The world zooms in on xenophobia in South Africa – New York Times

The xenophobic attacks on African migrants cast a shadow on the World Economic Forum in Africa held in Cape Town and an angry backlash from South Africa's northern neighbours. It may have received world-wide attention, but it is not a new phenomenon in South Africa. Figures from Xenowatch indicate that the attacks on foreigners in early September is far less than the figures of 2008. As one of the Nigerians who fled back to Lagos pointed out; it is everywhere. As people flee economic woes, famines or droughts they find themselves more and more in countries that are increasingly becoming hostile to foreigners. It has fuelled the election of Donald Trump in the US and Brexit in the UK. The New York Times tells the story of the Nigerians who arrive back in their home country with virtually no possessions or plans. It makes us feel ashamed and although South Africa's Minister for International Relations Minister has called for Africa to better manage migration; there are no easy solutions. As political analyst Melanie Verwoerd has pointed out; this is likely not to be the last chapter in South African xenophobia. With rising temperatures there could be "an increase in refugees and migrants especially in places like South Africa, which would increase xenophobic sentiments. – Linda van Tilburg

By Thulasizwe Sithole

The backlash against the xenophobic attacks prompted Nigeria to fly 300 families back to Lagos where they arrived with "nothing but their children and their suitcases." They fled back to their own country with very little left and say that the hatred for foreigners in South Africa had driven them back to Nigeria. Many believed that if they did not leave, they would have died.

African have long seen South Africa as a land of opportunity and have immigrated to the country at the southern tip of Africa hoping for a better future where they could raise their families. But this dream had turned into a nightmare for many. The foreigners are greeted with hostility in South Africa and blamed for the country's economic woes and that they are stealing the jobs and housing of locals. Nigerians have been singled out as "drug dealers and thieves."

This long-seated hatred ignited earlier this month when groups started looting and burning down shops owned by foreigners. At least 12 people were killed and it "prompted a diplomatic rift between South African and Nigeria, threatening relations between the continent's largest economies." President Cyril Ramaphosa's effort to appease Nigeria and to apologise for the attacks, he promised action on prosecuting those guilty of violence, did not prevent Nigeria from starting a process of airlifting its citizens out of South Africa. The first flight carried 200 people with another arriving in the middle of last week, carrying another 314 people.

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