DURBAN, KWAZULU-NATAL — Following the destructive wave of Durban anti-migrant protests that left storefronts shattered, South Africa immigrant businesses are sweeping up the glass and restocking their shelves, determined to rebuild rather than retreat.
On Tuesday, anti-foreigner demonstrations swept through the city, resulting in the looting of several convenience stores. Inside one heavily damaged shop in the area, the shelves stand completely bare, the entry doors are smashed, and the physical toll of the riots remains starkly visible. For Daniel Abide, an Ethiopian national who has called the country home for a decade, the destruction wiped out years of relentless hard work in a matter of hours.
Despite the severe financial blow, Abide is pushing back forcefully against the xenophobic narrative that foreign nationals are a drain on the local economy. Instead, he argues that migrant entrepreneurs are vital economic drivers.
“Foreigners are not taking jobs from South Africans. We are coming out of Africa,” Abide explained, standing in the ruins of his store. “We are creating small jobs. We are starting businesses here in South Africa.”
Abide questioned the logic of the unrest, urging locals to focus on their own entrepreneurial potential rather than destroying the livelihoods of others. “Why are they not working like us? You must work,” he said. “We opened a shop here, the owner is here, we are paying rent.”
He emphasized that his business directly benefits the local community by providing employment and wages to citizens. “I have a shop, and a South African is working with me. I am giving him a salary,” Abide noted. “If you want to open a shop, you must open a shop like us. Stop complaining about us. Together we work.”
The unrest underscores deep-seated socio-economic fractures within the nation. Currently, South Africa is hosting over 167,000 refugees and asylum seekers, with foreign migrants making up approximately 4% of the total population. However, these figures are often scapegoated in a country grappling with an unemployment rate that stubbornly exceeds 30%. This intense economic pressure, combined with widespread frustration over high crime rates and failing public services, frequently ignites public anger that spills over into violence against minority-owned shops.
Abide argues that the riots are actually harming the very citizens the protesters claim to defend, pointing to a broader collapse of civic order.
“Too much is not fixed in this country. It is breaking down the country,” Abide stated, highlighting the collateral economic damage caused by the riots. “I see now many companies stopping work, and many people are stopping work because of the destruction. It means it is not the rule of law in South Africa.”
As the days pass, damaged storefronts across the city are slowly beginning to reopen. Affected merchants are left to tally their devastating financial losses while praying for a de-escalation of community tensions. For Abide and countless other immigrant entrepreneurs, fleeing the country is not an option; staying and rebuilding remains their only viable path forward, even as an uncertain future looms over their hard-won enterprises.