Rory Carroll in Johannesburg
Saturday April 24, 2004
The Guardian

A white South African couple have failed to win asylum in the US after judges rejected their plea of persecution on the grounds that post-apartheid South Africa had left them jobless and fearful of crime.

Michael and Edith Gormley argued that if deported from the US they risked being mugged and marooned without work because of South Africa's crime wave and its affirmative action policy to boost black employment.

A federal appeals court in San Francisco dismissed the asylum application on Thursday, saying the couple had failed to prove they faced persecution.

"Substantial evidence supports the conclusion that the Gormleys suffered, at most, what may be perceived as reverse discrimination which resulted in some adverse economic consequences," said Judge Kim McLane Wardlaw, the Associated Press reported.

The Gormleys entered the US as visitors in 1999 after Mr Gormley lost his job as a construction supervisor and Mrs Gormley lost hers as a civil servant.

Like many white South Africans who did the so-called chicken run after apartheid fell in 1994, they blamed legislation such as the employment equity act of 1998 for blighting their job prospects.

But the Gormleys, who settled in Bainbridge Island, Washington, went further than other expats by applying for refugee status. They sought to bolster their case by claiming that their race made them especially vulnerable to crime.

Mr Gormley said he feared being victimised after three black men stole his mobile phone in 1998, then six black men wielding knives stole his watch and phone.

But Justice Wardlaw said Mr Gormley had not convinced US immigration officials that the crimes had been racially motivated: "Robberies of this sort are an all too common byproduct of civil unrest and economic turmoil."

The Gormleys, now working as bagpackers at a supermarket, were not immediately available for comment. It is understood a community fundraiser generated $13,000 (£7,400) for their legal fees.

South Africa's unemployment rate is pushing 40% and it has one of the world's highest murder rates. But analysts agree that white South Africans are still relatively cushioned from such hardships.

Last week the country held its third election since white minority rule yielded to multi-racial democracy, returning the ruling ANC to power. Tributes to racial reconciliation are expected next week when dozens of heads of state attend President Thabo Mbeki's second-term inauguration.

Despite polls showing optimism about the future, more than 16,000 people emigrated last year - up nearly half on the previous year and the highest number since 1994. Britain, North America, Australia and New Zealand are the main destinations.

Many emigrants are middle-class whites who cite crime and concern that affirmative action policies will inhibit their children's job prospects.

But anecdotal evidence from airlines and removalists suggests many of those who fled post-1994 are being lured back by the country's stability. A campaign, called Come Home, is working to bring back skilled people.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/southafrica/story/0%2c13262%2c1202275%2c00.html