Xenophobia in South Africa: “They are dehumanizing me” | DW News

Added: 2026-05-25

[00:00:00]I just feel like I'm they dehumanizing me. It's like I'm not a human.

[00:00:05]>> Dozens of immigrants say that they'll be spending the night in the courtyard of the Diaona Center in downtown Durban because it's one of the few places where they feel safe. Their police guarding the entrance outside and in some way they feel that they have protection in numbers, more protection than they have staying in their apartments and homes within communities. for me to sleep outside with my like my people here. It wasn't much safe than where where people are staying now because then our flats people are promising us like even your neighbors asking you that hey me you have to leave you what are you waiting here you see those kind of things of which like I'm like you know I don't understand it because I'm fear I'm feared now like >> many of those that I've spoken to here are asylum seekers and say that they've been in South Africa for years and because of that they have context to the ongoing protests, anti-immigrant protests taking place across the country. Now, the context is that in 2019, 2017, 2015, and as far back as 2008, there were xenophobic uprisings.

[00:01:16]In many of those instances, people were attacked. In 2008, which was possibly the worst one, 62 people were killed.

[00:01:25]And it's for that reason that the immigrants who are staying here feel that this could be the safest place for them at this moment.

[00:01:32]>> Most of us who are here they are refugee. Refugee is someone who run this country because of safety and fear for his life. Now when you come to the place where you think that you're going to be safe situation like this you just feel like you are de man. Yeah.