'They can kill you': Immigrants fear a surge in xenophobic violence in South Africa

A significant story is unfolding on the international scene. Africa 'They can kill you': Immigrants fear a surge in xenophobic violence in South Africa June 25, 20265:00 AM ET By Kate Bartlett South Africans dressed in traditional attire protest against illegal migration on April 29 in Johannesburg. Themba Hadebe/AP hide caption toggle caption Themba Hadebe/AP Johannesburg has always been a melting pot. Traverse South Africa's economic capital and you'll come across Zimbabweans trained as doctors but driving Ubers, Ethiopians running bustling restaurants, and Congolese selling colorful wax print fabrics.

Some of these immigrants have lived here for years. Others have recently arrived, seeking a better life in one of the continent's richest and most stable democracies. Some are here legally, others not.

The Details

But all of them are now under threat — not just in Johannesburg but across the country, from Durban to Cape Town — as South Africa is engulfed by a rising tide of xenophobia. Sponsor Message For months now, mobs of anti-immigrant protesters, many brandishing sticks, have been marching through the streets chanting "Mabahambe" — a Zulu phrase meaning "They must go. " Some of them claim to perform "arrests" and say they have the right to check immigration papers, although they have no legal authority to do so.

Foreign-owned businesses have been attacked, people chased from their homes, and several migrants have been killed. In Durban, it's a tinder keg, and thousands of Malawians who have fled their homes to escape the violence have camped out in the open, in winter, begging their country to send buses to rescue them. In Cape Town, hundreds of Zimbabweans also camped outside their consulate.

Nigeria, Ghana and Mozambique weren't waiting — they've already repatriated those citizens who wanted to leave. They're right to be scared. In 2008, xenophobic riots left more than 60 dead — some burned alive by mobs — and tens of thousands displaced.

What Experts Say

There were deadly riots again in 2019. This year, so far, a Malawian and several Mozambicans have been reported killed. South Africans in Johannesburg protest against illegal migration on April 29.

Themba Hadebe/AP hide caption toggle caption Themba Hadebe/AP The main xenophobic movement leading the charge this time is called March and March. It's led by a media-savvy former radio presenter from Durban named Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma. NPR contacted her for comment, but she did not reply by date of publication.

Sponsor Message "South Africa will be great again. It just needs all of us to rise and defeat our enemy," she said at one recent press conference. There are also established political parties that have jumped on the xenophobia bandwagon, anti-immigrant vitriol is all over TikTok, and fake news is spreading like wildfire on social media.

The story has become one of the most prominent items on the global agenda.