READ: How did South Africa produce an anti-African movement?

In a country where xenophobia has a deep legacy, a recent well-funded iteration has emerged, feeding on post-apartheid failures and local insecurities.

Xenowatch verifies that mass xenophobic violence has occurred in South Africa, with 703 people killed in xenophobic incidents since the end of apartheid. This latest wave is different. It is well-funded, legitimised by mainstream media coverage, and has even received acknowledgment from government, with President Ramaphosa meeting leaders of xenophobic protests last week.

The article explores the fragile national identity, historical amnesia, and state abandonment that fuel this violence, and the tragic irony that South Africa was built on migrant labour.

Read the full piece in The Guardian:[Photo Credit: Tommy Trenchard/The Guardian]