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Homes burned, shops looted in anti-migrant attacks

Renewed anti-foreigner violence has raised fresh fears and uncertainty among members of migrant communities in S Africa.

Xenophobia/ Please Do Not Use
Anderson Mapata, a migrant from Malawi, is seen in a home destroyed in an arson attack in the Johannesburg suburb of Rosettenville. [Ihsaan Haffejee/Al Jazeera]
By Ihsaan Haffejee
Published On 27 Feb 201727 Feb 2017
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Violence against foreigners has flared up again in parts of South Africa.

Earlier this month, immigrants’ homes and businesses were looted and torched in suburbs of Johannesburg and Pretoria, the capital city, raising concerns about anti-foreigner sentiment in the country.

The latest attacks follow previous bouts of xenophobic violence in 2008 and 2015 which resulted in the deaths of foreign nationals and the displacement of hundreds of migrants who were too afraid to continue living in the new communities they now called home.

With the end of apartheid and the dawn of democracy in 1994, South Africa opened itself up to the world.
A steady stream of migrants from around Africa made their way south in search of safety and better opportunities, in what was once the continent’s fastest-growing and largest economy.

But nowadays, with the economy static and youth unemployment rising, some locals are accusing foreigners of stealing jobs and of being involved in criminal activities, such as drug peddling and prostitution.

Anti-immigrant sentiment is on the rise with community leaders and some in government echoing the dangerous rhetoric heard in parts of Europe and the United States.

On Friday, authorities gave permission to a group of people to hold an anti-immigrant rally in Pretoria. The march descended into violence when some protesters attempted to storm into a suburb of Pretoria West, which is home to a predominantly migrant community. 

The migrants in the area mobilised and vowed to fight back as a large contingent of riot police had to be deployed to avoid large-scale violence between the two groups.

Xenophobia/ Please Do Not Use
Malawian migrant Elube Mwalwen, 34, walks through Rosettenville with her 18-month-old son Brian, looking for a place to stay for the night after their home was torched. Local protesters claimed that Nigerians were using houses in the area to peddle drugs. [Ihsaan Haffejee/Al Jazeera]
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Xenophobia/ Please Do Not Use
Groups of anti-immigrant protesters on Friday making their way towards a suburb of Pretoria West, which is home to a predominantly migrant community. Police stood between the two groups to calm the situation, but failed to prevent clashes erupting. [Ihsaan Haffejee/Al Jazeera]
Xenophobia/ Please Do Not Use
Foreign nationals armed with sticks and rocks confront a group of anti-immigrant protesters in Pretoria West. [Ihsaan Haffejee/Al Jazeera]
Xenophobia/ Please Do Not Use
A police helicopter flies overhead as members of the South African police step in between groups of anti-immigrant protesters and migrant communities in Pretoria. [Ihsaan Haffejee/Al Jazeera]
Xenophobia/ Please Do Not Use
Leaders of a migrant community form a human chain to keep others from approaching a group of anti-immigrant protesters who were attempting to enter a Pretoria West suburb. Foreign nationals mobilised and armed themselves with stones and sticks in an attempt to defend their neighbourhood from the anti-immigrant group. [Ihsaan Haffejee/Al Jazeera]
Xenophobia/ Please Do Not Use
A man who took part in the anti-immigrant rally lies injured on the ground after police fired tear gas and stun grenades to disperse the protesters. [Ihsaan Haffejee/Al Jazeera]
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Xenophobia/ Please Do Not Use
Foreign nationals lock themselves behind the gates in their homes after the clashes in Pretoria West. [Ihsaan Haffejee/Al Jazeera]
Xenophobia/ Please Do Not Use
Local protesters blame foreign nationals for unemployment and crime. [Ihsaan Haffejee/Al Jazeera]
Xenophobia/ Please Do Not Use
A Muslim migrant can be seen standing guard at the entrance of a Musjid in a suburb of Pretoria West. The man was forced to close the main entrance to the prayer facility after the area came under attack. [Ihsaan Haffejee/Al Jazeera]
Xenophobia/ Please Do Not Use
Men who were marched through Pretoria threatening foreign nationals are arrested by police. The group, which had been on the rampage all day, were isolated by the police and made to lie on the ground. [Ihsaan Haffejee/Al Jazeera]


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