South Africa: 'I Am Leaving' - - Migrants Speak of Fear, Uncertainty As Xenophobic Protests Spread

As anti-foreigner protests spread, migrants are faced with a choice: hope the protests, intimidation and violence subside or leave South Africa.

Sitting at Park Station, Johannesburg, on Thursday, 4 June 2026, 30-year-old James Alan was waiting with four friends for a bus to Malawi.

"I am leaving due to the anti-immigrant protests. My mother has been calling me back home. I think it is time I listen to her," he said.

"I do not have a choice, I am leaving. It will not help me to wait and see what will happen first. We know what will happen. I think it is just safe for me to go home."

As the anti-foreigner movement has been building throughout the year and has intensified over the past two weeks, migrants like Alan face a difficult choice: hope the protests, intimidation and violence subsides or leave South Africa.

Daily Maverick interviewed 10 foreign migrants in Johannesburg on Wednesday and Thursday to ask whether they had faced increased threats ahead of March and March's 30 June deadline for undocumented migrants to leave the country, and what their plans were.

March and March hasn't clearly explained its plans for what will happen on 30 June.

Daily Maverick didn't question their immigration status, and due to fear, no one agreed to have their photo taken. Some requested...