Foreign nationals are camping outside the Diakonia refugee centre in the Durban city centre after police used rubber bullets to disperse them on Tuesday.
The group of over 500 people had initially picketed at the Durban Central Police Station to demand protection from authorities. They claim that members of the civic group March and March have subjected them to recent assaults and threats.
Tensions escalated on Tuesday, 19 May, when protesters refused to leave the police station following a meeting with officials. Public order police moved to disperse the crowd using stun grenades, teargas, and rubber bullets.
Kopanang Africa Against Xenophobia, a collective of organisations opposing xenophobia, urged authorities to intervene. “KAAX has been warning for some time now that the increase in vigilante activity – often undertaken with the tacit support of the police and other government authorities – targeting asylum seekers, refugees and migrants in general is extremely dangerous”.
“This latest iteration in eThekwini must be treated with extreme urgency before it escalates further and repeats the xenophobic death and destruction visited on migrants that South Africa has been witness to in the past. Asylum seekers, refugees and migrants are entitled to dignity, protection, and access to assistance under the Constitution and international law,” it said in a media statement.
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Vigilante groups fuel city centre tensions
Protesters allege that the group March and March is fueling fear through hateful messaging and physical violence. March and March leader Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma rubbished these claims. She argued that the government has failed its people by allowing infiltration.
She reiterated calls for stricter measures against undocumented migrants to protect the local economy. Human Rights Watch researcher Nomathamsanqa Masiko-Mpaka noted that authorities must not allow vigilante groups to target foreign nationals. She urged the government to bring those who harm them to justice.
Image credit: @ewnupdates/X
