Written By | Deo Tiba Santos
Deo Tiba Santos, the writer
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South Africa today stands at a difficult crossroads—one marked by frustration, economic pressure, and growing social tension. In this climate, a troubling pattern has emerged: fellow Africans are increasingly being blamed, attacked, and dehumanized under the label of “illegal migrants,” as though they are the root cause of the country’s challenges. But this narrative does not withstand scrutiny.
It is important to recall that the inequalities many South Africans face today were not created by migrants. They are the legacy of a deliberate and systemic past. Under apartheid, the Black majority was confined to underdeveloped areas such as Soweto—spaces designed to limit opportunity, restrict movement, and suppress economic participation. Education was intentionally weakened. Access to resources was tightly controlled. Entire communities were structurally disadvantaged.
These conditions were not imposed by fellow Africans from across borders. They were engineered systems of exclusion. Yet today, the anger born from those injustices is often redirected—not toward the structures that created inequality—but toward those who share similar struggles: Africans seeking survival, dignity, and opportunity.
Some of the scenes captured with South Africans chasing away immigrants
The Somali shopkeeper, the Zimbabwean teacher, the Congolese trader, the Ethiopian entrepreneur—these individuals are not adversaries. In many ways, they reflect the same resilience that defined South Africans during their own struggle against oppression. Many arrive not to take, but to build livelihoods, contribute economically, and support families, both locally and across borders.
A difficult but necessary truth must be acknowledged: even if every undocumented migrant were to leave South Africa tomorrow, the country’s structural challenges would remain. Unemployment would not disappear overnight. Inequality would not correct itself. Townships would not suddenly transform into thriving economic centres.
Why? Because these challenges are rooted in deeper systemic issues—unequal education, limited access to capital, slow economic transformation, governance failures, and persistent spatial inequality.
Blaming migrants may offer a visible and immediate outlet for frustration, but it does not address the real causes of hardship.
If public anger were redirected toward these structural issues, the potential for meaningful change would be far greater. This would involve demanding quality and equitable education systems, holding leaders accountable for corruption and poor service delivery, advocating for inclusive economic growth, and investing in township economies through infrastructure, skills development, and entrepreneurship.
These are complex challenges. They require sustained effort, civic engagement, and political will. But they are the battles that matter.
History offers a clear lesson: transformative change is achieved when people unite against systems of injustice—not when they turn against one another. The struggle that dismantled apartheid succeeded because it confronted structural oppression with clarity and collective purpose. It did not target the vulnerable; it challenged the powerful.
Redirecting anger toward fellow Africans risks repeating a familiar and damaging pattern—where those most affected by inequality are divided, while the underlying causes remain intact.
This is not to suggest that migration should be unmanaged or that laws should be ignored. Every sovereign nation has the right to regulate its borders. However, enforcement must be guided by law, dignity, and human rights—not violence, prejudice, or scapegoating. There is a clear distinction between governance and hostility.
The more urgent question is this: after the anger subsides, what will have changed?
Will there be more jobs?
Better schools?
Greater economic opportunity?
Or will the same structural challenges persist—now compounded by deeper social divisions?
South Africa’s future cannot be built on exclusion. It must be grounded in justice, accountability, and an honest understanding of its challenges.
Public frustration is valid. But it must be directed wisely—toward transforming systems, not targeting the vulnerable. Toward building solutions, not deepening fractures.
Because lasting progress will never come from chasing those at the margins. It will come from confronting the forces that keep so many people there.
Torch Media Africa
