Xenophobia - The Danger
I was surprised to learn earlier this week about the news of foreigners being attacked in South Africa. When I thought about it though, I was not surprised; in a country of a population of 47.9 million people (2007 est.) they have a 25.5% unemployment rate (2006 est.). Speaking to a friend of mine who I went to high school with, he was telling me that the unemployment rate is in fact higher than the stated figure in 2008 which is why people are turning to violence with regards to the number of illegal immigrants in the country. These immigrants/refugees are perceived to be stealing job’s which in a country of high unemployment is not something to be taken lightly.
A quick refresher on some geography, South Africa has no border to the South as I don’t think the penguins would want to migrate into hot weather. South Africa does have a porous border to the north where it borders Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique. The problem in recent years is that with corruption, economic mismanagement and a lackluster border force; South Africa has become a haven for people seeking better opportunities or simply to flee from their repressive governments in the case of many Zimbabweans. From the Independent:
An estimated five million refugees live in South Africa, 3.5 million of who are believed to be Zimbabweans fleeing violence and economic chaos under Robert Mugabe. Gangs targeting refugees claim immigrants get preferential housing treatment, taking scarce jobs and committing crime.
President Mbeki later made this statement:
Citizens from other countries on the African continent and beyond are as human as we are and deserve to be treated with respect and dignity. South Africa is not and will never be an island separate from the rest of the continent.
I admire the President for making this statement and I also believe this applies to the American immigration situation as well but my anger at this point is due to the lack of things being done about the situation. I was watching CNN today and the reporter interviewed someone holding a sharp knife who admitted he was going to stab the next foreigner in the face. That is simply shocking because South Africa is going to host the next Soccer World Cup in 2010, how can this person be the face of the country? I think this incident has damaged South Africa as well as the current electricity crisis, and as much as I like the President for what he said earlier, he has clearly mismanaged the country in a big way.
The good news is that President Mbeki has finally given the go ahead for the army to go in and stop this senseless violence but I fear the damage has already been done to the reputation of the country and any potential foreign investors seeking to put their money in a growing economy. We are all born equal and no person in any country whether they be legal or illegal deserves to be treated like this.
May 21 2008 10:18 pm | South African Politics
May 22nd, 2008 at 2:33 am
Great Insight, you really getting good at this. Tollerance is one of the greatest moral challenges of our time wether it be racism, homophobia, xenophobia sectarianism tribalism and all the things that divided people. I being a Zimbabwean sympathize greatly to those people being shunned after trying to escape a tyrant the best way they know how.
May 22nd, 2008 at 2:16 pm
Hey Tate, I can only try dude, you speak quite truly when you say tolerance is a challenge since most of us write of this aspect of our lives without thinking about how much more tolerant we can be to other people.
It is a shame that the people in South Africa don’t see the violence that they are bringing. I am ashamed to be born in South Africa because of this.
May 24th, 2008 at 6:19 pm
There has been much speculation with regards to what’s going on here in RSA. Two things come to mind, one is the government currently blaming a 3rd force and the other the safety and security minister admitting that they had intelligence information prior to the attack! At the end of the day, RSA is in a desperate situation in terms of unemployment and job creation. Sheer poverty and desperation coupled with unfulfilled promises of service delivery can culminate in these things. Seems like everyone in Africa is looking for a better life. (Sorry for the long comment, going to post on my blog now!)
May 24th, 2008 at 9:01 pm
How did they have intelligence prior to the attack? I didn’t realize the NIA had intelligence officers within the population. Who would gain by this anti-immigrant violation, I don’t think South Africa has too many enemies.
Thanks for the comments man, hope all is well your side.
May 25th, 2008 at 4:13 pm
My take on it is that intelligence idea ties up with the 3rd force idea. Maybe that they had an idea that someone or an organisation is going to cause this trouble. As far as I’m concerned no one has a solid idea.
May 25th, 2008 at 8:48 pm
That is so strange though, what organization could gain from that? Every country in the world needs foreign people to come in, or rather diversity is a fact of life these days. The other thing that really irks me about that is how is why is the NIA gathering intel locally?
May 27th, 2008 at 4:40 pm
In all honesty I have no idea whether the intel came from. If there were specifics mentioned I don’t remember them. Btw it seems things have calmed down. Oh I put some pictures from the attacks on my blog.
May 28th, 2008 at 12:00 am
Hey Mo, I am going to take a look at your blog right now, thanks for the info as always, much appreciated. I am glad things calmed down, the PR damage is going to last a long time though.