April 27, 2026
Media Contact: media@haitianbridge.org

San Diego, CA — The Haitian Bridge Alliance (HBA) strongly condemns the violence targeting African immigrants in South Africa, where foreign nationals have been assaulted and their businesses disrupted amid rising anti-immigrant sentiment.

HBA calls upon the administration of President Cyril Ramaphosa to take swift action to ensure that those responsible for these attacks are thoroughly investigated and held fully accountable under the law, including through the pursuit of appropriate criminal charges.

“These attacks are not isolated—they are part of a dangerous global pattern of targeting Black and Brown migrants and immigrants,” said Guerline Jozef, Executive Director of HBA. “We must confront the uncomfortable truth that the legacy of colonization and apartheid continues to shape how Black communities see one another. Systems of white supremacy have conditioned us to believe that the problem lies with our Black brothers and sisters, rather than in the structural inequities that continue to marginalize our communities.”

South Africa’s persistent income inequality and remains the most unequal country in the world—deeply rooted in the legacy of apartheid—continues to leave many Black South Africans excluded from full economic participation. In this context, the scapegoating of African immigrants reflects broader systemic failures that have yet to be addressed.

“HBA stands in unwavering solidarity with African immigrants in the United States, South Africa, Ghana, and everywhere else in the world,” Jozef added. “A true Pan-African vision requires that we reject division and instead focus on dismantling the systems that deny Black people—both citizens and migrants—economic and social equality. Our collective future depends on it.”

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ABOUT HAITIAN BRIDGE ALLIANCE

Haitian Bridge Alliance (HBA), also known as “The Bridge”, is a grassroots community organization that advocates for fair and humane immigration policies, foreign policy, and provides migrants and immigrants with humanitarian, legal, and social services, with a particular focus on Black migrants, the Haitian community, women and girls, LGBTQIA+ individuals, and survivors of torture and other human rights abuses. HBA also seeks to elevate the issues unique to Black migrants and build solidarity and a collective movement toward policy change. Anpil men chay pa lou (“Many hands make the load light”).
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