Anti-immigrant protests escalate in South Africa

Anti-immigrant protesters in South Africa went door-to-door in several townships on Thursday, pulling people from their homes and handing them to police, according to witnesses and a Reuters reporter. In the Johannesburg township of Alexandra, protesters broke down doors and entered houses where they believed undocumented foreigners were hiding. Similar protests took place in Soweto and Durban. The action follows months of often violent anti-immigrant demonstrations and an unofficial June 30 deadline for all undocumented foreigners to leave the country. “Our mandate is clear, we need them to go. We don’t need them here in South Africa because they are here illegally,” said Musa Mabiko, a community leader in Alexandra. However, he said the protest had got out of hand and needed to stop. Soweto community leader Portia Zulu said South Africans feel overwhelmed by the influx of undocumented foreigners. “The pie is now too small to share because South Africans are unemployed,” she said.

Community leader Musa Mabiko said the protest in Alexandra had got out of hand. “Our mandate is clear, we need them to go,” he said.

South Africa hosts more than three million documented foreign nationals, but unemployment exceeds 30%, fuelling anger toward migrant workers. President Cyril Ramaphosa has warned against scapegoating immigrants. Police have stepped up arrests of undocumented migrants.

The unrest has triggered a massive repatriation effort. Malawi said more than 38,000 of its citizens have returned, while more than 60,000 Zimbabweans and 600 Nigerians have also been repatriated. Uganda has announced plans to evacuate nearly 750 of its citizens.

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) warned of growing humanitarian needs, saying it had launched an emergency response following the violence and displacement of tens of thousands of people.

SOURCE: AFP