Pretoria - Civil society groups are fighting xenophobia and violence in a unique way - one signature at a time. - 27/07 [Government Communication and Information System ]
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_________________________________________________________
Never
again, we promised. [ Pretoria News 15/7/2010]
_________________________________________________________
Barbara Volkwyn
: 12th May 2010
Email: barbara.volkwyn@gmail.com
On Monday
evening I called an ambulance via Vodacom's 112 emergency number. A
very ill Somali refugee needed urgent medical attention. I called 4
times between 5:30pm and 7:50pm. There is a new question if you
mention a Muslim name and that is "Which country is he from?" ?Though I was shocked, I said
?Somalia?. The ambulance
didn't arrive so at 7:50pm we had to come up with another plan
quickly. The ill refugee was taken to a hospital by someone much
later that night. Last night I enquired about his health and was
told that he has Malaria and would remain in hospital. I pray that
he will recover ? the man had been terribly ill for four days but
the other refugees were too afraid to take him to hospital; too
afraid to make the call themselves.
Barbara
Volkwyn: 12th May 2010
Email: barbara.volkwyn@gmail.com
A Somali
teenager was knocked off his bicycle by I assume, an intoxicated
driver 3 Saturday's ago. This same driver almost rolled his car
minutes later ; there were many witnesses. A lady next door called a
paramedic she knew ? we battled to get through to the ambulance
services number. I gave the teenager some painkillers then rushed
home to fetch my cell phone and to call the South African Police
Services (SAPS). The following day the family members of the
teenager were told that SAPS got hold of the driver at his home at
6:30pm the evening before ? I assumed that someone must have called
SAPS and given them the driver?s car registration number. I tried
chasing the car but I was blocked by cars which had pulled off the
road to give way to the driver. The teenager had to undergo surgery
to repair his broken arm. I asked his family whether they knew if
the driver had appeared in court. They said no, he had not. They had
the telephone number of the detective so I called him myself. He
said that to date the driver had not yet appeared in court for
reckless driving. I reminded him that it was also a hit and run
case. He said that the driver had come to the Police Station the
next day and explained that he drove off because he had been in a
state of shock. To date nothing further has happened. The teenager?s
family told me that he does not pick up his cell phone when they
call. I warned the detective that I would escalate this matter if he
did not take my statement - I was there when it happened. To date he
has not contacted me. I have since advised the Somalis to leave this
matter alone because clearly SAPS are not interested. To add insult
to injury, the driver walked into the shop on Sunday to purchase
somthing. I asked the Somalis whether the driver had said anything
or whether they had. They said "No, no-one said anything".
In response to "Xenophobia refugees; What
will happen to us? [The Mail and Guardian]
Chasing these men, women, children and babies
from their shelters will prove once and for all that this ANC
government is the cruelest on earth. It was South Africans that
attacked, burnt, murdered and looted the meagre belongings of these
unfortunate people and so they are surely entitled to protection and
shelter from the government, for as long as it takes.
Frank
Hartry
on August 13, 2008, 8:59 pm [Mail and
Guardian]
No matter how hard we try to
persuade ourselves that one group (or race) is better than another
or how much we wish to insist that the arbitrary borders we have
assigned to our countries are actually real, our true consciences
will find us out. In God's sight we are all equally His children and
the borders and divisions which we have created between us do not
exist. Are we going to be good Samaritans and care for the strangers
amongst us or just bad Pharisaic hypocrites and whited sepulchres!
These are our real flesh and blood human brothers and sisters, they
have all of our needs, desires and insecurities and we are obliged
to treat them as such. Our national behaviour a couple of months ago
was racist and disgusting in human terms and condemned by every
civilised nation of the world.
Andrew
Lawrence on August 14, 2008, 11:40 am [Mail
and Guardian]
Where is "ubuntu" from SA
government?. This is totally not fair for this people to be evicted
from these shelters.Looking from another perspective, it clear that
we still have no fair government.People, what happened to what we
call " globalisation", I thought that was perceived as the
phenomenon that would interconnect us as one. This people need to be
helped since they are part of us. And to those who believe that
these people are that cause of poverty in SA, they are still living
under an illusion since I believe that poverty results from many
angles.
