As South Africa braces for nationwide anti-illegal immigration protests on June 30, March and March leader Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma has sought to draw a clear line between protest and violence, insisting that organisers are mobilising for a peaceful demonstration rather than a shutdown.
Speaking at a media briefing in Johannesburg on Wednesday evening, Ngobese-Zuma stood alongside several civil society organisations as they signed a declaration committing themselves to non-violence during the much-anticipated marches.
The signatories pledged that their organisations stand for peace, unity and the enforcement of South African laws, that the demonstrations would be a peaceful expression of public anger, and that they reject violence, looting and the destruction of property.
But while the declaration itself was measured, Ngobese-Zuma’s address was anything but subdued.
‘Hypocrisy’ condemned
She accused sections of society of hypocrisy for condemning anti-illegal immigration activists while remaining silent about crimes allegedly committed by people living in South Africa unlawfully.
The outspoken activist argued that South Africa could no longer carry the burden of worsening economic conditions elsewhere on the continent.
“It’s been 32 years. Instead of becoming lesser and lesser economic migrants, we are getting more and more of them because countries are becoming problematic. The economies in other African countries and beyond are becoming more and more unstable,” she said.
“There is no country that can be allowed to keep giving and giving of itself so others can survive. We can’t keep taking oxygen from South Africans so that others can breathe. It is not fair.”
‘We are not xenophobic’
At times emotional, Ngobese-Zuma said she was deeply frustrated by accusations that her movement was driven by xenophobia.
“I always ask myself why are you not listening to us speak. None of what we are saying is about hatred. It’s got nothing to do with fearing migrants or not loving them. It’s about us as South Africans having the little that we have left to survive and trying to protect it,” she said.
Seeking to bolster her argument, she pointed to recent anti-immigration unrest in Ireland and Northern Ireland following a high-profile stabbing incident that triggered days of rioting, arson attacks and clashes with police.
“In Ireland, nobody was calling that xenophobia. They were literally going into houses, getting people, beating them up, burning them. Not one article was calling that xenophobia. It was anti-immigration protests. Do we not deserve the same grace?” she asked.
“What makes it when white people are protesting that it’s got a nice and fancy name, and when we are protesting you always think of violence? We are saying we want to march. We didn’t say anything about destroying anything.”
Government, media ‘at fault’
Ngobese-Zuma also directed criticism at the South African government and international media, accusing them of prioritising the concerns of foreign nationals while ignoring the frustrations of South Africans.
“The government of South Africa and the media of the world pay so much attention to foreign nationals and ignore South Africans,” she said.
She cited complaints from local traders, overcrowded schools and strained public healthcare facilities as examples of issues she believes are not receiving adequate attention.
‘Paint the full picture’
“We are not saying paint us as angels. We don’t care what you call us. Paint the full picture,” she said.
“Tell those stories of South Africans who have been run out of the tuck shop business because Pakistanis and Somalians have told them they can’t open tuck shops in their own country.
“Tell those stories of South African children who can’t find space in schools. Tell those stories of women who are South African giving birth on the floor because they don’t have space.”
Despite the charged rhetoric, Ngobese-Zuma repeatedly stressed that June 30 would not be a shutdown and that people would be free to go about their daily activities.
“We are not calling for a shutdown,” she said. “People are allowed to go to work and continue with their lives. We are simply marching.”
- As South Africa braces for nationwide anti-illegal immigration protests on June 30, March and March leader Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma has sought to draw a clear line between protest and violence, insisting that organisers are mobilising for a peaceful demonstration rather than a shutdown.
- Speaking at a media briefing in Johannesburg on Wednesday evening, Ngobese-Zuma stood alongside several civil society organisations as they signed a declaration committing themselves to non-violence during the much-anticipated marches.
- The signatories pledged that their organisations stand for peace, unity and the enforcement of South African laws, that the demonstrations would be a peaceful expression of public anger, and that they reject violence, looting and the destruction of property.
- But while the declaration itself was measured, Ngobese-Zuma’s address was anything but subdued.
- ‘Hypocrisy’ condemned She accused sections of society of hypocrisy for condemning anti-illegal immigration activists while remaining silent about crimes allegedly committed by people living in South Africa unlawfully.
