TheDeckSpinner

What's happening in South Africa requires all of us to be honest and to understand that two truths can coexist. South Africa has an immigration problem. This is true. South Africa has people who are both Afrophobic and xenophobic. This is another truth. To address what’s going on, we must accept those truths. The South African government and governments across Africa must have a conversation about the immigration problem. South Africa cannot continue to bear the economic and social cost. And we can't afford to keep gaslighting South African citizens by stating that other Africans helped them during the apartheid struggle. This should never be used to silence them. African governments must confront the reality facing their citizens and take responsibility for what has caused their citizens to migrate to South Africa. The South African government must also take responsibility for cosying up to other African governments and failing to hold them accountable for destroying their economies and making it hard for their citizens to remain in their countries. The South African government needs to be strong here. It cannot be soft. Hiding behind Pan-Africanist ideals and brotherhood that emerged from liberation movements doesn’t cut it. We simply can't reduce this immigration problem to pushing narratives such as “South Africans are lazy, HIV-infected, uneducated.” Anyone saying so is dishonest. There is a real crisis. South Africa has remained the most unequal country in the world. The economic pie is largely in the hands of the white minority. Yet we expect the same Black people, who are excluded from accessing this economic pie, to share its crumbs with Africans from other countries. It seems unfair to expect that. Saying this doesn't mean we do not acknowledge the existence of Afrophobes. They exist. In every struggle, there are people who exploit genuine grievances to drive selfish agendas, hate, etc. Is it right? Never. The South African government and other African governments must deal with Afrophobic and xenophobic actors. Innocent people cannot lose their lives and businesses because governments have failed to address socio-economic conditions. SA has a crime problem, and it would be disingenuous of SA citizens to say crime is perpetuated by foreigners or illegal immigrants only. There are South Africans who commit crimes, and one cannot solve crime by scapegoating. There is an immigration problem which may potentially lead to crime and that needs to be addressed. If immigration issues and socio-economic conditions are not addressed, these tensions will keep rearing their ugly heads. Afrophobic South Africans also need to confront the truth about why they are solely targeting Black immigrants. This pattern mirrors what’s happening in the United States of America, where ICE disproportionately targets Black and Brown people. This disproportionate targeting isn’t random. It’s rooted in anti-Blackness and colonial hierarchies of belonging that code Blackness as foreign, criminal, or disposable. In both SA and the US, immigration enforcement becomes racialised. It has become a tool that punishes skin color by weaponising citizenship status. It is painful to watch people stripped of dignity and abused simply for being foreigners in South Africa. To find a common path forward, we need to understand these nuances and hold all our African governments accountable. We are where we are because of them!