DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA, 30 Jun (Reuters) – Anti-immigrant protesters, draped in flags and wielding wooden weapons, marched through several cities in South Africa on Tuesday to mark the end of the deadline they had set for undocumented migrants to leave the country, with some marches marked by violence.
Thousands of foreigners from other African countries had already fled South Africa before Tuesday’s “deadline,” when shops closed and foreign workers stayed home, anticipating further unrest after months of unrest that drew international condemnation.
At least four people were killed and thousands of foreigners were driven from their homes and saw their businesses and properties vandalized.
The leader of the anti-migrant movement stated that the group will organize weekly marches until its objectives are achieved.
“In the next six months, we ask that our national resources be used to expel illegal immigrants from this country. From building to building, they need to leave,” said Jacinta Ngobese, leader of the “March and March” group in the port city of Durban.
Among those chanting anti-immigrant slogans at a demonstration in the city was 31-year-old Silindile Xaba.
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“People are not working, jobs are being taken by illegal foreigners. It’s not fair,” he said.
Politicians have been accused of aligning themselves with xenophobia to win votes in local elections scheduled for November.
VIOLENCE AGAINST IMMIGRANTS
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Migrants interpreted the deadline as a physical threat, and there were sporadic signs of violence, although many marches were peaceful. Police said they had arrested some looters, without providing further details.
In Thembisa, a suburb north of Johannesburg’s main commercial hub, protesters threw rocks at police and suspected migrants, while sporadic gunfire could be heard near the central business district.
The Daily Maverick newspaper reported that police deployed tactical vehicles and fired shots in Benoni, east of Johannesburg, after being threatened by 500 protesters.
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A police spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In the Soweto neighborhood, protesters looted foreigners’ shacks, national broadcaster SABC reported, adding that police had fired rubber bullets to disperse demonstrations in Pietermaritzburg, near Durban.
In attacks on immigrants, which have occurred sporadically in South Africa since 2008, there is little distinction between those who entered legally and those who did not.
March and March maintains that it cannot be held responsible for spontaneous acts of anger on the part of South Africans.
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“Unfortunately, we cannot be in every community telling them… how to behave,” Ngobese told Reuters in an interview two weeks ago.
Anti-immigrant sentiment and what critics see as a police failure to protect victims have tarnished the reputation of South Africa, which, in the post-Nelson Mandela era, has always been seen as a defender of human rights.
Immigrants are accused of stealing jobs, increasing crime and overwhelming public services, allegations that, according to social scientists, lack evidence.
Three decades after the end of apartheid, South Africa remains unequal and a third of the population is unemployed. Despite this, the country remains Africa’s largest economy and continues to attract migrants.
The immigrant population is around 3 million, or approximately 4% of the total — a relatively low proportion compared to global standards.
(Additional reporting by Rogan Ward, in Durban, and Tim Cocks, Nilutpal Timsina, Anathi Madubela, Alexander Winning and Sisipho Skweyiya, in Johannesburg;)
