South Africa faces strong accusations of xenophobia against African migrants. An opinion piece by Evans Mawunyo Tsikata highlights repeated attacks and looting targeting foreigners. The author criticizes the South African government's response. He states that these incidents are not mere criminality. They are ugly, deliberate acts of hatred. The writer calls this a shameful repetition of past events. The piece draws a stark contrast with historical support. South Africa received significant aid during its apartheid struggle. African nations, including Ghana, sacrificed much. They supported liberation movements politically and economically. The author argues that South Africa now displays historical ingratitude. This is bordering on national arrogance.
The argument points to a pattern of selective hostility. African leaders gather at summits to preach Pan-Africanism. They celebrate African brotherhood. Then, South Africa treats fellow Africans like unwanted pests. The article challenges the South African activist Jacinta Ngobese-Zuma. She claimed Ghana overreacted to incidents. The writer questions the threshold for African nations to feel threatened. He asks how many bodies or damaged shops are acceptable. The piece notes that anger is often directed at specific African nationalities. This detail undermines excuses based on general poverty or unemployment. The author suggests that unemployment does not teach people to identify specific migrants precisely.
The article contrasts this behavior with the operations of South African companies across Africa. Businesses from South Africa expand comfortably. They make profits and receive protection under local laws. Their citizens are not chased by mobs. Their stores are not targeted with nationalist slogans. This is generally because most African countries foster better coexistence. The writer dismisses the tired sermon about illegal immigration. He states that all countries have immigration laws. If undocumented migrants are numerous, it suggests failure in South African law enforcement. Civilized states use police for immigration control. They do not outsource it to mobs. The author argues that outsourcing border control to mobs is moral collapse.
The piece expresses disappointment that leaders offer recycled condemnations. They focus on managing optics. Silence itself becomes suspicious. The writer notes that some leaders boycotted an African Union meeting in South Africa. This shows they understood the symbolism. It is difficult to host conferences on unity while Africans face violence. The author poses a brutal question. Is Pan-Africanism a real principle or just conference vocabulary? Unity that vanishes during hardship is not true unity. Until South Africa confronts this issue honestly, the continent will watch. It will witness a nation repaying solidarity with hostility and amnesia. The writer concludes that history remembers those who repay kindness with hostility. People who forget past help may one day stumble.