Canada grants refugee status to white South African

A Canadian immigration court has granted refugee status to South African citizen Brandon Huntley, saying that he faces persecution as a white man in his home country: Huntley, 31, "would stand out like a ‘sore thumb’ due to his colour in any part of the country", the board’s panel chair, William Davis, said in his ...

By , a former associate editor at Foreign Policy.

A Canadian immigration court has granted refugee status to South African citizen Brandon Huntley, saying that he faces persecution as a white man in his home country:

A Canadian immigration court has granted refugee status to South African citizen Brandon Huntley, saying that he faces persecution as a white man in his home country:

Huntley, 31, "would stand out like a ‘sore thumb’ due to his colour in any part of the country", the board’s panel chair, William Davis, said in his decision.

Huntley, who grew up in Mowbray, said he had been attacked seven times and stabbed four times "by African South Africans" between 1991 and 2003.

Davis found he "was a victim because of his race rather than a victim of criminality".

The South African goverment is peeved that it wasn’t even allowed to testify in the case, particularly since none of the attacks on Huntley were ever reported to the police. "Canada’s reasoning for granting Huntley a refugee status can only serve to perpetuate racism," said an African National Congress statement.

The "sore thumb" remark is particularly ripe for mockery, as evidence by this Onion-esque piece reporting the tribunal’s shock that Hartley "wasn’t the last white in South Africa" and warning Canada to "expect a deluge of young, unemployable, white South Africans."

Hartley’s case, argued by a South African immigrant who had been looking for a test-case for years, does seem a little dodgy. And all the more so since the country’s "white flight" and its high crime rate are real issues that deserve more serious discussion.

Joshua Keating was an associate editor at Foreign Policy. Twitter: @joshuakeating

More from Foreign Policy

Newspapers in Tehran feature on their front page news about the China-brokered deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore ties, signed in Beijing the previous day, on March, 11 2023.
Newspapers in Tehran feature on their front page news about the China-brokered deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore ties, signed in Beijing the previous day, on March, 11 2023.

Saudi-Iranian Détente Is a Wake-Up Call for America

The peace plan is a big deal—and it’s no accident that China brokered it.

Austin and Gallant stand at podiums side by side next to each others' national flags.
Austin and Gallant stand at podiums side by side next to each others' national flags.

The U.S.-Israel Relationship No Longer Makes Sense

If Israel and its supporters want the country to continue receiving U.S. largesse, they will need to come up with a new narrative.

Russian President Vladimir Putin lays flowers at the Moscow Kremlin Wall in the Alexander Garden during an event marking Defender of the Fatherland Day in Moscow.
Russian President Vladimir Putin lays flowers at the Moscow Kremlin Wall in the Alexander Garden during an event marking Defender of the Fatherland Day in Moscow.

Putin Is Trapped in the Sunk-Cost Fallacy of War

Moscow is grasping for meaning in a meaningless invasion.

An Iranian man holds a newspaper reporting the China-brokered deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore ties, in Tehran on March 11.
An Iranian man holds a newspaper reporting the China-brokered deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia to restore ties, in Tehran on March 11.

How China’s Saudi-Iran Deal Can Serve U.S. Interests

And why there’s less to Beijing’s diplomatic breakthrough than meets the eye.