on September 4th, 2009 at 7:13 pm
The Canadian Immigration Board did not “overlook that many thousands of S.Africans of all races come under attack from criminals.” In fact this fact was crucial in their consideration of Huntley’s application. Your statement gives ‘official’ S. African sanction to Huntley’s fear that the S.A. Government is failing against crime in the country. Thank you for S. African confirmation of what the S.A Government is denying, even as you read this.
Trapido obviously wears tinted specs and smokes something strange . One would expect a little more from an educated South African . Maybe you have some ulteria motives for writing the junk you have ?
Huntley is well within his rights to seek asylum from a country destroyed by crime and falling apart at the seams . Education , SAA , Eskom , Health , Enviroment and more all stuffed up by the power hungry ANC .
Are you infering that Whites who cannot afford to immigrate or are not qualified to do so are expected to remain in South Africa in order to get a taste of what blacks were subjected to under apartheid and to take their just desserts ? Huntley at his age could have had nothing to do with apartheid so why is he hounded for his actions ? Because he is white ?
Of course there is more crime directed at blacks than whites . Grade One arithmetic suggests they outnumbers whites by 8,5 :1 or how did you work it out . 1200 White farmers killed every year ? Were 12,000 black farmers also killed and tortured ?
Everything that Huntley claimed in his representations has happened to me and my family ( which I can substantiate with facts ) and to thousands of other white South Africans.
Nigeria has been independent for 49 years now and they are liberated from colonialism . Go and see the liberalisation that independence brought them .
You are either an eternal optimist or a fool and I know not which suits you best !
@ Michael….in the light of today’s reports that there are already 400 to 640 South Africa refugees living in foreign countries, how do we deal with…”the moronic ruling of a bunch of lazy do-gooders who obviously did little or no research before arriving at their decision”. Lots of moronic do-gooders in lots of countries, neh?
Siphiwo x 2 will probably explain this with some assinine comment about zilleland.
anton kleinschmidt on September 5th, 2009 at 9:32 pm
Fact is that the world is starting to wake up and realize the true situation in South Africa. The two ethnic groups (whites and blacks) are fundamentally incompatible. In one year from now, after the World Cup, the world will know in detail of what is going on in SA and what are the prospects for the future. There are two main reasons for this situation. First, at the point of contact (1652) the two groups were 5 up to 10 000 years apart in terms of development. It is difficult for the blacks to accept that. It reflects on everything and most importantly on mentality and attitude. The second reason, the present leadership has never built this country, it has been passed unto them overnight; it does not know how to run it, no sense of ownership, and the continuous deterioration in all spheres is proof. In today’s competitive world there is no room/time for the socio-economic-political experiments SA is trying to engineer. Already, compared with last year, there is a 60 billion deficit in SA’s coffers, and that is spelling disaster and possibly the beginning of the end. With only 5 million of tax payers and a population of 45-50 million, there can be only one outcome :failure.
South Africa is on a waiting course for its own Mugabe and then things will happen very quickly. There is no hope in the world for the white guy in South Africa.
Firstly, I am an SA expat ( thank God) and now a Canadian citizen. The comments about Canada being racist in this case is so stupid. The amount of oppurtunity and saftey through refugee status granting in Canada for non-whites is huge. If this was a black man seeking assylum we wouldn’t be having this debate. Racism can happen to white people. If a white guy murders a black man it’s fueled by race if a black man murders a white man it’s just crime. Grow up and stop sucking the liberal juice.
WwAwR: Why we Are white Refugees is a joint project, by various RSA bloggers, and concerned individuals….
(a) LETTERS: Emails/Letters sent to Canadian, or South African Officials;
(b) NEWS ARTICLES: White Refugee Main Stream News Stories;
(c) BLOGGER OPEDS: Blogger OpEd Opinions on White Refugee Issues,
(d) REFERENCE: White Refugee Supporting Documentation…..
If you have written a letter to a Canadian Official, on the Huntley White Refugee issue, please email us a copy, so that we can put it in the letter database.
Email it to: jmc.pa.tf.white-refugee@gmail.com
While there is room for vast improvement in South Africa, don’t confuse that with the moronic ruling of a bunch of lazy do-gooders who obviously did little or no research before arriving at their decision. By supporting them as proof of the problems in this country you in fact trivialise real concerns because their decision is patently ridiculous and based upon misconception and a failure to do even the minimum research.
Keep the focus on crime and racism right where it is because there is no shortage of actual examples highlighting the plight of many South Africans
Yes…and the sooner you do away with spoilers and charlaTANS LIKE EISSENBERG in your blog the better because he doesn`t promote the kind of environment but one of polarisation,capitalism,opportunism and colonialism.
I`m glad that they don`t call him a “human rights lawyer” because as much as he would like us to believe he is he`s not!
prior to the proliferation of foreigners in this country he was a obscure struggling attorney then he jumped into the foreigners fray and suddenly he was a rich man who was now talking lamborghinis and double storey mansions and its sad to see a human being exploiting other humans in this way to enrich himself.
