In the city of Durban, on June 30th, thousands of supporters of the March and March movement took to the streets, demanding the deportation of illegal immigrants from the country. The author of the letter argues that the root of the problem lies not in the labor of migrants, but in government officials who live in luxurious mansions protected by security and high-tech security systems.
The author observed protests against illegal immigrants across the country on June 30th and asked himself: why are local residents directing their anger at foreigners instead of their own government? He suggests that the reason may be that officials are citizens of the country, while migrants are foreigners, and questions the government's culpability in the migration crisis.
In the author's opinion, border posts are overcrowded with lazy, inefficient, and corrupt employees who can be bribed. This allows thousands of undocumented migrants to enter the country annually, provoking an employment crisis. Meanwhile, foreign workers are willing to work for lower wages and are considered more reliable and trustworthy.
Due to strict labor legislation, the local workforce is often protected; however, many employers prefer foreigners, which exacerbates the unemployment problem, one of the highest in the world. Furthermore, there is the issue of foreign spaza-type shops dominating small towns and settlements. Although they offer essential goods at very competitive prices and operate longer than local stores, some of them sell prohibited goods and drugs, causing dissatisfaction among the local population.
Foreigners have become scapegoats for the employment crisis. Protesters choose foreigners because they are easy targets. However, the real problem lies with inefficient and corrupt public servants. The author insists that demonstrators should direct their indignation and frustration at the government, not at foreign labor. If the employees of the Department of Internal Affairs and border posts performed their duties properly, there would be no influx of migrant workers taking local residents' jobs.
