Cape Town – A group claiming to be concerned citizens attacked informal traders in Marabastad, Pretoria, on Monday and demanded that illegal immigrants leave the country.
The traders, mostly immigrants, were targeted based on accusations of taking South African citizens’ jobs.
The group vandalised stalls and threw goods to the ground, causing significant damage to the traders’ belongings.
Residents of Tshwane clean up Marabastad pic.twitter.com/aEuIENnKBM
— dimakatso modipa (@ModipaDimakatso) June 19, 2023
But the traders said they worked hard to make a living and were not stealing or harming anyone.
“It’s not easy staying here. I wake up at 4.30am and come here at 5am. I am not taking anyone’s things, I am not stealing, I am just bringing my stock here to sell and I pay for my stock,” she said.
“For the things we bring from home to sell, we pay duty at the border, we bring them with our papers and we pay,” Times Live quoted one of the traders, Eugenia Tendai Pasipanodya, as saying.
Some of them expressed their desire to return to Zimbabwe but cited difficult conditions in their home country as the reason for their stay.
“In Zimbabwe there is no money for our children to go to school, to buy food for them, that is why we are forced to come here. We can go back to Zimbabwe, we are free to go, but we want to survive,” said a trader whose broomsticks were taken by the protesters.
The group targeted the hawkers until a group of residents came to the traders’ defence.
In an interview with SABC, one of the Marabastad community members said: “The officials are the only ones who can determine this person is illegal… No South African or any guy walking around in the street must come to you and say give me your ID.
“They must go to the rightful people which is the police or immigration officers and let them check them. They are coming here with intongas, they are coming to fight… We can fight better… we are united… It’s illegal what they doing now… they are disturbing my complex.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
