South Africa has long been a symbol of liberal progress. This week’s anti-immigrant protests end that | Zanele Mji
Across the world, political uncertainty is being exploited to fan the flames of hatred. Now, the very principles that make South Africa great are at
Across the world, political uncertainty is being exploited to fan the flames of hatred. Now, the very principles that make South Africa great are at risk This week, South Africa has been rocked by protests that have caught the world’s attention. These have been led by anti-immigration civic groups campaigning against what they describe as a crisis of illegal immigration.
But to understand these protests, it’s key to view them as part of a broader conservative nationalist turn, as has been seen across countries in the west. For the past two months, these groups have marched through townships and city centres demanding identity documents from African foreign nationals, ordering non-citizens to close their businesses and calling on undocumented migrants to vacate the country.
They declared 30 June as the deadline for immigrants to leave and as the date of a nationwide shutdown. Zanele Mji is a writer, investigative journalist and podcaster based in Johannesburg Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.
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