Vigilantes and violence have migrants in South Africa scared for their lives
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The street vendors paced nervously, huddling in pairs, wondering whether it was safe to unpack the carvings, baskets and wire sculptures they sell daily to tourists at one of the small crafts markets dotting the coastline.
A police notice the day before had warned of possible protests by a group known for attacks on immigrants, though nothing had yet happened.
“They want to take away our businesses,” said one vendor from a neighboring country, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he feared for his and his family’s lives.
Anti-immigrant sentiment is a long-standing problem in South Africa, where the end of White minority rule failed to deliver meaningful changes for many Black South Africans.
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