Immigration
The silent screams of xenophobia
After the 2008 xenophobic attacks which left 62 people dead and thousands displaced and homeless, the attention of South Africans shifted back to the many other social issues that plague South Africa’s conscience. Urgency was lost and prevention of xenophobia and violence became mundane.
Marike Keller
Opinion | 5 August 2015
Zimbabweans fear deportation as Home Affairs bungles special permit process
The immigrant rights group People Against Suffering Oppression and Poverty (PASSOP) is concerned that hundreds of Zimbabweans are being told to leave South Africa imminently.
Bernard Chiguvare
News | 4 August 2015
How I was “ransomed” hitching back from Zimbabwe
A freelance reporter for GroundUp found himself all but held hostage on his way back hitchhiking from Zimbabwe.
Bernard Chiguvare
News | 23 July 2015
Scene of a murder, Hout Bay’s “white house, could be demolished
The controversial “white house” in Hout Bay, scene of the murder earlier this month of a Congolese resident, could be demolished in August, says Brett Herron, mayoral committee member for transport.
Tariro Washinyira
News | 22 July 2015
Is Operation Fiela to be extended?
Operation Fiela was instituted in May for two months in response to xenophobic violence in Kwazulu-Natal and Gauteng. The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) and the South African Police Service (SAPS) carry out its raids.
Mariska Morris
News | 7 July 2015
Operation Fiela: I saw soldiers moving towards my stall, says trader
A Nigerian trader arrested at Cape Town station during Operation Fiela on World Refugee Day has described how he was accused of drug dealing.
Bernard Chiguvare
News | 2 July 2015
Disturbing court judgment ignores our rights
On 23 June the Pretoria High Court struck from the roll an application by Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) that tried to put an urgent end to Operation Fiela. Lara Wallis explains why this is deeply concerning.
Lara Wallis
Opinion | 1 July 2015
Cape Town’s Congolese shun independence celebrations
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) marks 55 years of independence today but many Congolese who fled to Cape Town say there’s nothing to celebrate since the country is at war and the government does not reflect the will of the people.
Bernard Chiguvare
Brief | 30 June 2015
“We work in love without discrimination” — How immigrant women are making successful businesses
Fatima Mahomed Abukar immigrated to South Africa from war-torn Somalia. She together with a group of Somalis, Burundians, Senegalese and Malawians sell belts, socks and bags in Stellenbosch. Their business now runs smoothly, but they had to fight to get it that way.
Tariro Washinyira
News | 25 June 2015