Tens of Thousands of Foreigners Flee South Africa as 30% Joblessness Fuels Anti-Migrant Harassment
Updated
Updated · bbc.co.uk · Aug 3
Tens of Thousands of Foreigners Flee South Africa as 30% Joblessness Fuels Anti-Migrant Harassment
3 articles · Updated · bbc.co.uk · Aug 3
Summary
Tens of thousands of foreigners have left South Africa in the past two months, with Nigerians, Ghanaians and Malawians taking repatriation transport after protests and intimidation escalated.
Legal status often offered little protection: Nigerian businessman Richard Itoro and Ghanaian hairstylist Emmanuel Asamoah said they were harassed despite valid documents allowing them to stay.
Anti-migrant marches peaked in late June, with activists and Culture Minister Gayton McKenzie saying their target was undocumented migrants and linking the backlash to South Africa's more than 30% unemployment rate.
The exodus is straining regional ties, with Nigeria saying documented citizens were attacked and Ghana condemning the treatment as a betrayal of Pan-African solidarity.
Diplomatic tension rose further after a Nigerian man died during a police arrest over suspected drug offences, a case now under independent investigation.