WEBVTT - Why has the U.S. granted white South Africans refugee status?

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<v Speaker 1>Already and this is the daily This is the Daily OS.

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<v Speaker 1>Oh now it makes sense. Good morning, and welcome to

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<v Speaker 1>the Daily ODS. It's Tuesday, the twenty seventh of May.

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<v Speaker 2>I'm Lucy Tassel, I'm Zara Zeidler.

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<v Speaker 1>Earlier this month, a group of white South African refugees

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<v Speaker 1>arrived in the US after an executive order by President

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<v Speaker 1>Donald Trump. Trump claims the group are being targeted as

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<v Speaker 1>victims of quote racial discrimination, and has therefore extended refugee

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<v Speaker 1>protection to the group. In today's podcast, we'll explain the

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<v Speaker 1>story behind the headlines and what you need to know

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<v Speaker 1>about the Trump administration's decision to grant refugee status to

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<v Speaker 1>white South Africans.

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<v Speaker 2>Lucy, this is a story that has been flying around

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<v Speaker 2>now for a few weeks, and then last week we

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<v Speaker 2>published a video to TDA Instagram showing US President Donald

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<v Speaker 2>Trump and South African President Cyril Ramafosa arguing in the

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<v Speaker 2>White House.

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<v Speaker 3>White South Africans are fleeing because of the violence and

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<v Speaker 3>racist laws. Look, here's burial sites all over the place.

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<v Speaker 3>They're all these are all white farmers that are being burned.

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<v Speaker 3>And when they killed the white farmer, nothing happens to them. No,

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<v Speaker 3>there is nothing happens.

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<v Speaker 4>There is criminality in our country.

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<v Speaker 1>People who do get killed, unfortunately through criminalibity are not only.

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<v Speaker 4>White people, majority of them black people.

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<v Speaker 2>Now, there's a lot going on here, there's a lot

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<v Speaker 2>of history, there's a lot of context. Can you, I guess,

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<v Speaker 2>start by just explaining more about what Trump specifically is

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<v Speaker 2>alleging is happening in South Africa today.

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<v Speaker 1>Basically as soon as he came to office for the

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<v Speaker 1>second time earlier this year, US President Donald Trump began

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<v Speaker 1>making public statements and shoeing official guidance claiming that white

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<v Speaker 1>South Africans, specifically the ethnic group called Africanas, were having

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<v Speaker 1>their land stolen by the government. He said these people

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<v Speaker 1>would be granted refugee status in the US because they

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<v Speaker 1>were the quote victims of unjust racial discrimination. Then a

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<v Speaker 1>couple of months down the track, so earlier this month,

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<v Speaker 1>fifty nine white South Africans arrived in the US as refugees.

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<v Speaker 1>They're going to be resettled around the country. It's a

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<v Speaker 1>very serious allegation to lay against South Africa, against any country,

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<v Speaker 1>but I think particularly against South Africa, that a group

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<v Speaker 1>of people are being so racially discriminated against that we

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<v Speaker 1>need to extract them.

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<v Speaker 2>And so why is that such a loaded, I guess

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<v Speaker 2>accusation for a country like South Africa.

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<v Speaker 1>Unfortunately I don't have a simple answer. I wish I

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<v Speaker 1>did in order to understand that, we need to take

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<v Speaker 1>a step back in time. So the Netherlands began colonizing

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<v Speaker 1>the region we now know as South Africa in the

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<v Speaker 1>sixteen fifties through the Dutch East India Company. You might

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<v Speaker 1>remember from a couple of weeks ago when we were

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<v Speaker 1>talking about Kashmir, how the British had the British East

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<v Speaker 1>India Company. Same deal, but in the Netherlands, a very

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<v Speaker 1>very powerful company, effectively a state unto itself, with its

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<v Speaker 1>own kind of representatives and just being like incredibly powerful.

