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JOHANNESBURG — On April 15 of this year, Themba Maphosa awoke to news that five immigrants had been killed by South African gangs the previous night in Durban. A month earlier, the Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini shouted at a rally that “foreigners must pack their bags and go home.” A wave of violence soon engulfed the country. South Africans remembered similar violence in the country in 2008 when scores were killed.
As a Zimbabwean, Themba sympathized with the victims. But he also thought back to his own personal terror — eight years earlier when, despite having his papers in order, he was deported by the South African government. Themba’s experience opens a lens on an increasingly prevalent problem in South Africa — as if the xenophobic violence breaking out amongst its citizens wasn’t enough, the African National Congress government ignores existing laws that protect immigrants and actively deports foreign nationals, seeking to quell restless citizens.
The violence threatens to upset South Africa’s international image as a success story. A new apartheid is now being enforced — one in which foreign nationals instead of black South Africans are treated as second-class citizens.
Eight years ago, Themba’s hopes for a second straight day of work were dashed as a van screeched to a halt next to his claimed street corner in urban Johannesburg. Two stern-looking policemen, hands on guns, anger etched on faces, stepped out with an air that suggested that on this day, they would not succumb to the usual bribes.
