There is a growing and disturbing trend of labeling any patriotic action by Black South Africans, particularly when it highlights the challenges posed by illegal immigration, as "xenophobic". This framing is both dishonest and harmful.
The scenes witnessed this week at Addington Primary School should not be dismissed as imaginary or exaggerated. The frustration of parents whose children were initially denied placement was real. Simply because an institution denies allegations does not automatically render those allegations false. In Gauteng too, there have been complaints of schools that have been taken over by children of foreign nationals at the expense of South African children.
There exists an entire ecosystem that benefits from illegal immigration. This ranges from NGOs to corrupt officials, including some within the police, who allegedly supplement their incomes through bribes from undocumented foreign nationals. Meanwhile, communities in townships and rural areas are buckling under the weight of poverty, unemployment, and limited access to services, as the government continues to fail in providing sustainable opportunities and development programmes.
Recently, senior ANC member Gwede Mantashe insulted unemployed youth by suggesting they are jobless because they are lazy and lack "employment activism". This claim is contradicted by the reality we witness every year: long queues, often bordering on stampedes, of desperate young people submitting CVs whenever job opportunities arise.
Politicians, many of whom are insulated from crime and economic hardship, should refrain from insulting the very youth who bear the brunt of policy failures. If it is indeed true that some schools are prioritising the children of foreign nationals over local children, then we are laying the groundwork for a future where South African youth are forced to seek menial work, like being gardeners and maids, from undocumented migrants.
This is how it starts. | BONGANI NDLOVU, Durban