Escalating violence against migrants in South Africa is driving expatriates to seek refuge in the mountains.
Written by Ziad Abdel Fattah:
Recent reports have revealed that migrants in South Africa are resorting to staying in the mountains or the local town hall to avoid Escalating violence against migrants.
A Reuters report said that four days ago, Mozambican migrant Lado Amidu, who lives in the South African town of Kleinmond, was surprised by a knock on his door. When he opened the door, there was an angry crowd telling him that foreigners like him should leave South Africa, and they went door-to-door knocking on the doors of expatriates with the same message.
Violence against migrants in South Africa to hide
Amidu fled and spent two nights in the mountains. He is now taking refuge in the local municipal building, like other migrants from Malawi and Mozambique throughout South Africa’s Western Cape province, where they have been forced to hide from anti-immigrant crowds in several coastal towns.
South Africa has seen a wave of anti-immigrant protests, which have sometimes turned violent, in recent weeks, and Mozambique announced that five of its citizens were killed in xenophobic attacks in Mossel Bay over the weekend.
Amidu lives in Kleinmond, and at the end of last May, he explained that citizens came to his house, knocked on the door, and then took all his belongings, explaining that he has been in South Africa since February looking for work.
Immigrants are now hoping to join voluntary repatriation programs set up by their governments, at a time when they are being blamed for economic problems.
Xenophobic attacks are a recurring problem in South Africa, where immigrants are often blamed for economic problems such as high unemployment and crime rates.
Despite the lack of any evidence for this claim, politicians from almost all parties have tended to lend credibility to it in an attempt to win over populist voters ahead of elections, such as the local elections to be held at the end of the year.
President Cyril Ramaphosa told parliament on Tuesday: “As we work to build a safer and more prosperous society, we need to address the challenge of migration,” while also condemning recent acts of violence stemming from xenophobia.
Grant Cohen, a local councillor for the Clynemond borough, said immigration authorities have visited the town in recent weeks to check restaurants and other businesses for workers without proper documentation of their residency.
But many of the migrants sheltering in the town hall are in the country legally, he told Reuters.
Cohen said, "I don't think the residents should take matters into their own hands; some of the protesters are armed with knives and sticks.".
Michael Markson, 31, from Malawi, said he spent one night sleeping in the mountains after fleeing the informal settlement where he had been living for almost a year on Saturday, explaining that the landlord came to tell him he had to evacuate because if the protesters found him, he would be killed.
He explained that on the second day, one of his friends contacted his boss at work to bring him food while they were hiding in a forest.
Markson said he was close enough to see a large crowd of protesters in the city, some of whom were carrying knives and sticks.
He is now waiting for assistance to travel to his country, something he cannot afford, explaining that His country does not have a good economy, but that is better than living in a society where your life is threatened.