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<v Speaker 1>Through trade, through colonization, through slavery, through farming, the Dutch

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<v Speaker 1>took control of the region from its southern tip, the

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<v Speaker 1>Cape of Good Hope. Over time, these Dutch colonizers developed

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<v Speaker 1>into an ethnic minority in the region called Africanas, with

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<v Speaker 1>their own language that was a dialect of Dutch that

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<v Speaker 1>then became its own language called Afrikaans. They also fought

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<v Speaker 1>wars with the British for control of the land during

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<v Speaker 1>this time. Then fast forward again to nineteen fourteen when

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<v Speaker 1>the Afrikaanas founded their own political party, National Party. It

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<v Speaker 1>became a very powerful force. It was aligned against black

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<v Speaker 1>South Africans and against the British, their long term enemies

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<v Speaker 1>in the war for resources and for land. And then

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<v Speaker 1>we'll jump forward one more time to nineteen forty eight.

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<v Speaker 1>The National Party takes power by itself, not in a coalition,

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<v Speaker 1>and it enacted the policy known as apartheid.

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<v Speaker 2>Okay, and apartheid is obviously a huge moment in history,

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<v Speaker 2>in world's history, local pastory. For anyone who's perhaps less

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<v Speaker 2>familiar with this history, can you just give a bit

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<v Speaker 2>of a refresher. What was apartheid?

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, just broad brush strokes. From nineteen forty eight to

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<v Speaker 1>nineteen ninety four, South Africa separated people based on their race.

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<v Speaker 1>The government passed laws either limiting or outright banning movements, education, jobs, pay,

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<v Speaker 1>and marriage for non white people. This ended after decades

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<v Speaker 1>of peaceful and violent struggles when the party, the African

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<v Speaker 1>National Congress, led by Nelson Mandela, won the country's first

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<v Speaker 1>modern elections. Since then, things have not been completely peaceful

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<v Speaker 1>in South Africa. I think it's easy to understand that

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<v Speaker 1>when you end a system that longstanding and that kind

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<v Speaker 1>of corrosive, you don't just like snap your fingers and

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<v Speaker 1>everything becomes multicultural harmony. The crime rate is fairly high,

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<v Speaker 1>particularly the murder rate, and the economy has definitely struggled

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<v Speaker 1>in South Africa. The latest started though that I looked

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<v Speaker 1>at this week, shows that the rate of murders is

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<v Speaker 1>down in all but one region of South Africa. And

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<v Speaker 1>then just a final note on the kind of state

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<v Speaker 1>of the country in its modern era. White South Africans

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<v Speaker 1>make up around ten percent or less than ten percent

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<v Speaker 1>of the population, but white farmers own around three quarters

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<v Speaker 1>of the country's land.

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<v Speaker 2>And so you've spoken there of land, and land is

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<v Speaker 2>at the center of the claims that Donald Trump is

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<v Speaker 2>now making about modern day South Africa. Specifically, he's claiming,

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<v Speaker 2>as you said, that white South Africans are being targeted

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<v Speaker 2>or murdered and are having their land stolen. Where is

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<v Speaker 2>this claim from US President Donald Trump coming from? What

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<v Speaker 2>is the basis for this claim?

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<v Speaker 1>The land theft aspect is easier to explain to I'll

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<v Speaker 1>start there. South African President Cyril Ramafosa signed a bill

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<v Speaker 1>into law in January which allows the government to redistribute

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<v Speaker 1>land deemed in the public interest. It includes provisions enabling

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<v Speaker 1>land distribution without compensation in very specific cases, such as

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<v Speaker 1>when it's deemed to be abandoned. Following that announcement, Trump

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<v Speaker 1>accused South Africa of quote confiscating land and treating certain

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<v Speaker 1>classes of people very badly, and then soon after that,

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<v Speaker 1>he signed his executive order allowing white South Africans to

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<v Speaker 1>apply for refugee status.

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<v Speaker 2>We'll be back with the rest of today's deep dive

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<v Speaker 2>after a quick message from our sponsor.

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<v Speaker 1>To the other point. As I said, the murder rate

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<v Speaker 1>in South Africa is high. It is true that some

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<v Speaker 1>white farmers make up this statistic. We have official data

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<v Speaker 1>that shows this. However, in February, a South African court

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<v Speaker 1>ruled that claims of genocide against white South Africans were

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<v Speaker 1>quote clearly imagined and not real. Then over the weekend

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<v Speaker 1>we heard from South African Police Minister Senzo mccunu, who

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<v Speaker 1>released new crime data and specifically went out of his

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<v Speaker 1>way to deny Trump's claims.

