Cyril Ramaphosa says Afrikaners 'running away' from South Africa to US are 'cowards'

South Africans are resilient and don't run away from their problems, President Ramaphosa says.

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The group of Afrikaners arrived in the US on Monday after President Donald Trump granted them refugee status, saying they faced racial discrimination.

But Ramaphosa said those who wanted to leave were not happy with efforts to address the inequities of the apartheid past, terming their relocation a "sad moment for them".

"As South Africans, we are resilient. We don't run away from our problems. We must stay here and solve our problems. When you run away you are a coward, and that's a real cowardly act," he added.

Watch: Why US is granting white South Africans refugee statusTrump and his close ally, South Africa-born Elon Musk, have said there was a "genocide" of white farmers in South Africa - a claim that has been widely discredited.