South Africa, once celebrated as a "Rainbow Nation," is experiencing a surge in xenophobic sentiment, with black South Africans targeting migrants from other African countries. Fears that illegal immigrants are exacerbating the nation's unemployment crisis have fueled unrest, prompting thousands to flee the country.
Scenes of civil unrest have seen foreigners chased from their homes, beaten, and threatened. This wave of xenophobia, or "Afrophobia" as it is sometimes termed, has led to neighbor turning against neighbor. Many South Africans believe that undocumented migrants are taking jobs in a country where approximately one in three adults is unemployed.
"The South Africans don't like black foreigners any more," said Steve Hove, a Zimbabwean construction worker, as he prepared to return to his home country with his five-year-old nephew, Brightman, who is stateless. The child's mother, Angela, also a Zimbabwean, had not registered his birth in South Africa.
Thousands of migrants, primarily from Zimbabwe and Malawi, are being transported by bus to government repatriation camps near the Zimbabwean border for deportation. This week alone, around 23,000 people were evacuated.
The current wave of unrest was reportedly ignited by the "March and March" movement, a new pressure group advocating for stricter border control and the mass deportation of foreign workers. The group issued an ultimatum demanding that all undocumented migrants leave South Africa by the end of the previous month. Following this, over 120 demonstrations occurred, with protesters chanting "Mabahambe!" (They must go!). Looting of foreigners' homes and businesses led to hundreds of arrests.
Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma, founder of March and March, stated that "South Africans have been replaced by foreigners, increasing unemployment." She called for mass deportations, urging the government to expel all undocumented individuals within the next six months.
An estimated five million undocumented migrants reside in South Africa, representing about 12% of the adult population. Critics accuse politicians of failing for decades to secure porous borders, particularly with neighboring Zimbabwe, a source of significant migration.
Conversely, some political figures, like Julius Malema, leader of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), have condemned the xenophobic sentiment. Malema has criticized the March and March protesters, advocating for a borderless African continent and free movement for all Africans. He has expressed solidarity with African migrants, stating, "I will never push out of school an African child who looks like me."
Despite the expulsions, there are indications that South Africans are beginning to fill vacant jobs as the number of undocumented workers diminishes. Businesses, farms, and homeowners are reportedly being compelled to hire local labor. The government is also conducting raids and imposing fines on employers found to be hiring or harboring foreign workers. Citizens are encouraged to report suspected undocumented migrants.
In the Mapetla East township near Johannesburg, a tuck shop previously run by Mozambican workers was taken over by a 26-year-old South African man, Themba Mokhobo, after the foreigners were driven out.
Migrants awaiting deportation have been gathering in unsanitary conditions at impromptu meeting points, such as outside the Malawian Embassy in Johannesburg. Many expressed fear for their future and the lack of documentation for themselves and their children.
Some migrants are avoiding official deportation channels by paying people-smuggling gangs to guide them across the border, often via the Limpopo River or by road. Steve and his nephew Brightman, for instance, paid a smuggler to reach Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.
Lorraine Ngubeh, an 18-year-old who had lived her entire life in South Africa without visiting Zimbabwe, expressed feeling South African and fear for her future in a country she does not know, having been threatened and forced to leave due to her foreigner status.
South Africa's notion of a "Rainbow Nation" was popularized by former President Nelson Mandela. However, the current climate reflects a stark departure from that ideal for many of its foreign residents.