A conversation with Jonathan Turner, former refugee aid worker in South Africa and USAID employee
Vermont/Washington – When the White House announced its new executive order on February 15, 2025, granting preferential entry to white South Africans, there was little immediate international reaction. President Donald Trump, surrounded by advisors from the “White Protection Initiative,” justified the decree with alleged “targeted killings” of the white Afrikaner minority. In South Africa, Trump claimed, there was a “silent massacre” the media refused to report.
In fact, it is a long-debunked narrative, spread for years by far-right networks – and amplified through Fox News, Telegram channels, and MAGA-aligned radio shows all the way to the White House.
The consequences are real: Within weeks, over a thousand visas were issued to white South Africans – without thorough vetting, without assessing actual need. Meanwhile, the wait for Afghan allies, Latin American dissidents, or Syrian opposition figures is growing by the month.
Jonathan Turner, 46, spent ten years as a refugee aid worker in South Africa – for the Peace Corps, for USAID, later as a human rights consultant. Today he lives quietly in Vermont – but he does not stay silent.
"I was a Peace Corps volunteer in South Africa from 2015 to 2017. The village where I served was one of the so-called 'Tribal Homelands.' That’s where Black people were forcibly relocated during apartheid – driven from the areas where they had lived for generations."
He describes places without running water, without sanitation infrastructure, without any real prospects. Extreme poverty. Minimal education. Few jobs. No access to participation. Then came Trump’s announcement – and for Turner, it felt like someone was rewriting history.
"It is outrageous that President Trump is granting white South Africans immediate entry into the U.S. as a ‘persecuted minority.’ These people live in modern cities with shopping malls, air conditioning, private clinics – they are not persecuted. They are privileged."
What hits him especially hard is the comparison with those truly in need of protection – those to whom the U.S. is closing its doors.
"Many brave people who worked alongside our military in Iraq and Afghanistan are still stuck in camps. Their applications are stalled. And then well-off white South Africans arrive and are welcomed with open arms. That is a slap in the face."
Between the myth of white persecution in South Africa and reality lies a wide gap. But in America, the lie flourishes – fueled by right-wing media and silence at the top.
"Most Americans have no idea how complex the social reality in South Africa really is. Yes, there is crime – but it affects everyone. The idea that white people are being systematically murdered is a lie. The victims are overwhelmingly Black. And Trump knows that. He is using this lie for his politics."
Then Turner speaks about how he experiences the U.S. today – and what it means to him to be an American. A quiet protest against what his country has become.
"I’m not the kind of neighbor who likes to pick fights with the people around me. I just say what I think – citizen to citizen. I want to tell you how I feel about your American flag – the one with Donald Trump superimposed on it. What that flag says to me is: ‘Trump is America, America is Trump.’ That is dangerous and wrong. If you are tempted to say, ‘Heck yes!’ – then please think about the following: At the infamous 1933 Nazi rally in Nuremberg, one of Hitler’s henchmen said, ‘Hitler is Germany, Germany is Hitler!’"
"The problem I have with that flag is this: The flag of the United States is supposed to represent all of us – you, me, and yes, even Trump – but not only Trump. If you truly are a patriot, whatever that’s supposed to mean – maybe someone who believes in what this country is meant to stand for: a nation of the people, by the people, for the people – then take that flag down and raise a normal Stars and Stripes flag, one that represents all of us."
But for Turner, it’s no longer just about symbolism. It’s about a climate that has changed.
"Trump’s presidency has changed the way people relate to each other. Many folks behave like they’re under hypnosis. It’s eerie at times. People speak more quietly. They watch their surroundings. You see a police car and feel panic – even though you haven’t done anything wrong. It’s like you keep telling yourself: Stay hidden. Protect your family. Don’t speak."
I ask him: How will this end?
"You asked me: How will this Trump thing end? I don’t know. I hope it can be resolved peacefully – I truly hope so."
And the Democrats?
"What’s going on with the Democrats? Your Democrats?" – he smiles crookedly
"A lot of people are ready to fight. But in the leadership, there are problems. Still – I’m sure the Democrats will fight Trump and the MAGA movement. For the country. For the Constitution."
Why do so few step in when people are taken by ICE in residential neighborhoods?
"You know," Jonathan says, "any wrong word about that can land you in jail. Or they’ll slap an ankle monitor on you. And if you’re a foreigner – you get deported. Just like that. I hear it all the time."
He lifts his gaze, his voice steady.
"But a lot of people – even here in the U.S. – don’t see it. They live in another world. Go to Missouri – people there think everything’s fine. But it’s not fine. And in Arkansas? There, you don’t count the days forward. You count them backward."
What remains is not an answer – but a warning:
"I’ve seen refugees who lost everything – and still held on to their dignity.
The question is: Do we still have enough of that left to find ourselves again?"
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