Shirtless Marches, Traditional Attire, and the Cost of Xenophobia in South Africa

When nations turn against those who once stood beside them, history repeats its darkest chapters. In late April 2026, Johannesburg and Durban witnessed shirtless mobs and Zulu-clad demonstrators demanding that both documented and undocumented foreign nationals leave South Africa. The so-called “March and March” movement now threatens a nationwide shutdown. But what will this cost South Africans—economically, socially, and morally?

As ABA Fuseini would say in Dagomba wisdom: “If you chase away the stranger, you chase away the blessing.”

Key Realities of the Demonstrations

Scope of Demands

• Unlike past protests targeting only undocumented migrants, demonstrators now demand that all foreigners leave.
• Hospitals, businesses, and public spaces have been invaded by mobs demanding identification.

Economic Impact

• Foreign nationals contribute significantly to South Africa’s economy:
• Over 2 million migrants are estimated to be part of the workforce.
• Migrant-owned businesses employ thousands of South Africans.
• Expelling them risks shrinking GDP growth by 1–2% annually, according to regional economic studies.
• The informal sector—spaza shops, transport, and trade—would collapse in many townships.

Social Cost

• Violence and looting of foreign-owned shops deepen divisions.
• Families are torn apart, and communities lose diversity and resilience.
• Counter-protests show that many South Africans reject xenophobia, but their voices risk being drowned out.

International Reputation

• South Africa risks sanctions, reduced investment, and diplomatic isolation.
• As the Bible warns in Proverbs 14:34: “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.”
• The African Union and global human rights bodies are watching closely.

Why Expelling Foreigners Will Not Solve South Africa’s Problems

• Migrants are not the cause of unemployment—structural inequality and corruption are.
• Crime is fueled by systemic failures, not nationality.
• Removing foreigners will not magically create jobs or reduce poverty.
• As Kofi Annan once said: “We may have different religions, different languages, different colored skin, but we all belong to one human race.”

Wise Sayings and Lessons

• Dagomba proverb: “The tree that shelters you from the sun is not yours alone.”
• Biblical reminder: “Do not mistreat or oppress a foreigner, for you were foreigners in Egypt” (Exodus 22:21).
• International wisdom: Nelson Mandela declared, “Our human compassion binds us the one to the other.”

Conclusion and Prayer
South Africans must understand: driving foreigners out will not end unemployment, crime, or poverty. It will only deepen wounds and delay progress. If foreigners leave, it will not be the end of the world—but it will be the end of opportunity.

Let South Africans wait for their day of reckoning, when laziness, drinking, smoking, theft, and vice will reveal themselves as the true enemies of progress.

Prayer:
May South Africa find wisdom to embrace unity over division, peace over violence, and righteousness over reproach. May the nation remember that prosperity comes not from exclusion, but from cooperation.

✍️ Retired Senior Citizen
For and on behalf of all Senior Citizens of the Republic of Ghana 🇬🇭

Teshie-Nungua
akpaluck@gmail.com

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