South Africa: militias threaten immigrants and expose government failures

South Africa is facing a serious migration crisis, marked by the spread of xenophobic movements and the actions of militias that intimidate foreigners on the streets.

Organized groups have invaded hospitals to prevent treatment of immigrants and raided homes demanding that foreigners leave the country.

The situation became even more alarming with the imposition of a deadline, set for June 30th, by these militias for the immigrants to leave South African territory.

According to analyses, the crisis does not involve State agents, but groups with political motivations that act in an organized and violent manner.

The anti-immigration movement and its roots
The resurgence of the movement known as "March and March", which calls for the mass deportation of undocumented immigrants, reflects a social sentiment fueled by decades of unresolved structural problems.

Carlos Henriques, an expert heard on the program Fora da Ordem, explained that the phenomenon "has been going on since Mandela, since the transition from the apartheid regime to a new democratic dispensation".

For him, the movement carries "an agenda of xenophobic violence, which is, in its part, also racist."

It is estimated that around 3 to 4 million immigrants live in South Africa, many of them without regular documentation. They come from countries such as Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Malawi, Botswana and Uganda, nations that, according to the analysis presented in the program, received support from Mandela in recognition of the solidarity shown during the fight against apartheid.

Failures of the African National Congress and deterioration of public services
Carlos Henrique pointed out that social tensions have deep roots in the failures of the ANC (African National Congress) to resolve structural problems since the end of apartheid.

"The ANC as a government, as a political party, has not really managed to show this capacity for resolution in the provision of the most basic services, whether health, drinking water, electricity and everything else", he stated.

Unemployment among young people exceeds 45% in a country with 62 million inhabitants, the majority of whom are young.

Corruption and the enrichment of elites who have become, in the expert's words, "predators" are also among the factors fueling discontent.

Carlos Henriques also highlighted that the ANC "offered a greater volume of money through corruption than the others [southern African movements], in less time", and that the party transformed the State "into several private companies".

Informal economy and popular perception
Another central element of the crisis is the transformation of the South African economy.

According to Carlos Henriques, ANC policies converted an industrialized economy into a predominantly informal economy.

In this context, immigrants, especially Somalis, Zambians and Zimbabweans, stand out in the informal economy, which feeds the popular perception that "they come to take our jobs."

"They no longer have a job, but they need to capitalize and earn a living", explained the expert, highlighting that the informal economy already represents a volume of one trillion rand.

Carlos Henriques also drew attention to the fact that the black middle class created by redistribution policies "did not create value, did not create employment and, therefore, did not create economic development".

For him, the migration issue is used politically as an instrument of popular mobilization, while the real structural problems, unemployment, precarious public health, corruption and organized crime, remain unsolved.

"Are immigrants the real cause of these problems?", he asked, indicating that the accusations against the current regime "have full merit and come from behind, they have not been resolved."

Source: CNN