Racism and xenophobia in sub-Saharan Africa / Racismo y xenofobia en el África subsahariana
- Aurora DiTommaso
- 25 févr.
- 2 min de lecture
Xenophobia has become a normalized and central dynamic in parts of Sub-Saharan Africa, emerging as a response to overlapping crisis that have further weakened already fragile society. Armed conflicts, economic instability, climate disasters, rising food and fuel prices and corruption have created a fertile ground for discrimination.
Across the region, exclusion is not only social but also institutional: displaced people and refugees are often treated as second-class citizens, forced to live in unsafe conditions or pushed back across borders. In Sudan, more than 11 million people have been forced from their homes, many of them sheltering in camps exposed to armed attacks.
Sudanese refugees in countries such as Egypt face detention and deportation, while in Algeria and Niger thousands of migrants have been expelled toward the desert town of Assamaka, sometimes with deadly consequences. Civilians are also at risk of being attacked, not only for being in conflict zones, but also because of their ethnicity, religion or national background. This environment reveals how entrenched xenophobia intensifies civilians’ vulnerability to violence and exclusion.
The example of South Africa:
South Africa provides a clear example of how xenophobia plays a key role in both daily interactions and institutional settings. Migrants from neighbouring countries are often referred to with the derogatory term “kwerekwere”, used to mock other Africans and label them as outsiders. Many of these migrants are highly qualified or have significant work experience, yet they often accept low wages and insecure jobs due to economic necessity at home, such as supporting families in falling states like Zimbabwe.
Violence against migrants has become a persistent problem in South Africa. In cities such as Cape Town, riots often result in multiple deaths, with high rates of homicides reported daily. Political tolerance of xenophobic rhetoric has historically contributed to this problem. Although President Ramaphosa has publicly condemned xenophobic attacks and proposed national plans, tensions remain high, and neighbouring countries view these attacks as betrayal of pan-African solidarity.
The Covid-19 pandemic further exposed and deepened xenophobic dynamics in South Africa. Migrants were often excluded from government relief efforts, such as food parcels and vouchers under the Social Relief of Distress Grant, while public discourse and some political rhetoric described them as a threat to South Africans’ health. A 40 km border with Zimbabwe was built to prevent the entry of “infected or undocumented persons”, despite the fact that there were higher infection rates in South Africa than in Zimbabwe at the time. Ultimately, these measures reinforced the racist narrative: immigrants were portrayed as invaders who exploited scarce resources and were associated with disease and pollution. This highlights how xenophobia continues to shape both public perception and institutional responses.
https://gjia.georgetown.edu/2024/05/26/xenophobia-a-pervasive-crisis-in-post-apartheid-south-africa/
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