Category: Immigration

Outlanders

Africa, Immigration

New Wife forwarded this on to me, and I repost it here without comment.

The Bittersweet Reflection

Dear Fellow South Africans,

From the shores of this stunning land they call Aotearoa, where the air is crisp and the landscapes breathtaking in a different way, I find myself reflecting on the journey that brought me here – a journey I know many of you are either contemplating or have already undertaken. It’s a move often painted with the broad strokes of seeking something “better,” but I wanted to share a more layered perspective, a “bittersweet” truth that resonates deeply within me.

There’s no denying the magnetic pull of New Zealand. The promise of safety, a different pace of life, and opportunities for our families. The beauty here is undeniable, from the rolling green hills to the majestic fjords. There’s a sense of peace and tranquility that can be incredibly appealing.

Yet, as I settle into this new rhythm, a profound sense of longing often washes over me – a longing for the vibrant chaos of a bustling South African market, the warmth of the African sun on my skin, the familiar lilt of Afrikaans or the expressive clicks of isiXhosa and isiZulu in everyday conversation. Here, the silence can sometimes feel a little too quiet, the landscapes while stunning, lack the raw, untamed spirit of the bushveld or the dramatic coastline of the Cape.

And this is where the “bittersweet” truly lies. In making this move, we are not necessarily escaping a land devoid of value. South Africa, in all its complexities and challenges, is a place of immense beauty, resilience, and a vibrant spirit that is unlike anywhere else in the world. It’s a land etched into our souls, filled with the laughter of friends, the comforting presence of family, and a cultural richness that has shaped who we are.

We carry within us the strength forged in the face of adversity, the warmth of Ubuntu that binds communities together, and a unique perspective on life that the world could learn from. The challenges we faced in South Africa have, in many ways, made us stronger and more adaptable.

Moving to New Zealand is not an admission that South Africa is inherently “bad.” It’s often a deeply personal choice driven by a desire for different opportunities or a sense of security. But let us not forget the incredible beauty, the deep connections, and the inherent worth of the land we leave behind. Let us not allow the narrative to be one of pure escape, but rather one of seeking a new horizon while cherishing the roots that have nourished us.

As we build our lives here in Aotearoa, let us carry the spirit of South Africa within us – our resilience, our warmth, our vibrant energy. And let us remember that while our physical location may change, the love for our homeland and the bonds with those we left behind remain strong.

This journey is indeed “bittersweet,” a chapter filled with both the excitement of the new and the poignant ache for the familiar. Let us embrace both, and in doing so, perhaps we can build a bridge between these two beautiful lands, carrying the best of South Africa with us as we contribute to the tapestry of New Zealand.

With heartfelt thoughts from across the Tasman Sea,

A Fellow South African in NZ… missing home.

Welcome Wagon

Immigration, The Gun Thing

Reader Mike S. writes and suggests a housewarming present:

“Every incoming Afrikaner should be given a Green Card and a rifle. Not a Mauser but a good American-made one. Maybe a Ruger American II. Either in .30-06 or 7×57 (for tradition’s sake).”

Well, if you’re expecting an argument from me against such an action, you haven’t been reading this website for very long.

When I read this, though, I thought that a Ruger “Ranch” model would be more appropriate, given the heritage of our newest (legal) arrivals:


…but in looking at the available chamberings (see link), I find them… unsatisfactory.  Certainly not the calibers that our Seffrican imports would be familiar with.

So yes, either .30-06 (American) or .308 Win (which every Seffrican rifleman is familiar with), and therefore either the Hawkeye Compact (.308)


… or the longer-barreled Hawkeye Hunter (.30-06 or .308)

Both are extremely tasty, and I’d take either one in a bushveld minute.

HOWEVER:

Let’s get creative, here, and consider giving them a rifle with which every Seffrican of a certain age is familiar:

Ho yuss… the FN-FAL / DSArms SA-58 — note the “SA” — or, to give the thing its Seffrican name, the R1, along with four spare magazines and a couple hundred rounds of 7.62x51mm.