S'nothile
Mbatha
on August 15, 2008, 8:34 am [Mail and
Guardian]
I was
thinking about xenophobia today. In fact, these days I think about
it far too often. The death of a friend in Kinshasa prompts today?s
thoughts.
Nathalie Muteba was a young and extremely gifted
journalist at Radio Okapi, a national radio network covering the
Democratic Republic of Congo. On Friday Nathalie died suddenly of a
heart attack; she was nine months pregnant. It?s almost certain that
Nathalie would be alive today if she had had access to the sort of
health care that is available in Johannesburg hospitals and clinics.
Had Nathalie not been employed by Radio Okapi, there?s a good chance
she would have been living in South Africa, as so many of her
educated peers are because of the almost hopeless job situation at
home.
The same
day Nathalie died, Radio Okapi ran a story about the troubles in
South Africa?s refugee camps. The story explained, through an
interview with on official from a Pretoria-based, non governmental
organisation helping the refugees, why there has been so much
reluctance to sign up for new temporary documents from Home Affairs.
The reluctance is two fold: most of the Congolese in the camps hold
two-year residence permits. They aren?t in the refugee camps because
of problems with paperwork; they are in the camps because they are
afraid. They are afraid of returning to the South African
communities that turned violently against them because they are
foreigners. And they fear that the new documents Home Affairs wants
them to sign for, valid for only six months, will force them to
relive some of the horrors they have recently escaped while at the
same time removing some of the rights they have with their existing
residence permits.
These
fears are not difficult to understand. Interviews in the media with
thugs boasting about nightly attacks on foreigners, as appeared in
this week?s Sunday Times don?t help to put already nervous people at
ease. It?s not just the Congolese who have these fears; the story is
the same with all the refugees living in South Africa, whether they
are Congolese, Mozambican, Zimbabwean, or anybody else.
It?s sad
to say but refugees from Darfur get better treatment in camps in the
Chadian desert than Africans who have been the victims of xenophobic
attacks in South Africa do. In Chad, neither the United Nation?s
refugee agency nor the Chadian government is threatening to close
the camps before the security situation in Darfur has stabilised.
Handicapped as it is, the international community is at least trying
to find a peaceful solution to that crisis.
While
South Africa is certainly not Darfur, fear is fear, and for this
fear to be overcome, the people of the camps need some kind of
assurance that their concerns are being addressed, and not just
through words, but through concrete actions.
That
brings me back to Nathalie Muteba. Nathalie was part of a team of
journalists at Sun City in 2002 during the Inter-Congolese Dialogue,
a process lasting several months that brought various belligerent
parties in the war in the DRC to the negotiating table, It was a
period of hope; a period when Congolese thought that perhaps their
country, a country so often prefaced with the word potential, might
be on the threshold of a period of peace and prosperity; a period
during which accountants and doctors and teachers would not have to
consider helping South Africans find parking spots at
Eastgate.
That dreamed-of period has not arrived. War lords
continue to sow terror in the east, the president of the republic
appears out of his depth for dealing with the problems of a country
where the word kleptocracy was coined, and the politician most
popular in the capital city is in jail in The Hague, answering to
charges of war crimes he allegedly committed in a neighbouring
country.
South
Africa?s refugee problem is not going to go away. It?s time to find
a way to make them feel at home, so that they can contribute to
nation building here. However they can only contribute effectively
if they are made to feel welcome.
Meanwhile,
back in the Congo, I would like to believe that, despite her
untimely death, Nathalie Muteba did not die in vain. She and many
others have been working towards the creation of a country where the
best and the brightest don?t have to leave home and be treated as
second-class citizens in a foreign land.
Rest in
Peace Nathalie.
?
I have a dream of a safe, united,
peaceful Africa
May 28, 2008?
I am an African. Not your usual opening statement, but something
that is not usually stressed is that we are African. We are part of
the African continent.
Martin Luther King jun once addressed a crowd and started his
address by saying: "I have a dream."
Today, I want to tell you these exact same words. I have a dream.
I have a dream that all Africans may live together as one, in unity.
