South African (SA) businesses abroad continue to face scrutiny over recent protests targeting undocumented migrants, with some observers describing them as xenophobic.

But on the ground, many SA citizens reject that label, insisting their concerns are about the enforcement of immigration laws rather than hostility towards foreign nationals.

While international headlines have portrayed SA’s recent demonstrations as anti-migrant, many of the people on the streets tell a different story.

Andile Chalwe says, the protests are not against foreign nationals as a whole but are instead a call for government to enforce immigration laws and address illegal immigration.

“One would say that this kind of marches might fuel Afrophobia and xenophobia. What do you say to that? There’s nothing Afrophobic SA citizens standing up and saying that people who are here in the country illegally should not be. What is really concerning is the government allowing illegal immigrants to be in the country and using state resources and public infrastructure. We cannot account for the illegality that is happening in the country.”

–Channel Africa–