NEW: Nigeria plans to airlift its residents out of South Africa following deadly riots targeting immigrants.https://nyti.ms/302asKk
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The backstory, in case you missed it: South Africans began attacking immigrants and shops owned by immigrants last week. At least 10 people have been killed. 400+ have been arrested.
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Anti-immigrant sentiment is a longstanding issue in South Africa, where the legacies of colonialism and apartheid run deep, and a political shift has not delivered meaningful change to many poor South Africans.
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Immigrants from countries like Nigeria, Mozambique, Somalia and Zimbabwe are often regarded by South Africans as competitors for jobs and social services.
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In the recent spate of anti-immigrant protests, people burned cars, buildings and shops. This happened over the weekend.https://twitter.com/SowetanLIVE/status/1170647568214384640 …
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Africans across the continent responded by boycotting South Africa. Pop stars canceled concerts. Madagascar and Zambia refused to send soccer teams for a match. Nigeria pulled out of a major economic forum.https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/05/world/africa/south-africa-xenophobia-riots.html …
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President Buhari of Nigeria, who leads the continent’s most populous nation, is under particular pressure to respond to the attacks, as some in his country have criticized his handling of security at home.
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Some critics of the Nigerian president have used a perceived weak response to the South Africa attacks as “another stick with which to beat Buhari," I was told.
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The government will kick in funds for the airlifts if necessary.
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Important historical note: Critics of the attacks on African immigrants living in South Africa have said that the violence is particularly painful because so many Africans once rallied behind South Africans in their struggle to defeat apartheid.
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Now, some Africans have found themselves protesting the actions of the same South African communities that they once so strongly supported.
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