All drawing strength from one another as we strive for a better and
peaceful continent. Are we as Africans now going to destroy
ourselves and our countries?
Xenophobia has definitely taken our country by surprise. We all
thought our troubles ended with the demise of apartheid. This is
another point that needs to be made; during the apartheid era, when
our country was in turmoil, our African brothers and sisters were
the people taking us into their homes. They are now the people we
condemn for stealing our jobs. Is this a new type of apartheid my
generation is confronted with?
We need to keep in mind that they do not only fill these
positions but create more job opportunities, that when we are
killing them and storming into their shops and stealing their
possessions, we are stealing the jobs of not only those who are not
from South Africa but also of those who are South Africans.
It is not easy growing up in a country where you hear of grown
men beating up a seven-year-old girl. Is it her fault where she
originates from? Is it her fault her parents have moved her here so
she can grow up in a better environment where there isn't any war?
Shouldn't we feel flattered that people from other countries are
turning to our country so their children can live in a safe
environment?
At the age of just 14, and in my 14 years as a
South African citizen, I will not stand for xenophobia. We as South
Africans are lazy and we only want to kill the hard-working folk
because we think they are stealing our jobs.
We need to face the reality: we are lazy. There are job
opportunities; we are just too ashamed to take these jobs or we are
too lazy to do these jobs. Then you get these people that come into
our country and will accept any job because they want to make a
living and they know that they cannot live off the government. I am
upset that we as South Africans are even condoning such behaviour
and not speaking out.
I would like to say that I may be young, but we children of today
are the future. It is that seven-year-old girl who might have
invented the cure for Aids and we have killed her.
I weep for our land, for what we are doing to our own. I am
calling you to speak out. Let us unite and fight what xenophobia is
doing to South Africa. I have a dream that our land will unite once
more, like in our fight for democracy and freedom. Let us fight
this.
Lynn Thandi Seale
Grade 8, Pinelands High School
May 16th, 2008 by targetpunch2010 | Posted in
Human Rights, Politics |
The recent xenophobic attacks by Black South Africans
on black refugees seeking?asylum here, is in my opinion, another own
goal by South Africa. What's the response by government? Useless and
impotent rhetoric with nothing more than the ANC posturing before
the cameras. They are opportunistic, and I suspect this is the start
of pre-election foreplay!
It's time to assault South Africa's 2010 goal
post.
I have joined many others in writing a letter of
appeal to the Chairman and FIFA 2010 World Cup Committee. My letter
attached below was submitted along with others at:
http://www.fifa.com/contact/form.html
If enough people contact them, Mr. Mbeki will have
scored an own goal! Here's a copy of my e-mail:
Dear Sirs,
International sporting bodies such as FIFA
and the Olympic Organizing Committee, have a powerful
platform in the form of international sporting events such as the
2010 World Cup, not only to unite diverse peoples and
nations, but also a moral obligation to protest the abuse of human
rights.
In the light of this, I appeal to FIFA to
move the 2010 World Cup from South Africa to a worthier
host nation. Why? For the reason that our President Thabo
Mbeki, has through his 'Quiet Diplomacy' rubber-stamped the
government of Robert Mugabe and his
Zanu-PF thugs. In addition, the current wave of
xenophobic attacks by black South Africans against foreign black
nationals seeking refuge in South Africa, and the unacceptable
levels of violent crime in our country, makes South
Africa an unworthy host for the 2010 World Cup soccer event.
The revenue that the 2010 World Cup will bring to South
Africa will not be liberating those who are oppressed in Africa, but
merely empowering further oppression of its people.
Please consider my appeal to FIFA in the
interests of upholding Human Rights and the Freedom of oppressed
people in Africa. You have a moral obligation to speak for those who
are not being heard!
Sincerely,
Leon van Greunen
SA bloggers want
end to violence
South African bloggers have roundly condemned attacks on
foreigners in the country, with some saying the African National
Congress (ANC) government is to blame.
Bloggers from other countries including Zimbabwe and the United
Kingdom, who are currently living, working and studying in South
Africa, have also joined the chorus of condemnation against the
attacks, urging the government to provide urgent solutions
writes that the attacks have "cast an ominous veil of shame
over our rainbow".
