Mass anti-immigration demonstrations have sparked widespread tension across South Africa, following a weeks-long campaign targeting foreign nationals.
The unrest has already resulted in at least four fatalities and forced tens of thousands to seek safety, according to The Guardian.
Protests and Evacuations
In Durban, security forces braced for potential violence as businesses closed and streets emptied.
Over 2,000 demonstrators dressed in Zulu attire marched through the city center, carrying sticks and clubs.
The marchers chanted "Abahambe!" — an isiZulu phrase meaning "They must go!"
— which has become the movement's rallying cry.
Local campaign groups set an arbitrary June 30 deadline for undocumented migrants to leave, raising fears of imminent violence.
Thousands of families abandoned their homes ahead of the deadline, sleeping in open fields, makeshift camps, and on pavements.
Multiple African governments coordinated emergency transportation, and authorities confirmed that over 25,000 individuals have been repatriated so far.
Displacement also intensified in Pietermaritzburg, 50 miles from Durban, where a 29-year-old Malawian national was killed by a mob on June 19.
Hundreds of families spent days camped outside an abandoned building, waiting for evacuation buses heading to the northern border.
Personal Stories of Fear
Jackson Makungwa, a 29-year-old Malawian who lived legally in South Africa for a decade, stood in line with minimal belongings after failing to renew his work permit due to systemic issues.
"It's not like I want to be illegally in the country, but the system doesn't allow me to be here legally," he said.
Makungwa decided to flee after a compatriot was assaulted by seven men, leaving behind his two-month-old son who lacked travel documents.
"They said the deadline is the 30th, so they will attack me if I stay," he added.
In a nearby makeshift camp for Zimbabwean families, Lydia Mpingashato faced eviction and job termination because her landlord feared retaliation for hosting immigrants.
"He said he would burn my house and kill my family," she recalled, after receiving threats at a township transport hub on June 27.
"Now I have no plan; I'm just going home to be safe."
Many South African citizens attribute high crime rates and unemployment to the presence of foreign nationals.
The South African Human Rights Commission noted that xenophobia typically surfaces where economic insecurity, weak governance, and poor migration management intersect.
Census data from 2022 indicates South Africa hosts roughly 2.4 million foreigners, both documented and undocumented.
The nation has a history of immigration-related unrest, including 2008 riots that killed 62 people and 2015 attacks that left five dead.
The government responded by intensifying law enforcement, reporting over 50,000 arrests of undocumented migrants since January.
President Cyril Ramaphosa met with protest organizers to deliver a firm warning against vigilantism.
A heavy security presence, including police helicopters and armored vehicles, monitored the demonstrations.
While organizers advocated for peace, some marchers gestured threateningly toward apartment windows where foreign families watched. "I can smell the foreigners," a man holding a shield remarked.
Nkosi Ndlovu, a 48-year-old pastor participating in the protest, accused immigrants of driving local drug problems. "We have been talking nicely.
Tomorrow, we're not going to talk. We take action," he said.
Another demonstrator, 40-year-old Mfundo Zulu, argued that foreign workers suppress wages and reduce job availability for local youth.
"Life will be better now," her friend added. "We don't hate them, but they overstayed."
Mukandjwa Shomri of the Southern Africa Refugee Organisations Forum criticized the government for failing to hold perpetrators of xenophobic violence accountable.
"The hope many of us had as refugees when we came to this country – that South Africa is upholding human rights, a country affirmed internationally as a democratic state – is no longer there," he said.
Leon, an asylum seeker from the Democratic Republic of the Congo who went into hiding after his shop was vandalized, expressed terror regarding the post-deadline environment.
"Even the police are telling us openly that we are tired of you, you must leave our country," he said from a safe house.
He noted that open harassment has escalated severely, leaving many refugees feeling completely unsafe. "Now, we're just living like somebody who is already dead," Leon said.
