American officials welcomed a group of 59 white South Africans at Washington Dulles International Airport on Monday afternoon, in a ceremony greeting them as refugees based on the argument that they are fleeing discrimination and racially based violence in their home country.

President Cyril Ramaphosa called the white South Africans “cowardly” for leaving for the United States. President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa said the white South Africans who left for the United States after being granted refugee status by President Trump were “cowardly,” as tensions mount between the two countries.