Hundreds of foreigners afraid for their lives have sought refuge at community halls in south coast, South Africa, claiming that mobs of locals were going door-to-door telling them to leave the country.
Many Malawian and Mozambican nationals told AFP that they had fled their homes over the weekend and spent the night in the mountains and jungle before arriving at small-town community centres.
“They said, ‘You are a foreigner; you don’t belong in South Africa, so you must go.'” Mozambican Thomas Vincent Baloyi told AFP in Gansbaai, around 110 kilometres (70 miles) south-east of Cape Town.
“I said, ‘No, I got documents to be here in South Africa.’ ‘They didn’t want to know,” said Baloyi, who has been in the country for nearly 16 years working in construction and gardening.
“They just chased us away like dogs… that is unfair because, actually, I’m a human being,” the 32-year-old said. “We just stayed in the bush until six in the morning.”
Weeks of generally peaceful rallies against illegal foreign immigrants in South Africa erupted into violence over the weekend in the town of Mossel Bay, 250 kilometres up the coast, where 55 shacks were burned.
According to South African authorities, two Mozambicans were slain “during activities associated with antiforeigner demonstrations”.
They denied the Mozambique government’s claim that five of its nationals were killed as a “direct consequence of the xenophobic attacks”.
Mozambique also stated that approximately 300 of its residents fled across the border on Saturday, with hundreds more expected to follow.
The killings are the first to be linked to a new surge of anti-migrant protests by fringe groups who accuse undocumented foreign people of committing crimes and snatching limited jobs and resources from locals.
After one anti-illegal migrant organisation announced a June 30 deadline for undocumented migrants to return home, small groups of people wielding whips, rods, wooden clubs, and sometimes axes are said to have taken to the streets in several cities to reinforce the ultimatum.
Ghana has already flown home 300 of its citizens, with hundreds more due to leave this weekend, and Nigeria has also announced emergency repatriation flights.
“They were dragging people out of their houses… whether you are legal or illegal, they say they don’t want any foreign nationals in the township,” local councillor Msa Nomatiti told AFP.
Locals turned on foreigners at an informal settlement in Gansbaai on Monday, he added, claiming that some of the groups going door-to-door to look for foreign nationals were escorted by police.
More than 500 individuals fled their houses on Monday, he added.
By late Tuesday, small numbers could still be seen trekking out of the area’s informal settlements, lugging their things through the dark night and heavy rain on their way to safety.
“Some of them lost their passports because of the beatings and being dragged out of their houses,” Nomatiti said. Government officials were sent to help with documentation and voluntary repatriations.
Around 50 people clustered over enormous buckets of food at the tiny Gansbaai mosque, which was crammed with people and belongings and had only one bathroom and tap.
In Kleinmond, a little beach hamlet 40 kilometres from Cape Town, nearly 100 foreigners, the majority of them Malawians, sought refuge inside a local community centre.
The walls were lined with large sacks of clothing and blankets, with just chairs serving as furniture. Volunteers provided warm lunches, while money from local neighbours came in.
Landlords advised non-South Africans to leave immediately on Saturday as people searched door-to-door for foreign citizens, Malawian Michael Markson told AFP.
“So we came out in the night hours; we went to the bush. There’s a mountain up there; we slept there,” said the 31-year-old, his eyes bloodshot.
“They’re taking pangas… dangerous tools. They can hunt someone,” he said.
Talibo Mbewe, another Malawian national, said he had been sheltering at the community hall in Standford, less than 20 km inland, for two days.
“The thieves, they have already taken all our stuff at home, so we don’t have anything. But it’s better to go home without anything than to lose our lives,” he said.
