When African solidarity falters: Migrants face a new wave of exclusion in South Africa

It has become a bitter refrain for Africans who are not South African citizens: witnessing, time and again, the resurgence of waves of anti-migrant tensions that strike without warning. Recently, the South African scene has been shaken by movements initiated by several local organizations and parties, including Bahambe, Dudula, March and March, the Patriotic Alliance, and others. Their methods involve brutal actions that, all too often, unfortunately border on dangerous, criminal behavior.

Their leaders—Jacinta, Ngizwe, Phakelumthakathi, and others—point the finger at migrants, particularly those from Zimbabwe, Malawi, the Congo, Nigeria, Somalia, and many other neighboring countries, as the cause of their suffering. They accuse them of being mostly undocumented and responsible for a rise in crime in their countries. Even more painfully, they blame them for “stealing” the few job opportunities reserved for native South Africans, while many of the latter struggle to find a livelihood.

The exclusion doesn’t stop there: access to public hospitals is also being challenged. Disturbing scenes are circulating on social media, such as the moment when a protester shouts in a public hospital: “If you know you are not a South African citizen, please stand up and leave our hospital! ” This is how a Congolese refugee patient was humiliated and driven out, under the helpless and sometimes indifferent gaze of some South African patients and healthcare workers. The video of this scene went viral on social media.

Faced with rising frustration among migrants, pressure from protesters shows no sign of letting up. In Durban, on Tuesday, May 19, victims denounced raids by the organization March and March, which goes door to door to track down and expel migrants, whether they are in the country legally or not.

The Congolese community, in particular, feels threatened. The DRC Embassy in South Africa has issued warnings, but the expectation for concrete action from the Congolese government remains high, even as diplomatic relations with Pretoria remain strong.

Behind these tensions lie thousands of shattered lives, terrorized families, and trampled dreams. The urgency of collective awareness has never been greater: Africa cannot afford to let hatred divide its children.