"What an embarrassment this must be for those who still think
that we have dealt with racism and oppression, simply because there
are black and coloured faces in parliament. This scourge is running
much deeper," he writes.
"This is a call for speedy intervention, otherwise violence
against the other, whether it be Zimbabweans or Congolese, will
become violence against Indian shop owners, Coloured bus drivers and
white plumbers rendering service.
"This evil culture, raging in the Alexmob, will spread to another
township, another residential area, the towns, and eventually take
over. I am shocked by what is happening in our country... I am
appalled by the deafening silence of our leaders," Reggie writes.
On
, blogger Kulkat says he is embarrassed by the attacks on
foreigners.
"It's unnecessary, it is unbecoming and cannot be condoned by any
explanation or justification by either
locals/representatives/leadership, and no cheap political
points should be scored on same. The perpetrators must be arrested,
named and shamed; and should face the fullest might of the law!"
Looking for reasons
On the
blog, Newser wonders whether the attacks are "strictly
xenophobia related or is there another motive for these attacks"?
"Many foreigners have been living side by side with South
Africans in South Africa with very few problems but now all of a
sudden there is a problem."
He offers a theory that the attacks are not xenophobic, but
related to crime.
"If these attacks were purely xenophobic-related, then the
attacks would have spread to other townships across South Africa
that a lot of foreigners stay in. The fact that for now the attacks
are only happening in Johannesburg gets me to think that this is all
part of an organised crime syndicate," the blogger writes.
expresses shock at current affairs in her motherland.
"I am particularly pained because I too have been a refugee in
other African countries... I have been wondering whether I would
have been alive if the Zambians had been as unwelcoming to my
parents as my fellow nationals have been to our fellow Africans?
"I wonder too whether South Africa would be the free country it
is today if the rest of other African countries had been as
unwelcoming?"
The
blog is run by an Englishman who has been living in Cape Town
for four years. He fears the violence will spread to other parts of
South Africa.
"It seems likely that this situation will certainly get worse
before it gets better," he writes.
He sympathises with Zimbabwean immigrants, who are being
targeted.
"What choice for the Zimbabwean immigrants particularly -
starvation in their own country or the threat of violence in this
new home?
"And me? An immigrant here myself - 'taking their jobs'. I'm just
glad that I am where I am and not facing what those less fortunate
than me are facing right now," he says.
ANC blamed
Shepherd Mpofu, a Zimbabwean student studying in Johannesburg,
writes on the blog
that the violence highlights the country's leadership crisis.
"It is a crisis of governance. It is the results of the dreams
deferred... Indeed, ours shall be a stuff of nightmares. The recent
xenophobic attacks have exposed South Africa's leadership vacuum. He
condemns the "outrageous actions" by "idiots and barbarians" which,
he says, "once again shows how a country with the most progressive
constitution is still stuck in the past".
Shepherd decries the attacks on his countrymen. "It is painful to
see my countrymen being reduced to such targets of mindless attacks
by barbarians who not only fail to value themselves but humanity in
general."
The blogger suggests that an end to the Zimbabwe crisis would
help resolve the problem.
"What South Africa needs to do, through Mbeki, is act strongly
against Mugabe... The return to sanity will reflect on South Africa.
People will go back home and resources will not be as strained."
South Africa's image
Newser is concerned that the xenophobic attacks will hurt South
Africa's chance to host the 2010 World Cup.
The whole world is seeing pictures and videos of the attacks and
it cannot paint a pretty picture at all. Crime has always been a
huge issue about South Africa hosting the world cup," the blogger
writes.
"The xenophobia attacks are happening in the townships where the
poor are, so that should not affect 2010 - right? Wrong. Any form of
crime in South Africa is a negative to how the world portrays South
Africa, be it crime in the townships or crime in the leafy suburbs."
Bloggers also commented on calls for the army to be deployed to
quell the violence.
Mike, writing on
, suggests that using the army is the only way to stem the
violence.
"We don't have the convenience of avoiding the embarrassment of
deploying the SANDF in our streets to restore order, it should have
been done already," says Mike.
