Thousands of people from all walks of life gathered at Pieter Roos Park in Hillbrow, Johannesburg on Thursday.

The multi-cultural and multi-coloured crowd held aloft banners, posters and placards to protest against the recent attacks on foreign nationals in parts of KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng that left at least seven people dead and thousands displaced.

Bishop Paul Verryn opened the march with a moment of silence. A wave of “Shhs” went through the crowd as it fell quiet.

“Allah, Yahweh, the Great One, God Almighty have mercy on us,” Verryn said.

“In a country that is almost completely religious, what has been happening… has nothing to do with religion.

“We say very clearly ‘no’ in the name of our gods against violence against foreign nationals.”

He said the country was still “bedevilled” by hatred and intolerance.

Gauteng Premier David Makhura said the crowd had come together to show that all people in the country, regardless of their nationalities, were human beings.

“We are united… in action against xenophobia. What brings us together for this one moment is unity,” he said.

“We are going to defeat xenophobia like we defeated apartheid.” News24