South Africa's G20 presidency was meant to be an opportunity to get rich, powerful nations to pay attention to poorer countries' concerns such as burgeoning inequality, crippling sovereign debt and a lack of progress in the fight against climate change.

The so-called land question has been a decades-long dilemma for South Africa. A new law seeks to right some of the wrongs of apartheid but has prompted claims from critics that it discriminates against White farmers.

Rural violence is a huge problem in South Africa that deserves a strong response. But white people are not the only casualties.