If you put the effort you expended in writing this letter into clamouring for a stop to xenophobic attacks on fellow African foreigners on your soil, we would have been blowing vuvuzelas by now. Getat!
An Open Letter from the People of South Africa 🇿🇦
Dear Brothers and Sisters across the African Continent,
We, the people of South Africa, write to you today with heavy hearts, deep humility, and sincere remorse. As fellow Africans bound by shared history, culture, struggles, and dreams, we reach out to ask for your forgiveness.
In recent years, our country has witnessed shameful episodes of xenophobia acts of violence, discrimination, and hostility directed at our African brothers and sisters who came to South Africa seeking safety, opportunity, or a better life.
These incidents do not represent the true spirit of Ubuntu that defines us: “I am because we are.” They betray the values of solidarity and hospitality that our ancestors fought for during the liberation struggles. We acknowledge the pain, fear, and betrayal many of you have felt. We condemn these acts unequivocally and stand with you in mourning the lives lost and the dignity wounded.
We are truly sorry. We apologise without reservation or excuse. No economic hardship, no frustration, no political rhetoric can justify turning against our own.
You are not foreigners in our hearts
you are family. From Nigerians, Zimbabweans, Somalis, Congolese, Ghanaians, Mozambicans, and every corner of our beautiful continent, we have received your talent, your entrepreneurship, your music, your ideas, and your resilience. You have enriched us.
Today we ask you, from the bottom of our collective soul, to forgive us. Let us heal these wounds together and recommit to the African unity our forefathers envisioned.
As we do so, we also humbly ask for your support in the remaining games of the World Cup. Our national team, Bafana Bafana, carries not only South Africa’s hopes but the pride of the entire continent on the global stage.
Every goal we score, every victory we earn, belongs to Africa. Your cheers, your prayers, your positive energy from homes, stadiums, and social media across the continent would mean more to us than you can imagine. Let us turn this moment into one of unity: let the world see Africans standing together, celebrating one another, and proving that our shared identity is stronger than any division.
We commit ourselves to doing better to building a South Africa that welcomes, protects, and uplifts every African who walks among us. We commit to teaching our children the true meaning of African brotherhood and to holding our leaders accountable for policies that reflect compassion and justice.
Thank you for listening to our apology. Thank you for the grace you have already shown us in the past. We look forward to a future where Africans move together, win together, and rise together.
With profound respect, regret, and hope
The People of South Africa
(From Cape Town to Musina, from Durban to Johannesburg one nation reaching out to our African family)