Archbishop urges South Africans not to ‘turn away the stranger’

‘Our unemployment, which stands above 40 per cent, is not the work of migrants who labour at the very margins of our economy. Its true causes lie elsewhere, and we must name them in their proper order.’

Archbishop Sithembele Sipuka of Cape Town urged South African citizens to reject xenophobic attacks against foreign nationals.

In a pastoral letter issued on Tuesday, he warned South Africans “not to turn away the stranger”, citing the biblical command to love the foreigner as oneself.

There have been protests against undocumented migrants in several cities across South Africa, with demonstrators telling foreigners to return to their countries of origin.

“People have been driven from their homes and their shops. They lack food, blankets, shelter, clean water, medical care – including treatment for chronic conditions such as HIV, high blood pressure, and diabetes and trauma counselling,” said Archbishop Sipuka, who is president of the South African Council of Churches.

The violence has forced nations such as Ghana, Mozambique, Malawi and Nigeria to begin repatriating their citizens from South Africa. Nearly 1,000 Ghanaians have already left South Africa and Mozambique has repatriated more than 700 of its citizens, while Nigeria is preparing flights expected to carry between 2,000 and 4,000 citizens’ home.

While acknowledging the genuine grievances of local communities, ranging from unemployment and crime to poor service delivery, Sipuka argued that these frustrations must not be weaponised against vulnerable migrants, emphasising that the true culprits of the nation’s strife are systemic corruption, state failure and economic exploitation.

“Our unemployment, which stands above 40 per cent, is not the work of migrants who labour at the very margins of our economy. Its true causes lie elsewhere, and we must name them in their proper order.”

The archbishop said the education system doesn’t equip young people with skills to create work for themselves, while corruption squanders opportunities for job creation.

He blamed these problems, and businesses that “exploit foreign nationals for cheap labour, paying them a pittance precisely to avoid fair wages and labour obligations”, as the underlying causes of South Africa’s pain.

“To feel genuine pain is one thing; to lay that pain at the wrong door, and then to take the law into one’s own hands, is another,” the archbishop said.

Sipuka urged Christians to reject fear-driven hatred, engage in honest dialogue and provide immediate humanitarian aid, reminding all South Africans that to attack the stranger is to raise a hand against Christ Himself.

Since 2008, South Africa has struggled with intermittent but widespread xenophobic harassment and violence against African and Asian foreign nationals living in the country, affecting refugees, asylum seekers and both documented and undocumented migrants.

President Cyril Ramaphosa has vowed to act against those involved in the violence, while at the same time promising stricter controls over the country’s borders.

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