A community clinic just north of Johannesburg has become the front line in a battle in South Africa over whether foreigners can access public health facilities.
What started as a small local movement in one area in 2022 spread, as activists from the anti-immigrant group, Operation Dodola, picketed some hospitals and clinics in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal provinces. They check IDs and prevent anyone who is not from South Africa from entering.
“Dodola” means to forcefully remove something in the Zulu language.
Despite some arrests, the authorities appear unable to prevent the sit-ins.
The site of their latest campaign is in Debelsot, a poor town of more than 200,000 people located near the country’s commercial center.
On a cold spring Thursday morning, Sisilukuhle Moyo, dressed in a blue and beige skirt, thick windbreaker and black hood, set off early for the clinic.
The Zimbabwean, who has lived in South Africa since 2006, had been going there, as she often does, to get her medication for a chronic condition.
But this time, when she arrived at the gate, things were different.
“I said I have a passport. They said they don’t take passports. They only want ID cards,” Source: Sicelokuhle Moyo, Source Description: , Image: Head and shoulders shot of a woman wearing a white jacket and black hood.
Two men wearing white T-shirts with the slogan “Operation Dodola – Mass Deportation” were stationed at the entrance. They asked everyone to show their documents before being allowed to enter.
“I said I have a passport,” Moyo said, hiding her frustration behind a polite smile. “They said they don’t take passports. They only want ID cards.”
Although this was a potential flashpoint, there was a strange calm and resignation as people knew that Operation Dodola activists had been violent in the past.
Anyone unable to produce a South African identity book was rejected.
As she walked slowly from the entrance, Ms. Moyo joined a group of women on the side of the road, young children strapped to their backs, waiting in uncertainty for what would happen next.
Tendai Musvava, a woman in her 40s, faced the same fate.
“I was standing in line and then they said, ‘Hmm [only] Need some people with IDs. Me, I don’t have an ID. I have a passport and I am from Mozambique. “So, I can’t get my medication because I don’t have an ID card,” she said.
Wearing a bright orange winter jacket and a white hat, Mosvava looked desperate.
“I feel like they do whatever they want because it’s their country. I have no say. Now I have to follow everything they say. I have no other choice.”
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South Africa hosts about 2.4 million immigrants, or just under 4% of the population, according to official figures. Most come from neighboring countries such as Lesotho, Zimbabwe and Mozambique, which have a history of providing migrant labor to their wealthy neighbours.
Xenophobia has long been a problem in South Africa, accompanied by occasional outbreaks of deadly violence, and anti-immigrant sentiment has become a major political talking point.
Having started out as a campaign, which has at times been accused of using force to make its point, Operation Dodola has now transformed into a political party with ambitions to contest next year’s local government elections.
Party leader Zandile Dabula insists what her organization is doing at public clinics in Johannesburg and other parts of the country is justified.
She told the BBC: “We want to prioritize South Africans. Emergency care – we understand that you must be treated – but if you are illegal you must be handed over to law enforcement.”
“Health cannot be a free-for-all. We cannot meet the needs of the entire world. We don’t have enough.” Source: Zandile Dabula Source description: Dodulla Operation Commander Image: Head and shoulders shot of Dodulla Operation Commander
When confronted with the fact that many migrants are in the country legally, she focused on the argument that South Africans needed to be prioritized because there were minimal resources.
“Life comes first, we do not deny that, but it cannot be a free gift for everyone. We cannot meet the needs of the entire world. We do not have enough.”
The Constitution guarantees the right to health care to every person in the country, regardless of citizenship or immigration status.
But Ms. Dabula says the public health system, which serves about 85% of the population, is overburdened.
She says some people have to wake up at 04:00 to join long lines at their local clinic because they know that if they don’t get there on time, there will be no medication left.
South African society is highly unequal, with only a few owning the country’s wealth. Unemployment and poverty levels are high, and some blame immigrants, who often live in poor communities, for the problems in which people find themselves.
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Operation Dodola’s methods resonated sympathetically among some Diepsloot residents.
One of them, South African Sipho Mohale, described the Operation Dodola campaign as “positive change”.
“Last time when I was here, the line was very long. But this time, it only took me a few minutes to get my things and get out,” he said.
Jennifer Shengang, another resident, also welcomed the presence of activists in Diepsloot.
“As South Africans, we used to come to the clinic, only to find that the medicine we needed was not available,” she said. “But since foreigners have stopped using the clinic, there has been a difference.”
Ironically, some South Africans have not been spared from the anti-immigrant campaign.
They were also turned away from public health facilities because they were unable to produce an identity book – it is believed that more than 10% of South African citizens do not have proper documentation to prove their nationality.
But it is the violation of the Constitution in Operation Dodola’s actions that angers activists on the other side of the argument.
“Having a group that is not sanctioned by the state to make decisions about who comes in and who goes out is very problematic,” said Fatima Hassan, a human rights lawyer with the Health Justice Initiative.
“Unless the government can deal with this situation soon, it will lose its ability to impose law and order on its own.”
“Health is a human right…you can’t regulate it through bullying tactics.” Source: Dr Joe Vahla Source description: Deputy Minister of Health Image: Head and shoulders shot of Dr Joe Vahla.
Deputy Health Minister Joe Vahala told the BBC that his government was opposed to targeting foreign nationals or anyone else trying to use local clinics and hospitals.
He told the BBC: “We don’t agree with that approach because health is a human right. As much as we understand the fact that service delivery has to be properly regulated, you don’t regulate it through bullying tactics.”
Several major political parties, including the Economic Freedom Fighters and the Democratic Alliance, also condemned Operation Dodola.
But a recent attempt to bring a lawsuit by the South African Human Rights Commission failed on a technicality, allowing the group to continue its campaign.
Several members of Operation Dodola have been arrested in recent weeks due to the closure of entrances to public health facilities. They were later released with a warning. But the police actions did not seem to deter the group.
Ms Hassan believes stronger action is needed, saying: “The police and army should have been there on day one to prevent this from happening.” [the picketing] Because this is simply breaking the law.”
Dr Vahalla said the measure was being considered but police said resources were “strained in terms of capacity to monitor and intervene in a timely manner when such incidents occur”.
While the country hesitates about what to do, Operation Dodola appears bolder and is turning its attention to public schools, saying it is part of a campaign to combat illegal immigration.
But in Diepsloot, the group’s work leaves people without the medical help they need.
Mosvava, who was rejected, is now looking for alternatives. Despite her meager resources, she is considering joining the private sector.
“I think I’m going to have to go to the doctor. I’m going to pay money. I’m going to have to sacrifice to get it,” she said.
She had no idea how much this would cost her.
“I don’t have the money, but I have to make a plan.”
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[Getty Images/BBC]
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