South Africa: African migrants forced to flee after a wave of xenophobic attacks

A new wave of xenophobic violence is sweeping South Africa, forcing many African migrants to abandon their homes and businesses for fear of further attacks. In Durban, several neighborhoods have been affected by looting and assaults targeting mainly foreign nationals, amid rising tensions surrounding immigration.

Among the victims was Princess Adjei, a 33-year-old woman from Ghana who arrived in South Africa as a child. After opening a hair salon in downtown Durban last November, her business was vandalized during an anti-migrant protest on May 18. Despite having grown up in South Africa, completed all her schooling there, and speaking fluent Zulu, she says she was suddenly treated as a foreigner.

According to several accounts, protesters looted shops belonging to migrants and demanded that they leave the country. Some victims claim that even acquaintances or neighbors asked them to "go back home," despite sometimes having spent decades in South Africa.

The violence has left at least five people dead and caused significant property damage. Homes and businesses have been vandalized or looted, while some families have been forced to seek refuge in temporary shelters or sleep on the streets, afraid to return home.

The organizers of the anti-immigration demonstrations denied any responsibility for the attacks, claiming their actions were solely aimed at denouncing illegal immigration and the economic competition they attribute to foreigners. However, several observers believe the climate created by these gatherings contributed to fueling the violence.

For many analysts, migrants have become scapegoats in a country grappling with high unemployment, widespread poverty, and persistent housing and public service shortages. Foreign nationals are routinely blamed for rising crime or job insecurity, despite the lack of evidence demonstrating a direct link.

This new surge in xenophobia reignites a recurring problem in South Africa. For more than a decade, the country has periodically experienced violence targeting migrants from other African states. Human rights organizations are calling on the authorities to strengthen the protection of foreign populations and to combat the hate speech that fuels these tensions.