Now,he is jumping into the Canada fray solely for the purpose of expanding business horizons.
So much comment - so little on which to base them.
South Africa once again jumps to defend itself. “Who us?? Racists?? We can’t be racist - we’re black.”
Have all those with so much to say read the full Canadian Immigration documentation on Huntley. I think not.
Perhaps focus on what we do know:-
1 Public sector jobs are reserved for blacks.
2 Higher education enrollments for students are slanted to favor blacks.
3 Private enterprise is penalized - YES PENALIZED - for employing whites.
4 Pressure is brought to bear on sports teams to reflect the demographics of the country (regardless of the demographics of the sport!?!). Goodbye Kevin Pietersen and others.
5 Crime against the affluent is dismissed on the basis that the affluent are a minority “clinging to financial control”.
Why not settle this debate once and for all like this. If you are not brave enough to do the test just play the test out in your imagination.
White guys who feel Huntley is faking take a stroll down your nearest township street late one night.
White guys who feel Huntley is real take a stroll down your nearest affluent white area late one night.
Nobody denies that blacks are the largest victims of crime, but are they in relation to their portion of the population? You wouldn’t know would you, but I can tell you. They are not. Then you try the other favourite. Whites are attacked more often because they are the wealthiest. Really? If you did some research you would discover that Asians/Indians are disproportionately murdered. So bang goes that theory. In a nutshell, minority race groups in South Africa are disproportionately murdered relative to the national demographic, and the perpetrators are black. What’s it like being an intellectual coward? Sounds like the minority groups are persecuted to me, and anybody who is a member of a minority group would have reason to apply for asylum. By the way, attacking somebody by virtue of the fact that they are assumed wealthy, as a result of membership of a particular race group, requires the perpetrator to racially profile. This again amounts to racial persecution.
WOW! Who would have thought that 15 years after our much celebrated democracy that the true colours of our previous opressors will finally come out. But hey, none of this is new to me as a “Black person or as an African”. My forefathers, my great grandfathers, my grandfathers, my father and myself included have gone through this. Its amazing that as a Black African I have given up so much of what is rightly mine for someone I considered a fellow country men. I hear the talks, I see the articles and the blogs; SA this and SA that, Black South Africans this and that, ANC this and that. Nevermind the fact that Black South Africans were brutally murdered, enslaved, tortured, dehumanised and stripped of their land, their heritage and so many other things for over 300 years but oh no, that is all in the past.
Bottom line is SA is not perfect; and no country is. The Queens England is not perfect and so is Barack’s America. If you feel that unhappy about my beautiful country then maybe you should follow Brandon and book a room at the Holiday Inn Canada or Australia.
People!!!Even if we don`t like other people let us please respect their forebears by adding some prefix to their surnames taking into account whose surnames those are.I`m really revulsed by the disrespect that people are showing to Mr Trapido but commend his tolerance.
Mbeki didn`t like the DA Parliamentarians but he referred to them in respectable terms in Parliament and that was the geatest lesson I learned from him.
Michael,your articles are educative,informative,insightful and balanced.Its only those who doesn`t want to hear the truth who are offended b them and that`s unfortunate…
Vernon,you seemed to still be at the Caprivi psychologically,emotionally and spiritually and its time to visit De Klerk`s Foundation for some lecturing of ou current political landscape.
This questionable refugee did not leav South Africa for Canada for political reasons but for greener pastures through twisting some Canadian Woman`s arm to naturalise him an only when things didn`t go his way did he lie that he was persecuted but couldn`t produce any evidence as to who was persecuting him but circumstantial,nefarious and frivolous evidence.
He claimed the black government and black South Africans are persecuting him but there should be documentation in that egard.Do not compare blacks and whites because there was documentation proving that the previous government and whites were persecuting blacks and that`s why the world threw its lot behind them.
I agree with the author when he says that the perception that there is “Black” on “White” crime in RSA. Black people are also victims of crime, I get people breaking into my house from time to time, some point guns at me when I am going about doing my shit. I can go everywhere I want to in my modest car.
Although I am not a criminal let alone a racist one, I know that even if white people wre green, they would still be targeted. It is not their race, it is their social class and racial history that is the cause.
Black on white relations have historically been very negative, given that b;ack people count for over 70% of the population and over 90% of the people people in RSA, it is obvious that nine out of ten criminals will be black. Victims are also black in the majority, it is just that white people complain a lot. I am not saying that there is anything wrong with that.
I I was white people I would ask myself “why”. Why are black people targeting me?. What do I need to change to correcthe situation. I know that this approach requires a much bigger man with a lot of petience.
But guys, you are not alone, these criminals are also hurting me, maybe I am also white.
Avhatakali Nenungwi on September 8th, 2009 at 6:51 pm
I agree with the author when he says that there is a perception that Blacks are targeting Whites. It is also important to note that black people are also victims of crime. For an example, I get people breaking into my house from time to time. Some people point guns at me. I can not move around freely without criminals getting at me or cops trying to get bribes from me but yet I am not White.
