Xenophobia
latest news & developments
When papers can't prove you belong
Growing up as a Zimbabwean migrant in South Africa, Kimberly Mabaso reflects on how invisible borders and xenophobia challenge the true meaning of belonging, far beyond what…
Salif Keita cancels SA performance in response to xenophobic violence
Acclaimed Malian musician Salif Keita has announced the cancellation of all future South African performances in protest against recent waves of xenophobic violence across the…
Xenophobia is becoming Africa's new nationalism: South Africa is not alone
While South Africa often faces condemnation for xenophobic attacks, this article argues that anti-migrant sentiment is a continent-wide issue with deep historical roots,…
The ‘Othered’ red herring of false narrative
A debate on xenophobia in South Africa highlights the debunking of a bogus statistic claiming international migrants commit 60% of crimes. Experts reveal that migrant crime rates…
African leaders launch pushback against South Africa's anti-migrant narrative
Senior African political leaders, diplomats, lawyers, and researchers have launched a coordinated pushback against South Africa's increasingly hardline migration narrative,…
Citizens’ two faces: humanity in public; greed in private
Many South Africans have witnessed a hidden exploitation: undocumented immigrants trapped in a cycle of 'volunteer slavery'. This article exposes the two-faced attitude of greed…
South Africa's debt to Africa
South Africa's freedom was never a purely South African achievement. The country liberated by African solidarity should not allow anger over migration to become an alibi for…
An open letter to Madiba
Dearest Madiba I write this article to mark Mandela Day (18 July) and hope my words reach you wherever you are in the heavens. In this month 16 years ago (on 11 July 2010) you…
White foreigners arrive; Black Africans ‘flood’
Sandile Memela’s argument begins with a convenient sanitising move. The anti-migrant marches, he argues here (https://mg.co.za/thought-leader/2026-07-09-the-truth-the-missing-link-…
The pan-African story of South African cinema
Joburg Film Festival curator Nhlanhla Ndaba delves into the profound pan-African influences that have shaped South African cinema, from the era of exile and anti-colonial…
The country that forgot its own lesson: Xenophobia, memory and the pass book that never quite left
A powerful analysis of South Africa's deepening xenophobia, drawing parallels between current anti-migrant movements and the country's apartheid past. It explores how economic…
Universities must put South Africans first – but not alone
More than three decades after apartheid, South Africa's debates are still framed through racial lenses. The controversy over foreign academics at universities, amidst xenophobia…
A call to action against Afrophobic violence
The Beijing+30 Women’s Movement expresses its grave concern and unequivocal condemnation of the rising and increasingly violent wave of Afrophobic attacks unfolding across South…
The migrant and the citizen: we need new forms of political community
South Africa's struggles with xenophobia, particularly against migrants from elsewhere in Africa, are not new. This article argues that blaming migrants deflects from deeper…
Could the NHI fuel anti-immigrant sentiment?
Amid rising anti-immigrant sentiment and violence in South Africa, a clause in the National Health Insurance (NHI) Act threatens to deny HIV treatment to refugees, asylum…