Several thousand foreigners have fled South Africa after days of violent attacks by angry mobs. The attacks that started in Alexandra on May 11th spread to townships and random settlements around Johannesburg and even reached parts of the city itself. It is estimated that about 20,000 people have been displaced. At least 42 people have been killed so far. In poor settlements east of the city, foreigners were burnt alive, as some residents watched and laughed. Mozambique is providing special buses, which have taken some 9,000 people home. The Rwandan Embassy in South Africa has warned Rwandans living there not to visit areas where xenophobic violence is escalating.

Some of these foreigners have been living in South Africa for years. But angry residents, aggrieved by pervasive unemployment, poverty and now soaring food and fuel prices, are accusing them of stealing jobs and houses—and of being criminals.

The police are struggling to contain the violence, firing rubber bullets at mobs brandishing machetes and guns. Suspects are being arrested in their hundreds. President Thabo Mbeki has called on the army to help.

But South African authorities are at a loss as to what sparked the violence and what to do about it. The answers are not obvious but it is clear that South Africa desperately needs to do something about its immigration policy.

The major stumbling block is that most are illegal immigrants and authorities have no statistics that reflect reality. Borders are long and porous; any attempts to catch illegal immigrants are largely futile.

Instead the South African government should start taking immigration more seriously. A start would be to legalise foreigners’ status and welcome their badly-needed skills.

While this offers some hope for the future, it is of little consolation to the thousands of foreigners scared and on the run.

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