Narratives portraying South Africa as xenophobic are troubling. The claims ignore the reality of our daily interactions, our constitutional values and the extensive regional partnerships that underpin our development agenda
President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Sunday address to the nation on measures to address illegal immigration was both necessary and timely. As South Africans, we must support interventions aimed at strengthening border management, enforcing immigration laws and addressing criminality wherever it occurs. Every sovereign nation has a responsibility to regulate migration, protect its borders and ensure that those who live and work within its territory do so in accordance with the law.
Supporting the interventions, however, should never be confused with hostility towards foreign nationals. The enforcement of immigration laws is not xenophobia; it is governance. Equally, opposing xenophobia does not mean turning a blind eye to illegality. South Africa can, and must, do both: uphold human dignity while enforcing the rule of law. The distinction is important because South Africa is not a xenophobic nation.
Like every country, we have experienced isolated incidents of violence and tension linked to migration, unemployment and socio-economic pressures. The incidents are unacceptable and must be condemned. But they do not define the character of our nation. Most South Africans continue to live, work, trade, worship and build communities alongside people from across Africa and beyond.
