South African Farmers Migrating to Crimea for Agricultural Purposes

This week, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa announced plan to speed up the government’s land-grab initiative. He wants to add a provision to the country’s constitution allowing seizure of farmland without compensation.

The government in Johannesburg wants to redistribute the land to the black population of South Africa after taking it away from several thousand white commercial farmers.

Roughly 15,000 Boers are ready to leave South Africa and begin a new life in Russia. The first families of Boers, descendants of Dutch settlers in South Africa, could soon be moving to Russia to escape rising violence against farmers.

Like many other Boers, they are seeking political asylum in Russia. They say they are facing violent attacks and death threats at home stemming from government plans to expropriate their land.

South Africa’s new president has pledged to return the lands owned by white farmers since the 1600s to the black citizens of the country. The government said it is planning to put an end to what it calls the legacy of apartheid, where most of South Africa’s land is still in the hands of its minority white population.

Stavropol is ready to settle up to 50 Boer families, according to the region’s Deputy Commissioner for human rights Vladimir Poluboyarenko. There is already a plan for settlement of roughly 500 families with their own cattle near Stavropol.

The official also said that out of the four million Boers, representing 8% of South Africa’s population, fifteen thousand Boers want to move to Russia.

Sott.net / Crickey Conservation Society  2018.