Workers stayed home, shops were shut and buses sat idle across South Africa on Tuesday as fears mounted that planned anti-immigrant marches would descend into violence.
Many foreigners from African countries avoided coming to work, and thousands had already fled ahead of Tuesday’s deadline — set by the demonstrators — for all undocumented migrants to leave.
Most have interpreted the deadline as a physical threat. Xenophobic protests in South Africa have in the past led to violence against immigrants and their property, with little distinction made between those who entered legally or not.
Police, military in the streets
Witnesses said landlords in Johannesburg and Durban were evicting foreign tenants for fear of vandalism to their buildings.
“All these people were chased out by their landlords,” said Mabako Majole, a leader of the Congolese community, next to a crowd of 100 people sleeping on the street in downtown Durban.
“All these people are legal. They have documents.”
Police and military were deployed to the streets to try to keep order during the marches in several cities, which are expected to attract many thousands of mostly poor or unemployed South Africans.
“The state has the duty and obligation to ensure that those that are demonstrating do so peacefully,” Deputy National Commissioner for Policing Tebello Mosikili told a news conference late on Monday.
The latest anti-immigrant sentiment and a failure by police so far to protect victims of attacks have tarnished South Africa’s post-Mandela reputation as a human rights defender and strained its relations with the rest of the continent.
Statements by politicians have also endorsed the marchers’ concerns, even while they condemned thuggishness.
“South Africans’ … deep concerns about illegal immigration … are real and they deserve to be heard,” President Cyril Ramaphosa said in a statement on Monday.
“But the right to protest … does not allow people to threaten or intimidate others, or to engage in acts of vandalism or violence,” he added.
- Widespread fear of anti-immigrant violence in South Africa led workers to stay home, shops to close, and buses to remain idle ahead of planned marches.
- Many African foreign nationals avoided work or fled, interpreting the demonstrators' deadline for undocumented migrants to leave as a physical threat.
- Landlords in cities like Johannesburg and Durban evicted foreign tenants fearing vandalism, even affecting those with legal documents.
- Police and the military were deployed to maintain order during the marches, which attracted thousands of mostly poor or unemployed South Africans.
- Despite condemning violence, political leaders, including President Ramaphosa, acknowledged the legitimacy of concerns about illegal immigration, highlighting tensions in South Africa's human rights reputation.
Workers stayed home, shops were shut and buses sat idle across
Most have interpreted the deadline as a physical threat. Xenophobic protests in
Witnesses said landlords in Johannesburg and Durban were evicting foreign tenants for fear of vandalism to their buildings.
"All these people were chased out by their landlords," said Mabako Majole, a leader of the
"All these people are legal.
Police and military were deployed to the streets to try to keep order during the marches in several cities, which are expected to attract many thousands of mostly poor or unemployed
"
Statements by politicians have also endorsed the marchers' concerns, even while they condemned thuggishness.
"
"But the right to protest ... does not allow people to threaten or intimidate others, or to engage in acts of vandalism or violence," he added.
