Apartheid South Africa's Reaction to Congo's White Refuge Seekers, 1960–61

Abstract

Abstract:This article analyzes how and why the apartheid government and white South African society assisted white refuge seekers fleeing from the present-day Democratic Republic of Congo to South Africa in July 1960. It argues that race-based solidarity shaped how white South Africans responded to Congo's white refuge seekers, generating a momentary but widespread sense of responsibility for their well-being. This article shows how the government's reaction to these refuge seekers informed its regional and national political strategy to maintain white minority rule. The South African government's racial solidarity with Congo's refuge seekers overlapped with a desire to bolster white population numbers and depict South Africa as a bastion of white refuge. Its reaction to Congo's refuge seekers therefore emphasizes how racial, regional, and national politics can work together to shape refugee policies.