NPR: 'They can kill you': Immigrants fear a surge in xenophobic violence in South Africa

Kate Barlett for NPR reports from South Africa on a xenophobic outburst directed as immigrants, some who have been in the country for years.

"Others have recently arrived, seeking a better life in one of the continent's richest and most stable democracies. Some are here legally, others not.

But all of them are now under threat — not just in Johannesburg but across the country, from Durban to Cape Town — as South Africa is engulfed by a rising tide of xenophobia. . . .

In Cape Town, hundreds of Zimbabweans . . . camped outside their consulate. Nigeria, Ghana and Mozambique weren't waiting — they've already repatriated "those citizens who wanted to leave.

They're right to be scared. In 2008, xenophobic riots left more than 60 dead — some burned alive by mobs — and tens of thousands displaced. There were deadly riots again in 2019. This year, so far, a Malawian and several Mozambicans have been reported killed."