This choice achieves two objectives:

  • gives our new “settlers” (heh heh) a means of self-defense, and
  • sets the anti-gun socialists’ collective hair on fire.

Anyone have a problem with this idea?

Afterthought:  also, a .22 rifle (e.g. the Ruger 10/22) and a thousand-odd rounds of ammo because it’s a household appliance and every home should have one.

Getting Tough?

Good Stuff, Immigration

Whoa.  How’s this for immigration reform?

Plans are to end migrants’ automatic right to apply for indefinite leave to remain and citizenship after five years as part of a new “controlled, selective and fair” immigration system.
Instead, they face a 10-year wait unless they are able show a “real and lasting contribution” to the economy and society.
Only migrants who show their contribution through their tax returns, work as doctors, nurses or hospital staff and other public services, or outstanding voluntary service will be entitled to apply for permanent residency before the 10-year deadline.
Indefinite leave to remain and citizenship bring with it the right to welfare benefits, free healthcare, full civic rights including voting and the ability to apply for a passport.
The changes are part of a series of measures to “substantially” reduce net migration.

Here are some details.

Language skills.
Skilled foreign workers will face tougher English language tests to get entry visas. Under the proposed rules, they will be required to have the equivalent of [12th-grade] English, where they can speak “fluently and spontaneously” and “flexibly and effectively” for social, academic and professional purposes.
They had previously only been required to be at the [8th-grade] level where migrants have to be able to understand the main issues “regularly encountered in work, school or leisure” and deal with situations “likely to arise while traveling.”
Known as B-2, [12th-grade] English will also be the standard expected of anyone seeking to apply for indefinite leave and then US citizenship, as well as for overseas students.
For the first time, spouses, children or parents of successful visa applicants who want to join them in the US will have to pass language tests which require a basic understanding of English. If the dependents want to extend their visa after two years, they will have to show improvements to pass higher-level tests.

Care workers.
Care homes will be barred from recruiting foreign staff from overseas from later this year and will instead be required to hire foreign workers who are already in the US.
Care homes would be able to recruit from a pool of around 40,000 foreign staff who came on care worker visas only for their visa sponsorship to be cancelled. As explained:
“They are here and care companies should be recruiting from that pool of people, rather than recruiting from abroad. We are closing recruitment from abroad.”

Deportation of criminals.
Under these plans, any offense committed by a foreign national will be reported to ICE rather than only those crimes where they have been jailed, as is presently the rule.
It raises the prospect that migrants could be removed for lower-level offenses. At present, only foreign criminals jailed for more than a year face automatic deportation while the removal of those imprisoned for under a year is discretionary.
The change could mirror moves already announced to class any foreign national placed on the sex offenders’ register, regardless of their sexual crime or sentence, as having committed a “serious crime” with no right to asylum protections.
The new measures would also cover any foreign national arriving on a visa who was subsequently found to have committed crimes abroad but failed to declare them, or who were found guilty of any offences in the US.

Sounds pretty good, dunnit?

Okay, I need to ‘fess up. These aren’t measures proposed by the Trump Administration… but by Britain’s Labour Party.  (I changed some of the words to mislead y’all, sorry.)

But I have to say that if it passes, there’ll be massive weeping and wailing. Hence I expect that lawyers will be powdering their wigs, even as we speak.

I’m normally reluctant to recommend that we copy the Brits, in just about any endeavor;  but I have to say there are some good ideas in there.

Update:  Of course, it could all be a pack of lies.

Influx

Immigration, Trumpism

Alert Reader Pete D. sends me this report*:

First Afrikaners granted refugee status due to arrive in U.S.

The U.S. government has officially granted 54 Afrikaans South Africans, white descendants of mainly Dutch colonizers, refugee status and they are expected to land in the U.S. on Monday May 12, three sources with knowledge of the matter have told NPR.

(Note the little “colonizers” snark — it’s NPR, after all.)

And further down:

States that have agreed to take in the South Africans include:  Alabama, California, Idaho, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New York, Nevada, North Carolina and Iowa.

Not Texas, probably because we have enough / too many Seffricans here already.  And California and New York?  Wait till our newly-minted immigrants who choose those locations try to buy themselves a gun.  (Hint: it’s more difficult than in Seffrica.)

