“No one is born hating another person because of the colour of his skin, his background or his religion.”
These timeless words of Nelson Mandela speak just as powerfully today as they did during South Africa’s transition to democracy.
Hatred is learned.
Compassion is cultivated.
Ubuntu is lived.
South Africa finds itself at a defining moment. Across parts of our country, migrants and refugees are experiencing fear, intimidation and uncertainty. Families are being displaced. Small businesses that have sustained township economies for years have closed their doors.
Children have had their education disrupted. Many innocent people now live behind locked gates, afraid to venture into the streets where they once lived and worked in peace.
This quiet suffering should trouble every South African.
As a founding member of the Ubuntu Human Values Advocacy Group I support calls for a principled response that is rooted in Ubuntu, constitutional democracy and universal human values. We must confront this challenge with wisdom rather than anger, with justice rather than vengeance, and with courage rather than silence.
Let us be clear. South Africans have genuine concerns. High unemployment, escalating crime, poverty, corruption, failing public services and weak immigration management have created understandable frustration. These issues deserve serious attention from government. They cannot be ignored or minimised.
Yet neither can we ignore another truth. Blaming migrants collectively for our national challenges neither creates jobs nor reduces crime. It does not strengthen municipalities or improve service delivery. It merely redirects public anger towards vulnerable people who are themselves often victims of conflict, economic collapse or political instability.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu often reminded us that our humanity is bound together. Ubuntu means, “My humanity is caught up, is inextricably bound up, in yours.”
When any community is persecuted because of its nationality or place of birth, the moral fabric of our nation is weakened.
History offers us an important lesson. During the long struggle against apartheid, many African countries opened their borders to South African exiles. They welcomed our liberation movements, educated our young people, trained our freedom fighters and stood beside us when much of the world turned away. Our democracy was built not only by South Africans but also through the solidarity of our neighbours across the continent.
We should honour that legacy.
This does not mean ignoring the rule of law. Every sovereign nation has the right – and indeed the responsibility – to manage its borders effectively. Immigration laws must be enforced fairly. Those who commit crimes, irrespective of nationality, must face the full consequences of the law. Corrupt officials who facilitate illegal activities must likewise be held accountable.
However, there is a profound difference between enforcing the law and permitting vigilantism.
Justice belongs in the courts, not in the streets. No individual or group has the authority to intimidate, assault or collectively punish others because they are foreign nationals. Such actions undermine the Constitution, erode confidence in the rule of law and diminish the values upon which democratic South Africa was founded.
The economic consequences are equally significant. Township economies rely upon networks of suppliers, traders and entrepreneurs from many backgrounds. Agriculture, construction, hospitality and other sectors have long depended on migrant labour. Disrupting these relationships harms not only migrants but also South African workers, consumers and businesses. Social instability discourages investment and damages South Africa’s standing within Africa and the wider international community.
Swami Sivananda taught humanity through four simple but profound words: “Love All. Serve All.”
He reminded us that we are not merely physical beings divided by race, nationality or language, but spiritual beings sharing one Divine source. Service to humanity is service to God. Love that excludes is not love at all.
Mahatma Gandhi echoed this sentiment when he observed that the measure of a civilisation is found in the way it treats its weakest members. Compassion is not weakness. It is moral strength.
South Africa’s greatest enemies are not migrants. They are poverty, unemployment, inequality, corruption, crime and poor governance. These are the battles that require our collective energy. We will not overcome them by turning neighbour against neighbour. We will overcome them by building capable institutions, creating employment, strengthening ethical leadership and fostering regional cooperation across Southern Africa.
Ubuntu calls us to recognise our shared humanity while insisting on accountability. It asks us to reject hatred without abandoning justice. It encourages dialogue where others seek division.
Silence in the face of suffering is never neutral. Whenever innocent people live in fear because of who they are or where they come from, every person of conscience has a responsibility to speak. This is not a political issue alone. It is a moral issue. It is a human issue.
The South Africa envisioned by Nelson Mandela was never one of fear, exclusion or scapegoating. It was a nation where diversity would be a source of strength, where the Constitution would protect every person’s dignity, and where Ubuntu would guide our national conscience.
That vision remains within our reach.
May we reject xenophobia without dismissing legitimate public concerns. May we strengthen immigration management while defending human dignity. May we enforce the law without
surrendering our humanity.
Above all, may we remember that the true test of Ubuntu is not how we treat those who are like us, but how we treat those who are different from us.
For when we protect the dignity of the stranger, we preserve the dignity of South Africa itself.
Siva Naidoo is an ubuntu and human values trainer- he can be reached at sivanaidoo247@gmail.com