South Africa is witnessing a dangerous escalation of anti-migrant sentiment. In recent months, vigilante groups have marched through communities, businesses have been targeted, and migrants have increasingly been blamed for crime, unemployment and the collapse of public services.

The anger felt by many South Africans is real. Millions face daily hardship. Unemployment remains among the highest in the world. Poverty and hunger stalk working-class communities. Young people struggle to find work. Public services are under immense strain. Entire communities feel abandoned by political leaders who promised a better life but have failed to deliver.

But while the anger is understandable, it is misdirected.

Migrants did not create South Africa’s unemployment crisis. They did not cause the collapse of local government. They did not deindustrialise the economy. They did not cut public spending, close factories, privatise public services, weaken labour protections or allow corruption to flourish.

The roots of South Africa’s multiple crises run much deeper. The country’s extreme inequality is the product of centuries of colonial dispossession, racial capitalism and apartheid exploitation. The democratic breakthrough of 1994 ended political apartheid, but it did not fundamentally transform the economic structures that continue to concentrate wealth, land and economic power in the hands of a small minority.

Today, millions of South Africans experience the consequences of that failure. Economic growth has been weak since the global financial crisis of 2008. Manufacturing has declined. Stable employment has been replaced by precarious work and growing informality. Young people enter a labour market that offers little hope of secure employment.

The frustration generated by these conditions creates fertile ground for scapegoating.

History teaches us that periods of economic crisis often produce attempts to blame vulnerable groups rather than confront the real sources of social misery. Instead of challenging those who benefit from inequality, attention is diverted towards migrants, refugees and other marginalised communities.

This pattern is not unique to South Africa. Across Europe, far-right political movements have gained support by blaming migrants for economic insecurity. In the United States, anti-immigrant rhetoric has become a central feature of political discourse. Similar trends have emerged in Latin America and elsewhere as economic crises deepen and social divisions intensify.

This strategy of distraction is remarkably consistent. People are encouraged to direct their anger horizontally, towards other working-class people, rather than upwards towards those who hold economic and political power.

When workers are divided by nationality, language, ethnicity or race, those who profit from exploitation emerge stronger. Employers who rely on cheap and vulnerable labour benefit when workers compete against one another rather than organise together. Corrupt politicians benefit when public frustration is redirected away from their failures. Economic elites benefit when public debate focuses on migrants rather than inequality, unemployment and wealth concentration.

This does not mean governments should ignore immigration policy or border management.

Every country has the right and responsibility to regulate migration in accordance with its laws. South Africa’s immigration system requires reform. The Department of Home Affairs needs greater capacity and resources. Corruption within immigration and law enforcement institutions must be tackled decisively. Human trafficking and criminal networks that exploit vulnerable people must be dismantled. Employers who knowingly exploit undocumented workers to evade labour laws must face severe consequences.

At the same time, it needs to be made clear to the disaffected youth that the solution cannot be vigilantism, mob justice or xenophobic violence.

No society can solve unemployment by attacking foreign nationals in the streets. No economy will create jobs through intimidation and fear. No community can become safer when the rule of law is replaced by vigilantism.

South Africa’s constitution, born from a struggle against oppression and exclusion, demands a different path. It affirms the dignity of all human beings and rejects discrimination. These principles are not obstacles to social justice; they are essential foundations for achieving it.

The labour movement has a particular responsibility in this moment. Trade unions were built on the principle that an injury to one is an injury to all. Workers may come from different countries, speak different languages or hold different identities, but they share a common interest in decent work, fair wages, safe workplaces and social justice.

The labour movement needs to press for clear and effective state policies on job creation, industrialisation, public investment, quality public services and the redistribution of wealth and opportunity. It needs to pressure the government to combat corruption, enforce labour standards and meet the needs of its people.

South Africans face a choice. We can follow the path of scapegoating, fear and social fragmentation, or we can confront the real causes of our crisis and build solidarity across communities.

Only the second path offers any hope of justice, equality and lasting social peace.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial policy.