And lastly:

The UN’s International Organization for Migration had refused to be involved in the process.

Of course they would.  These refugees are whities;  only darkies qualify to be refugees because slavery (or something).

Anyway:  Welkom by die States, julle.  Veels geluk.

*Pete, buddy:  WTF are you doing reading NPR?

Deeds, Not Words, Paddy

Elections, Immigration

This post is a continuation of an earlier one in which I talked about my dislike of the Irish as a nation.

Here’s the latest development from the Land of Blarney:

Huge crowds have staged anti-migrant protests in Ireland amid growing anger at the government over an increase in arrivals and asylum claims. 

Ireland has seen anti-migrant anger growing in recent months, over the sheer number of asylum seekers being housed across the nation. Many of them are unable to get accommodation, forcing them to sleep in tents which has further incited anger. 

 And there are pictures:

Needless to say, there were also counter-protests, wherein the above marchers were called…

…yup, the fallback epithet so beloved of the Left when someone disagrees with them.

Here’s the thing.  It’s all very well to have mass marches and so on;  that’s a fine thing, even when the Left does it.  But in the end those are just words.

So here’s a suggestion to the Irish people who are aggrieved (and justifiably so) at this welcoming of the unwelcome by their government.

Don’t burn police cars or smash windows.  Do something positive.

Here’s what we Americans did when faced with a similar (although much larger-scale) action that we didn’t like.  We went to the polls, and voted that government out of power, installing a new government would do what we wanted them to do.

I dare the Irish people to do the same at the new general election.  If they do, well and good.  If they don’t, I’m going to have to believe that more Irish want the country to be flooded with immigrants than don’t want it.

And when “Mahmood” and “Fatima” become the most popular baby names in Ireland, and the muezzin’s calls from the minaret drown out the sounds of the bells of St. Kilda, you’ll just have to fucking deal with it.

Otherwise, STFU.

At Last, Some Good News

Immigration

According to some official-sounding stats:

Americans are no longer moving to Southern boomtowns

Reasons?

The cost of living has jumped, thanks to rising mortgage rates, skyrocketing home prices, and higher fees for insurance and HOAs – particularly after a string of natural disasters.  

Now that the influx of newcomers has slowed, the housing markets in these cities are feeling the squeeze. Annual double-digit price jumps are no longer a sure thing. 

Home prices that once seemed unstoppable are leveling off – and in many cases falling. Homebuying demand is plunging, and in some places, inventory is surging.

Places like Tampa, Dallas and Austin were once seen as affordable alternatives to high-cost cities like San Francisco and New York, but now the gap in housing costs between big-city job centers and Sun Belt metros has shrunk.

Well yes, in terms of the “unstoppable” housing prices, that was caused most of all by this influx of Californians, New Yorkers and other migrants who arrived here in the South flush with the proceeds of their overpriced real estate and were willing to pay the prices asked by sellers.  (I should point out that my old Plano house sold for the asking price and was listed for eighteen hours before being snapped up by a Californian family, who paid the ask after having been involved in bidding wars in previous homebuying attempts.  I should also point out that my 4BR 3BR house would have cost $1.4 million for a comp in northern California, instead of the $395k I was asking for mine.  No wonder they jumped on it.)

Anyway, the good news for us in northern Texas:

Dallas – one of several Texas cities that boomed during the Covid-19 pandemic – saw a net inflow of around 13,000 residents in 2024, also down from 35,000 the year prior. 

Thank fuck.  The fewer liberal assholes moving here, the better for all of us.

Something else is interesting:

Now that many companies are requiring workers to come into the office, fewer people have the freedom to move – and some people who moved to the Sun Belt during the pandemic are returning to big cities.

I guess all those empty office blocks in L.A. and San Francisco need to be refilled.

And the people who paid those sky-high prices for our Texas houses who are now being forced into selling them?  The houses that once sold within days can now stand unsold for months, or longer.

Forgive me for not shedding any tears. And my compadres  over in Florida may share my delight.