A joint delegation of African evangelical bodies has released a sobering report documenting widespread displacement, fear, and institutional failure surrounding South Africa's escalating migration crisis. Following a four-day field mission, the fact-finding team — convened by the Association of Evangelicals in Africa (AEA) in partnership with the World Evangelical Alliance — visited communities affected by xenophobic violence and interviewed church leaders, migrants, and local officials across multiple provinces.
The report, published in early July 2026, describes a deteriorating situation in which foreign nationals, many of whom are fellow Christians from neighbouring countries, face not only physical insecurity but systematic barriers to employment, healthcare, and legal protection. Local evangelical churches have become frontline responders — providing shelter, food, and pastoral care — but are themselves stretched thin and, in some cases, targeted for showing solidarity with migrants. The delegation found that women and children are disproportionately affected, with many living in informal settlements without access to basic services.
The AEA and WEA have called on the South African government to strengthen enforcement against xenophobic violence and to reform migration policies in line with international human rights standards. The delegation also urged the global evangelical community to increase support for churches serving displaced populations and to raise awareness of a crisis that has received limited international attention. "The Church cannot remain silent when our brothers and sisters are driven from their homes simply because they were born on the other side of a border," the report states. The findings will be presented to regional ecumenical bodies and United Nations agencies in the coming weeks.
Source: World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) — worldea.org