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<v Speaker 4>It is claimed that his white genocide in South Africa,

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<v Speaker 4>and as evidence, a lot of material has been put

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<v Speaker 4>into circulation all over social media, including in the White

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<v Speaker 4>House in the USA. Now, we have respect for the

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<v Speaker 4>United States of America, and we have respect for the

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<v Speaker 4>President of the United States, but we have no respect

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<v Speaker 4>for his genocide story.

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<v Speaker 1>So the minister said he wasn't going to deny that

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<v Speaker 1>crime levels were high, and he did say there had

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<v Speaker 1>been six attacks on people on farms in rural areas

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<v Speaker 1>in the first three months of this year, but that

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<v Speaker 1>of the six attacks, only one victim was white.

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<v Speaker 2>Okay, So if those are the statistics, where is this

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<v Speaker 2>idea coming from?

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<v Speaker 4>Yeah?

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<v Speaker 1>So, Reuters has reported that the idea of a like

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<v Speaker 1>quote unquote white genocide of farmers in South Africa originated

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<v Speaker 1>as a conspiracy theory in far right chat rooms. Another

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<v Speaker 1>place it has popped up this month is in text

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<v Speaker 1>generated by an AI chatbot on the social media platform X,

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<v Speaker 1>which is owned by Elon Musk, who is himself white

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<v Speaker 1>and from South Africa. I'll say X has called that

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<v Speaker 1>randomly generated text an unauthorized modification that's being fixed. However,

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<v Speaker 1>Musk has publicly suggested that the current government of South

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<v Speaker 1>Africa is perpetrating a genocide against white people, and he

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<v Speaker 1>is also so a close advisor of Donald Trump and

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<v Speaker 1>was in the room when Trump raised these allegations with

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<v Speaker 1>Cyril Ramafosa.

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<v Speaker 2>I want to circle back to this idea of Donald

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<v Speaker 2>Trump making a special executive order to bring white South

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<v Speaker 2>Africans into the country because so much of Donald Trump's

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<v Speaker 2>immigration policy has been about deporting people out of the country. Yeah,

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<v Speaker 2>how can we understand this in the context of the

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<v Speaker 2>Trump administration and Donald Trump's immigration policy.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, it is definitely different to the other things that

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<v Speaker 1>he has done or has overseen. So you might remember

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<v Speaker 1>that on his first day in office, he signed a

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<v Speaker 1>bunch of executive orders, which are official actions that the

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<v Speaker 1>president can take that circumvent the need to go through

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<v Speaker 1>the Congress, and one of those things was pausing the

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<v Speaker 1>country's refugee program indefinitely. But then he has also opened

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<v Speaker 1>it up to this specific group, and he's also overseen

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<v Speaker 1>the deportation and imprisonment of legal micro pereants and edended

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<v Speaker 1>programs that allowed people without official documentation to live and

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<v Speaker 1>work in the US. So it certainly stands in contrast

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<v Speaker 1>to the remainder of his immigration policy that this very

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<v Speaker 1>select group, so select that it's fewer than sixty people

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<v Speaker 1>so far have been allowed to come in on this

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<v Speaker 1>refugee program. It's certainly interesting to see how that squares

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<v Speaker 1>with the rest of his documented policy, and I guess

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<v Speaker 1>it remains to be seen how many more people will

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<v Speaker 1>be given this opportunity to come to the US, and

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<v Speaker 1>given that they've come, I suppose from rural South African

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<v Speaker 1>farming communities, what their life is going to look like

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<v Speaker 1>once they're settled in the US.

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<v Speaker 2>Lucie, thank you so much for explaining the story behind

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<v Speaker 2>the headlines that I know so many of our audience

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<v Speaker 2>will have seen, and thank you for joining us for

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<v Speaker 2>another day of the Daily Ours. We'll of course be

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<v Speaker 2>back later today with the headlines, but until then, have

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<v Speaker 2>a great day.

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<v Speaker 1>My name is Lily Maddon and I'm a proud at

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<v Speaker 1>a udah Banjelung Kalkadin woman from Gadighl country. The Daily

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<v Speaker 1>oz acknowledges that this podcast is recorded on the lands

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<v Speaker 1>of the Gadighl people and pays respect to all Aboriginal

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<v Speaker 1>and torrest Rate island and nations. We pay our respects

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<v Speaker 1>to the first peoples of these countries, both past and present.