Xenophobia in South Africa: Who’s Really Paying the Price?

[00:00:00]What happens when a country tries to fix its economy by pushing migrants out?

[00:00:06]South Africa thought it had an answer.

[00:00:09]Remove undocumented foreigners and the pressure would ease. [music] More jobs, better services, a reset for struggling communities.

[00:00:18]But weeks later, the reality looks far more complicated.

[00:00:22]>> I had a plan of going to South Africa this coming vacation, but in the process of the xenophobic attacks and second of other countries from South Africa, I wouldn't feel safe going there anymore.

[00:00:35]>> I personally has refused to watch South Africa because they sent away Nigerians after all that we have done for them in the years past.

[00:00:45]>> For many across the continent, South Africa no longer feels like a shared home, but a closed door.

[00:00:52]Welcome to the flip side.

[00:00:55]Thousands of migrants, both undocumented and documented, [music] have left South Africa. And while the aim was economic relief, the fallout is spreading through sectors that rely on [music] openness, trust, and regional ties. Even government officials acknowledge the cost.

[00:01:13]>> The brand it is hurting.

[00:01:16]Uh we can't lie [music] about it.

[00:01:18]Um the backlash um and that's why part of the work that we are doing as government as well through DECO is engagement [music] with businesses abroad.

[00:01:28]>> That brand, once built on post-apartheid ideals of Ubuntu, which is unity and shared humanity, >> [music] >> is now under strain. And the economic ripple effects are becoming harder to ignore.

[00:01:42]>> In the short term, we've seen cancellations in tourism, which will hurt the hospitality industry. It will hurt um trade. It will hurt many things.

[00:01:50]We're also seeing a decline in trade within the region, informal trade, formal trade, things that migrants themselves would be involved with.

[00:01:57]>> This is the paradox. An effort to protect livelihoods may actually eliminate them, especially in sectors that depend on cross-border movement and informal trade.

[00:02:08]>> We think in Johannesburg, the informal trade in clothing and goods is probably worth something like a billion dollars a year. If you shut that down, if you stop trade within the region, you're losing that money, and that's money that goes straight into people's hands, it's spent within the economy.

[00:02:25]>> Meanwhile, the June 30 deadline for all undocumented migrants to leave [music] is fast approaching. Still, questions remain about how the policy is being implemented [music] and at what cost.

[00:02:37]>> The ways in which we are seeing things manifest currently is harming South Africa's reputation, [music] both within the Southern African region, continentally, and globally. The lack of substantial engagement by the state and [music] engagement to try and ensure that the kind of um 30th of June condition is being challenged [music] by the state is is lacking at the moment.

[00:03:02]>> There's no denying South Africa's economic pressures. Unemployment is high, public services are stretched, [music] frustration is real. But experts warn that blaming migrants may be misdiagnosing [music] deeper structural issues, from governance challenges to slow economic growth. So, is there another path?

[00:03:23]>> As South Africans and everyone living in South Africa, we need to make sure that our government is is appropriately stewarding the funds available. And that and that the services, [music] health and education services that are required, are being appropriately supported.

[00:03:41]So so that's the work that we've been focusing on doing over many years. We really need those in positions of power, those who have both the obligation and the power to speak up, to do so. Because to allow anti-migrant [music] sentiment to fester just shifts responsibility, and it poses a risk to everyone, to migrants themselves, [music] and to South Africans.

[00:04:05]>> Beyond policy debates, jobs, and economic data, there is something South Africa must [music] urgently address, trust. Trust between neighbors, trust across borders, trust in what South Africa stands for.

[00:04:20]And that is the flip side.