Something significant happens weekly in KwaZulu-Natal when the March and March movement takes to the streets, staging a kind of theatrical performance. This phenomenon, dubbed the 'fourth mirror,' forces people to question their own identity, asking who they are when they believe no one is watching them.
What the 'Fourth Mirror' Shows
This phenomenon demonstrates scenes where people are harassed for hiring immigrant domestic workers, where pregnant women are denied hospital admission, and where people decide in the moment who is considered human and who is not. More alarming is the possibility that the government, in responding to these events, might be looking into the same mirror and seeing the same reflection.
Hospital Situation and Access Restrictions
The situation at Addington Hospital in Durban has become disturbingly routine: members of March and March position themselves at the entrance, demanding identification before anyone can enter. In one instance, 77-year-old academic Crispin Hemson was pushed and denied entry after refusing to show documents. He was only able to get inside with police escort.
Such cases are not isolated. Pregnant women are refused admission in clinics, and a refugee with diabetes from Congo was prevented from receiving medication. People with legal documentation—asylum seekers, refugees, legally migrating individuals—are told they do not belong here. The group claims it enforces Section 17, asserting that state healthcare is intended for tax-paying South Africans. However, the Constitution guarantees healthcare to everyone on the territory under Section 27, not just citizens or taxpayers.
Rule of Law and Human Rights Issues
The most profound impression is made by the arrest of elderly grandmothers and their placement in police vans for hiring immigrant workers. Premier Thami Ntuli stated that business owners hiring foreigners without documents will face arrest. But where is the line drawn? Should a grandmother seeking home help be treated like a human trafficker? The South African Human Rights Commission has clearly stated that no member of the public has a legal or moral right to enforce immigration laws. Nevertheless, the police seem confused; in Hemson's case, officers allegedly told him they were acting only under the instruction of the Minister of Police.
The Constitution of South Africa is one of the world's most progressive, created on the ruins of apartheid to protect the human dignity of every individual. The United Nations reminds us that laws protect human dignity, they do not divide it. Yet, the situation appears different.
