Migrants pick up pieces back home after fleeing South Africa

Back in his village in rural Malawi, Ahamadi Assani recalled his terror during an attack by anti-foreigner vigilantes in South Africa that led him to flee the country with just a few bags.
It came as a campaign against illegal immigrants — accused by locals of taking work and resources — set an unofficial June 30 deadline for undocumented migrants to leave the country.
“We were hiding inside our homes because we feared for our lives,” Assani told AFP in M’namba, a village of mud-brick houses with uneven floors and weathered walls.
Then a group stormed his compound in the city of Pietermaritzburg, breaking down doors and assaulting residents.
Assani escaped but said two Malawians w...