“They dragged people out of their homes. Whether you’re here legally or illegally doesn’t matter – they say they don’t want any foreigners in the neighborhood.” (Photo: Rodger Bosch/AFP)
Hundreds of foreign nationals fearing for their lives sought shelter in community halls on the south coast, after groups of residents reportedly went from house to house demanding they leave the country.
Most of the refugees are citizens of Malawi and Mozambique. Many told AFP they fled their homes over the past weekend, spending nights in the mountains and forests, before reaching community centers in small towns.
“They said: ‘You are a foreigner, you don’t belong in South Africa, that’s why you have to go,'” the Mozambican, Thomas Vincent Baloyi, told AFP in Gansbaai, about 110 km south-east of Cape Town.
Baloyi, who has lived in South Africa for almost 16 years and works in the construction and horticulture industry, said he explained that he had legal documents to be in the country.
“They didn’t want to listen. They chased us away like dogs. It’s unfair, because I’m also human,” said the 32-year-old. “We hid in the forest until six in the morning.”
Weeks of mostly small-scale protests against undocumented foreigners turned violent last weekend when 55 squatters’ huts were burnt down in Mossel Bay, about 250 km further along the coast.
The police say two Mozambican citizens are dead, but have not directly linked the deaths to a march against illegal immigrants that took place a few hours earlier.
However, the Mozambican government said five of its citizens died as a “direct result of xenophobic attacks”.
According to this government, around 300 people have already returned to Mozambique on Saturday, with hundreds more expected to follow.
The deaths would be the first to be linked to a new wave of anti-immigrant protests by fringe groups who claim that undocumented foreigners commit crime and take away scarce jobs and resources from local residents.
After one group opposed to illegal immigration set a June 30 deadline for undocumented immigrants to leave the country, there are reports of small groups of people taking to the streets with sticks, canes, wooden clubs and sometimes axes to enforce this ultimatum.
Ghana has already flown back 300 of its citizens, while Nigeria has also announced emergency repatriation flights.
(Rodger Bosch/AFP)
People dragged from houses
“They dragged people out of their homes. Whether you’re here legally or illegally doesn’t matter – they say they don’t want any foreigners in the neighbourhood,” Msa Nomatiti, the local councilor in Gansbaai, told AFP.
According to him, residents acted against foreigners in an informal settlement in Gansbaai on Monday. He claims some of the groups that went from house to house were accompanied by police officers.
According to him, more than 500 people fled their homes on Monday.
By Tuesday, small groups were still walking out of informal settlements with their belongings in tow, moving to safe shelters in the dark and light rain.
“Some of them lost their passports because of the assaults and because they were dragged from their homes,” said Nomatiti.
Government officials have since been dispatched to the area to assist with documentation and voluntary repatriation.
About 50 people took shelter at the small mosque in Gansbaai, where they had to make do with only one toilet and one faucet in overcrowded conditions.
‘Better to go home alive’
In Kleinmond, about 40 km closer to Cape Town, almost 100 foreigners – most of them Malawians – took refuge in a community hall.
Huge bags of clothes and blankets were piled against the walls, while volunteers handed out hot meals and local residents brought in donations.
According to the Malawian, Michael Markson, landlords told foreigners on Saturday that they had to leave immediately because residents were going door to door looking for foreigners.
“We went out at night and hid in the forest. There is a mountain up there where we slept,” said the 31-year-old.
“They carry pangas and other dangerous weapons. They can hunt anyone.”
In Stanford, Talibo Mbewe, a Malawian citizen, said he had been hiding in the local community hall for two days.
“Thieves have already stolen everything from our house, so we have nothing left. But it is better to go home without anything than to lose our lives,” he said.