Cape Town – About 40 activists gathered at St George’s Cathedral in Cape Town on Africa Day to push back against growing anti-immigrant sentiment in South Africa, declaring that migrants, refugees and asylum seekers are fighting for the same dignity, safety and justice as marginalised South Africans.
The picket was organised by the Ubuntu Rural Women and Youth Movement and was accompanied by a panel discussion focused on the importance of unity among working-class people, coming at a time of mounting anti-immigrant protests and rhetoric across several South African cities.
Juanita Engelbrecht of Ubuntu addressed those gathered with a direct appeal. “My fellow Africans, we cannot be silent anymore. If you can, please educate,” she said.
After the discussion, participants moved to the steps of the cathedral carrying placards that read “Together we rise as one continent” and “An African cannot be a foreigner in Africa.” The gathering also included a rendition of Senzeni Na, the struggle song meaning “What have we done?”
Danmore Chuma of Kopanang Africa pushed back against narratives that immigrants resist documentation, saying people face real obstacles when trying to get their papers in order at Home Affairs. “We want to challenge the narrative that immigrants don’t want to be documented,” he said.
Chuma also commented on an anti-immigrant march that took place in Bellville the previous Saturday, saying they were “glad that it was a dismal failure.”
Lungi Morrison, a South African born in exile, said the hostility directed at African nationals deserves to be called by its proper name. “I would call it Afrophobia and not xenophobia, because it really is targeted quite specifically at people from the African continent who are our brothers and sisters who took us in,” she said.
Activists at the picket read out a statement calling on “political parties and factions with private interests to stop abusing the migrant issue to further their own narrow ends,” and urged communities to take a stand against those sowing divisions.
The picket came days before South Africa’s justice, crime prevention and security ministers met on Monday to discuss the recent wave of anti-immigration protests. The government said in a statement that “the ministers will meet political parties, various groups and associations who have been involved in mass protests and community marches against illegal foreign nationals across the country” to establish rules of engagement in protests and to discuss government initiatives for dealing with illegal immigration.
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