Long before South Africans were filmed telling Africans to “go back to your country,” Africans elsewhere had already heard those words. Before South Africa, there was Ghana, Nigeria, Gabon, Mauritania, and more.
This is not to justify South Africa’s treatment of other African nationals. Rather, it is to place it in context. South Africa’s xenophobia is part of a longer history of African countries turning against fellow Africans in times of tension and uncertainty. They are not the first to experience xenophobia and will probably not…
