Some refugees flee from wars and end up in squalid(肮脏的，邋遢的) tented camps. Others defy(违抗，藐视，挑战) this stereotype. Consider the white HR executive from South Africa whose application for protection in America rested partly on(部分基于，部分依赖) her claim that she had not had a pay rise in nine years because of her skin colour. “It’s a different type of persecution, but it’s still persecution,” says this newly minted(新晋的，新制造的) refugee, who now enjoys the sunshine and safety of Florida. Of the roughly 6,000(大约6000) refugees admitted to America since October, nearly all are white South Africans.
一些难民逃离战争，最终住在肮脏的帐篷营地。另一些人则打破了这种刻板印象。想想那位来自南非的白人人力资源主管，她申请在美国避难的部分依据是，她声称由于肤色问题，九年来从未加薪。“这是一种不同类型的迫害，但仍然是迫害，”这位刚获得身份的难民说道，她现在享受着佛罗里达的阳光和安全。自去年10月以来，美国接收了大约6000名难民，几乎全是南非白人。
At the start of last year 130,000 people were in America’s refugee pipeline(难民申请流程). Then Donald Trump closed the programme to all except Afrikaners (white South Africans who speak a language related to Dutch) and other minorities from South Africa. Mr Trump has said that white South Africans face “genocide(种族灭绝)”, which is nonsense. He also says they suffer “government-sponsored(政府支持的，政府发起的) race-based discrimination”, which is true, but complicated. On May 26th he raised their quota(配额，限额) for this fiscal year by 10,000 places, to 17,500 (the Afrikaner population of South Africa is roughly 3m).
去年年初，有13万人在美国的难民申请流程中。随后唐纳德·特朗普关闭了该计划，只对阿非利卡人（讲一种与荷兰语相关的语言的南非白人）和其他南非少数群体开放。特朗普先生曾表示南非白人面临“种族灭绝”，这纯属无稽之谈。他还称他们遭受“政府支持的种族歧视”，这倒是事实，但情况复杂。5月26日，他将本财年他们的配额提高了1万个名额，达到1.75万（南非阿非利卡人大约有300万）。
To qualify as a refugee you have to show a credible fear(可信的恐惧) of persecution(迫害). Afrikaners note that they are often victims of violent crime. But so, unfortunately, are all groups in South Africa. They also cite laws requiring racial preferences(种族优惠) for blacks in higher education, hiring and government contracting. These were supposed to redress(纠正，补救) the wrongs of apartheid(种族隔离制度)—until 1994 blacks were not allowed to vote. More than half a million white South Africans have emigrated in the past two decades. But few imagined that the laws might allow them to claim refugee status. Now they do.(但很少有人想到，这些法律可能让他们获得难民身份。现在他们可以了。) “You don’t have to lie and make up stories,” says Melissa (not her real name), another recent arrival in America. You can also cite your fear of “future persecution”(引用对“未来迫害”的恐惧), she adds.
要获得难民资格，你必须证明自己受到迫害的可信恐惧。阿非利卡人指出，他们常常是暴力犯罪的受害者。但不幸的是，南非所有群体都面临这个问题。他们还援引了要求高校、招聘和政府合同中给予黑人种族优惠的法律。这些法律本应纠正种族隔离的错误——直到1994年，黑人都没有投票权。过去二十年里，超过50万南非白人移民国外。但很少有人想到，这些法律可能让他们获得难民身份。现在他们可以了。“你不必撒谎编故事，”另一位近期抵达美国的难民梅丽莎（化名）说。你还可以引用你对“未来迫害”的恐惧，她补充道。