DURBAN, South Africa — Thousands of migrants have gathered at a temporary camp in the South African city of Durban as anti-immigrant tensions intensify ahead of an unofficial June 30 deadline set by anti-migrant groups demanding that undocumented foreigners leave the country.
Among them is 30-year-old Malawian migrant John Allen, who packed a small bag, said goodbye to his South African partner and their 1-year-old son, and boarded a bus out of the country after deciding the risks of staying had become too great.
Allen has spent the past four days at the makeshift camp, where migrants have been waiting for transportation amid growing fears that anti-immigrant protests scheduled after the deadline could turn violent.
“The reason I would like to stay is I feel bad for my child. He’s too young. When I’m gone who’s going to support him?” Allen told Reuters.
His partner earns about 500 rand, or roughly $30, a week as a cleaner, while Allen had been earning nearly four times as much through contract work at a manufacturing company despite lacking legal immigration status.
He said violence in his neighborhood escalated in recent weeks as anti-immigrant demonstrations spread, with several foreign nationals reportedly assaulted before most migrants fled the area.
“There’s two options: I can lose my life or I can leave,” Allen said while standing among hundreds of migrants surrounded by luggage as they waited for buses.
Although South Africa’s government has rejected the unofficial deadline and condemned violence targeting migrants, officials have faced criticism from neighboring African countries and civil society organizations for failing to curb attacks against foreign nationals.
Aid organizations continued assisting families at the Durban camp on Monday, distributing food, clothing and other essentials to people who had been waiting for transportation for days. Women carrying infants sat on blankets and cardboard sheets while buses departed one after another carrying migrants away from the city.
The Department of Home Affairs established a temporary processing center at the site to facilitate deportations. Authorities are currently focused on transporting migrants from Durban to the border town of Musina before protests expected on Tuesday, amid fears that demonstrations could again become violent as in previous years.
Although organizers claim they are targeting only undocumented migrants, humanitarian organizations say vigilante groups frequently fail to distinguish between people with legal residency documents and those without them. Both documented and undocumented migrants have reported assaults, intimidation and damage to their homes and businesses.
Many migrants at the camp said they were unwilling to remain in South Africa beyond the unofficial deadline because they feared for their safety.
Among them was Amadou Awali, who has worked in South Africa since 2019 as a plumber and construction worker. Holding up a photograph of his young son on his mobile phone, Awali said he was leaving behind two children whose mother lacked the financial means to support them.
“I’m worried for the children,” he said.
Despite his departure, Awali said he hopes to return after several months if conditions improve, reflecting the difficult choices facing many migrant workers who rely on employment opportunities in South Africa to support families both there and in their home countries.
The growing departures underscore mounting anxiety among migrant communities as anti-immigrant rhetoric continues to fuel uncertainty, even as South African authorities maintain that violence and intimidation against foreign nationals will not be tolerated.