The
blogger also supports the use of the military.
"I would suggest that the time for that decision has already
passed. With every news bulletin, we are hearing of more problems,
more casualties, more deaths. However, whether Mbeki will (for
once?) act decisively in this situation remains to be seen," he
writes.
Wessel, writing on
, also shares this feeling. "Perhaps we do need the army now,
even if it's a blunt instrument. It's best to stop this as quickly
as possible. It's creating instability and could soon become
something else," he says.
Mike of
responds to Wessel's post: "It is a blunt instrument, but in a
way we're dealing with a 'blunt' situation here. Initially, to stem
the violence, well-managed and limited force will be necessary".
Newser also supports the calls for the army to be deployed, as
the police appear to be overwhelmed.
"There have been calls for the South African army to step in and
help or take over from the police. South Africa is not at war with
anyone, so the army is available to assist in times like this," says
Newser.
The blogger calls on the government to provide urgent solutions
before the problem gets out of hand.
"The government has an opportunity to act now and try stop these
attacks. Or do they want to wait until it really gets out of hand
before they act?"
Solutions suggested
Mike calls for commitment and determined action from the
government to resolve the problem.
"The current orgy of hate and lawlessness cannot be ignored or
dealt with by run-of-the-mill press statements," he writes.
"President Mbeki needs to address the nation via national TV and
radio and make clear that the government will not tolerate the evil
of xenophobia. He can gather the new ANC leadership (including Jacob
Zuma) and other prominent leaders around him when making such a
statement. Obviously this needs to be backed up by action."
However Wessel, on the
blog, feels that Mbeki cannot provide solutions.
"I don't know if Mbeki making a speech would work. His
credibility is zero. Zuma should be on the ground, speaking to
people."
BBC Monitoring selects and translates
news from radio, television, press, news agencies and the internet
from 150 countries in more than 70 languages. It is based in
Caversham, UK, and has several bureaux abroad.
South Africa: Shattered
Myths - The Xenophobic Violence - Nathan Geffen
http://allafrica.com/stories/200807040094.html/
Mbeki
speaks on "attacks on foreign nationals
Thabo
Mbeki - 04 July
2008
Text of address by South
African President July 3
2008
Address of the President of South
Africa, Thabo Mbeki, at the National Tribute in Remembrance of the
victims of attacks on Foreign Nationals,
Tshwane
Directors of
Ceremony,
Ministers, Deputy Ministers, Premiers, Mayors
and members of all spheres of
Government,
Your Excellencies, Diplomatic Representatives
of the sister nations of the world,
Representatives of communities which live and
work side by side with our immigrant
population,
Leaders of political
parties,
Comrades, Ladies and
Gentlemen,
Fellow South
Africans:
I am privileged to participate in this
important Gathering of Remembrance to honour fellow Africans from
our country and other parts of the African continent whose lives
were needlessly ended through the criminal violence which erupted in
various localities in our country in May this
year.
Many of us present here today view ourselves
as the offspring of forebears who advanced a noble vision starting
150 years ago - the vision of Africans, on our Continent and the
Diaspora, free at last, proud of themselves and their heritage, and
united in their resolve to combine in a mighty force of liberation
to uplift themselves.
I speak here of the Rev Tiyo
Soga.
More than 140 years ago, Tiyo Soga wrote
about the unity of all Africans both on the Continent and the
Diaspora. Writing to salute the struggle of the African-Americans
for freedom from slavery during the American Civil War, he said the
African-Americans were "looking forward to the dawn of a better day
for (the African-American) and all his sable brethren inAfrica."
I also speak here of J.G.
Xaba.
110 (1897) years ago, J.G. Xaba, one of the
founders of the Ethiopian church movement in our country, said "the
aim of the Ethiopian church is to promote...unity in the whole
continent of Africa."
I speak too of Pixley ka Isaka
Seme.
100 (1906) years ago, Pixley Seme celebrated
the grandeur and dignity of all Africans in the following and famous
moving passages:
"I would ask you not to compare Africa to
Europe or to any other continent. I
make this request not from any fear that such comparison might bring
humiliation upon Africa. The
reason, I have stated - a common standard is impossible! Come with
me to the ancient capital of Egypt, Thebes, the city of one hundred
gates. The grandeur of its venerable ruins and the gigantic
proportions of its architecture reduce to insignificance the boasted
monuments of other nations.
