‘They will attack me if I stay’: immigrants in South Africa flee for safety amid violence and anti-foreigner protests

South Africa was holding its breath on Tuesday as mass anti-immigration protests were held across the country. They come after a weeks-long campaign against foreigners that has seen at least four killed and tens of thousands fleeing for safety. In the coastal city of Durban, where violence had been expected, the streets were unusually quiet and shops were shuttered as tension hung thick in the air. More than 2,000 protesters in Zulu attire marched through the city centre, brandishing sticks and clubs and calling out “ Abahambe! ” (“They must go!” in isiZulu, the most widely spoken language in the country), a phrase that has become the movement’s rallying cry. Campaign groups behind the protests have given undocumented immigrants an arbitrary “deadline” of 30 June to leave the country, with many fearing the marches could descend into violence. Malawian migrants in Durban wait to board buses at a makeshift displacement camp. Photograph: Tommy Trenchard/The Guardian In the days leading up to the deadline, thousands of people have fled their homes in fear, sleeping rough on pavements, in open fields and in makeshift camps, in the hope of being repatriated to their home countries. Several African governments have organised buses or planes to bring their citizens home, with police saying more than 25,000 have been repatriated so far. …