Which foreigners are unwelcome in South Africa?

During apartheid, South Africans preferred Afrikaners because we knew where we stood with them. If they did not like someone, they made it clear, unlike English-speaking white people who were perceived as masking prejudice behind politeness, their grins being one of the most commonly cited examples of their deceitfulness. The “foreigners must go” campaign seems to be characterised by a similar confusion to the one experienced with English-speaking white people. The narrative is framed in several ways: “foreigners must go”, “undocumented foreigners must go”, “foreigners involved in crime and drug trading must go” and so on. The lack of clarity about which foreigners must go has translated into the victimisation of some who are not targets, including South Africans who look like those who are unwelcome. The narrative is reminiscent of the “settlers must go” statements used by the Pan Africanist Congress, among others. Ironically, the foreigners-must-go statement is also used by some white people. During apartheid, when amenities were demarcated for “Europeans only” and “Africans only”, it was clear who Africans and non-Africans were. Today, some of those who used the “Europeans only” amenities are also joining the foreigners-must-go rhetoric. Does this mean those who had always been aware that they were Europeans have suddenly become Africans and that Africans from outside South Africa are now foreigners? A foreigner is a person who comes from a different country or who is not a citizen of the country. Many non-Africans from Europe, Asia and other parts of the world have been coming legally and illegally into South Africa, some pushing property prices so high that many Africans cannot afford them. Hence, many Africans continue to be squeezed into tin houses, commonly called shacks, and other small houses across townships, while non-Africans enjoy the best the country has to offer. The foreigners do not seem to attract the same level of anger and rejection as those fro