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Rosieda and I arrive here today having again being honoured by our country to present its values that are unflinching in its stand for truth, justice, and the equality of all people. 

We are indeed moved by this warm welcome after the bewildering reaction of being declared persona non grata for intellectually and politically analysing your host country and preparing your own country for radically new terms of engagement. 

It is so good to be home with family, friends, and comrades. After months of relentless attacks that South Africa has had to endure, it is good to feel the dignity of being African. 

After weeks of sustained assaults on my character and reputation – being called a terrorist, jihadist, islamist, anti-Semite – it is good to be here at home where we value ubuntu, where we see the human in each other, and where South Africans have turned the tragedy of the Sharpeville Massacre into a celebration of human rights, even inviting those who despised us, dispossessed us and discriminated against us into the fold of human rights.

Issued by SA ambassador to the US Ebrahim Rasool

Full statement attached.