Reuben Brigety, US ambassador to South Africa, caused an uproar when he told a media briefing on Thursday that South Africa supplied arms and ammunition to a sanctioned Russian cargo vessel in 2022.
The announcement implied that the South African government is taking sides in the prolonged Moscow invasion of Ukraine.
Responding to Brigety’s allegations, President Cyril Ramaphosa said the government is aware of the accusations, stating that they will be investigated.
The announcement by Brigety left many people asking if South Africans who are based in the US will receive a backlash.
Sunday World spoke to South Africans in the US including Noxolo Ndhlovu, who stays and works in the city of Alexandria in Virginia as an au pair.
The 22-year-old said she will easily bypass any hatred directed to South Africans because most people do not know her country of birth.
“So far, the treatment has not changed and to be quite honest, in the area that I live in, I haven’t heard anyone talk about it [Brigety’s accusations],” said Ndhlovu.
“Not everybody from the US knows that I am South African, so I do not think I’ll be subjected to any ill-treatment as a result of this.”
“My experience has not changed one bit since the US ambassador held a briefing. I do not think that this will have an impact on my job, because the majority of Americans do not even know that most au pairs are from South Africa.”
Britney Emmanuel, 23, who is also an au pair, said she has not heard anyone talk about the media briefing.
“I do not think South Africans will be treated any different because of that. Our presence here is different, because we are here to work,” said Emmanuel.
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