Although I am not a criminal let alone a racist one, I know that even if white people were any other colour (e.g. green); they would probably still experience relatively high levels of crime. This is not necessarily because they are white. I think it would be due to their social class and racial history. I think that if black people were a minority and had enjoyed privileges like whites did during apartheid, they would be probably be experiencing and perceiving what whites are experiencing and saying now.
Black and white relations have historically been very negative in South Africa; hence everything else has a racial trend. Given that black people count for over 70% of the population and over 90% of the people in RSA, it is obvious that nine out of ten criminals will be black. Victims are also black in the majority; it is just that white people complain a lot. I am not saying that there is anything wrong with that. Most white people do not have a reason
Avhatakali Nenungwi on September 8th, 2009 at 7:10 pm
While it is true that discrimination was legislated under Apartheid, is it not also true that the constitution expressly allows for discrimination in the form of affirmative action? And that the burden of proof for the need to discriminate lies with the discriminator?
I would support some form of affirmative action but have yet to see basic fairness in its application. At universities jobs go to Africans with Masters degrees over whites with Phds. This is killing graduate programmes and the ability of SA universities to create Africans with PhDs. The irony is excruciating.
Wasn’t it the ANC who said that anyone whinging about crime can leave the country? So why should the ANC whinge when someone gets refugee status in another country?
It is time that Zuma realises that more and more people (white and black) is getting fed up with the Mr A.N. Criminal Party.
The never stopping underestimation of the intelligence of the citizens of this beautifull country is something that should be understanded.
One must have some sort of measurement to make any form of an estimation!
The petty bourgeousi should stop blaming the capitalist and imperialist (who fed them in the past) and start to their jobs!
Engela J M Britz on September 10th, 2009 at 4:47 pm
NO way you spin it TRAPS can cahnge it. You have actually made the perfect argument to justify his asylum.
By referring to the affluent you have created a class of persecuted persons - it is not mere crime
attributed to this group- but rather - targeted and the systemic failure by law enforcement to docket and investigate is tantamount to being complicit in its commission. This class of persecuted is further endorsed by the Government and leadership refusal to protect its citizenry through their respective ommissions.
A lot has been posted, but less has been said to upbring our lovely Country. What a Country ? All true SAns who lives in it. Crime has no colour bar, we need to know this. Not unless u left the country long before 1994. To all refugees from other countries, sooner or later we will be able to overcome you all, when you inject racism in our country. Time differences confirms your actions.
I’m glad that I’ve peace in my life, I have friends through out any colour skin you may think in SA. When I say friends I mean friends where we all share interesting life matters relevant to our family and personal lives.
I have fought my own black community as well as white community, chines, indians the list goes on. At the end of the day, SA is for the people who live in it, not to sure of people who left the country.
To all of us who believe in this country let us stand tall, and not keep quite, and shame who ever speak or badmouth this country. Theres’s a place for all of us. For those who want to leave let them do so, let them follow their own rainbow not ours.
Do not be fooled with what they say. My dream is to have a country where we’re all equally. For the record, Thanks to our white community who acknowledge that apartheid was the cancer and this’s the end
I love the Canadian Goverment for what they are doing. I believe there is a lot of truth in Hutley’s story. I believe the SA goverment is corrupt and definently racist. Think about what Madiba wanted for all of us and ask yourself is this what we are seeing in SA today. Definently not. Go Canada I believe you have done a great thing.
What Madiba wants for RSA is what we all want - it is the ideal and it is his dream just as much as it is ours. However we are living with a reality born out of a fractious, unjust past and whilst we strive for the ideal we must be realistic - no one knows that better than Madiba. If during a pregnancy a mother takes drugs, smokes, drinks and gets smashed around not even she could hope for a healthy, joyous, normal baby…. and so it is for South Africa - hard work and commitment from every citizen, justice, shared wealth and a fine education amongst other requirements are the ingredients required to heal a nation fractured by its past. As for the Canadian organization that gave the guy asylum (it wasn’t the actual government - they are opposing what was done for Huntly - sanity prevails!) - I say to them - get real! What a bunch of idiots!
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By trade a criminal attorney he is now a politcal commentator and journalist full time.
"Traps Report" on the Richmark Sentinel is probably the largest news aggregator in the world. That includes Google, Huffington Post and Drudge.
If you click on the links of the Traps Report you should be up to date on all the latest news worldwide as well as local.
He is a director of the firm Turnbull and Associates.
He was born in Johannesburg and attended HA Jack and Highlands North High Schools. He married Robyn in 1984 (Mrs Traps, aka "the government") and has three sons (who all look suspiciously like her ex-boss).
He was a counsellor on the JCCI for a year around 1992.
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Traps, it’s okay, you can call the Canadian authorities racist, including this idiot who says I’m a criminal.
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