South Africa at the height of anti-immigrant protests

DW spoke to people caught up in the anti-immigrant rhetoric across South Africa.

Protesters in South Africa are demanding undocumented foreigners leave by Tuesday, amid fears that planned anti-immigrant rallies could turn violent.

Citizen-led groups have backed an unofficial deadline after weeks of unrest, including attacks on migrant-owned businesses.

South Africa, one of Africa’s largest economies and a country of about 65.5 million people, has long attracted migrants looking for work. The number of foreign-born residents is estimated to be between 2.4 and 3.1 million.

But unemployment in South Africa is the highest in the world, with almost a third of people out of work and deep inequality is fueling people’s anger.

Some activists blame migrants for crime and pressure on public services, although rights groups warn such claims risk escalating tensions.

An Anthropological Research Council survey conducted last year showed that South Africans were more hostile towards immigrants than ever before, with only one in six adults saying they would welcome all foreigners and 42% saying they would welcome none, up by more than a third in 2021.

Today a unilateral deadline has been set by anti-immigration groups for all undocumented immigrants to leave South Africa.

Marches are planned in major cities across the country, with the main demonstration taking place in Durban in the KwaZulu-Natal province.

March & March, the main organization behind the protests, said it was not calling for violence.

But the tension is very high. Three people, including a Malawian and two Mozambican citizens, were killed during recent anti-immigration protests in the lead up to today’s “deadline”.

There have also been reports of self-styled vigilantes intimidating migrant parents and children in schools. Some migrants have also been stopped from reaching hospitals.

The South African government has condemned the violent incidents and distanced itself from the deadline imposed by anti-immigration groups, however, it has also faced criticism from other African states and civil society groups for failing to stop the violence.

Several countries, including Nigeria, Ghana and Malawi, have helped repatriate citizens who say they no longer feel safe in South Africa.

DW will be covering today’s developments with a team that includes correspondents in South Africa and Zimbabwe and elsewhere on the continent.