Civil society organisations are intensifying preparations for a nationwide day of action on 8 August, with a mass march to Parliament aimed at promoting solidarity between South Africans and migrants while calling for an end to xenophobic violence, discrimination and hate speech.
The mobilisation follows an online planning meeting held this week, where organisations from across the country discussed logistics, the march route and a set of demands that will be presented to government. Similar actions are also expected to take place in other provinces.
Speaking to VOC News, rally organiser Tauriq Jenkins said the campaign seeks to unite organisations working on a range of social justice issues while directing attention to what organisers describe as government failures.
“It’s important for us to demonstrate where the focus and the energy around the injustice needs to be placed, which is at the door of the state,” Jenkins said.
He said marchers plan to hand over memorandums to the South African Police Service and the Department of Home Affairs before proceeding to Parliament, where they hope to engage the Presidency.
Jenkins argued that public frustration over unemployment and poor service delivery is being wrongly directed at migrants instead of the structural challenges facing the country.
“The anger is being manipulated and directed in ways that are completely inhumane and are not backed by facts,” he said.
He added that the march is intended to send a united message that xenophobic violence does not reflect the values of most South Africans.
“No individual or vigilante group can declare that Ubuntu has been suspended. We want to show that our shared humanity is alive and that South Africans are standing together against hatred and violence,” Jenkins said.
Organisers are encouraging members of the public, civil society groups and migrant communities to join the march on 8 August in what they hope will be a unified call for social cohesion and the protection of human rights.
Photo: VOCfm