"The pyramids of Egypt are structures to
which the world presents nothing comparable. The mighty monuments
seem to look with disdain on every other work of human art and to
vie with nature herself. All the glory of Egypt belongs to Africa and her people. These monuments are the
indestructible memorials of their great and original
genius.
"It is not through Egypt alone that Africa claims such unrivalled historic
achievements. I could have spoken of the pyramids of
Ethiopia, which,
though inferior in size to those of Egypt, far surpass them in
architectural beauty; their sepulchres which evince the highest
purity of taste, and of many prehistoric ruins in other parts of
Africa. In such ruins Africa is like the golden sun, that, having
sunk beneath the western horizon, still plays upon the world which
he sustained and enlightened in his
career...
"Oh, for that historian who, with the open
pen of truth, will bring to Africa''s claim the strength of written proof.
He will tell of a race whose onward tide was often swelled with
tears, but in whose heart bondage has not quenched the fire of
former years. He will write that in these later days when Earth''s
noble ones are named, she has a roll of honour too, of whom she is
not ashamed.
"The giant is awakening! From the four
corners of the earth Africa''s
sons, who have been proved through fire and sword, are marching to
the future''s golden door bearing the records of deeds of valour
done."
The visionary words spoken by Tiyo Soga in
the 7th decade of the 19th century gave birth to the historic goal
enunciated by J.G. Xaba in the 10th decade of the same century, and
this, in turn, inspired Pixley Seme's prophetic imagining during the
1st decade of the 20th century, which foretold of the future golden
door of freedom.
It is on these foundations, which are more
than a hundred-and-fifty years old, that generations of our people
built a great edifice of African hope, Africa's oldest liberation movement, the
African National Congress.
It is from this Mother of Hope that we have
drawn the nourishment that has defined and taught us who and what we
want to be, a Mother of Hope who must fight through all time to
remain the Mother of Hope she has been for many
generations.
As we have grown up, because of where we have
suckled, we have therefore always known that we belong among the
teeming millions of Africans in Africa and the Diaspora, an inalienable part
of these masses.
We have always known that regardless of the
boundaries drawn by others to define us as different and separate
from our kith and kin, and even despite our occupation of different
spaces across the divides occasioned by the existence of the oceans
that nature has formed, we share with those of whom we are part, a
common destiny.
We have also always striven to combine with
all Africans in Africa and the Diaspora in one united, gigantic,
open conspiracy and effort to restore to ourselves our collective
human dignity, based on the unshakeable conviction that no African
anywhere will be free until all Africans everywhere are
free.
Because we have, at all times, known of the
grandeur and originality of Africa and the Africans, of which Pixley
Seme spoke, of the indelible valour of the African heroes and
heroines proved through fire and sword, of whom Pixley Seme wrote,
we have known that as Africa and Africans, acting together, we will
achieve our Renaissance, our rebirth.
We have constantly thought it self-evident
that, as Pixley ka Isaka Seme had said, the regeneration of Africa
would come to be, and would mean that "a new and unique civilisation
would soon be added to the world...(whose) essential departure
(would be) that it is thoroughly spiritual and humanistic - indeed a
regeneration moral and eternal!"
And yet we, the offspring and heirs to the
noble spirit and vision of African unity and solidarity advanced by
our own giants of thought and action, Tiyo Soga, J.G. Xaba and
Pixley Seme, have gathered here today with heads bowed in shame
because it has seemed that what happened in our country in May
betrayed the dreams of many generations, including our
own.
We have gathered here today to convey to all
Africans everywhere, to all African nations, severally and
collectively, to our own people, and to the families of people who
were murdered, our sincere condolences, and our heartfelt apologies
that Africans in our country committed unpardonable crimes against
other Africans.
We have convened here to express our pain
that, today, we have fellow Africans from various African countries
- Somalia, the DRC, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Malawi - and
others, who are quarantined in temporary camps, separated from the
African communities in which they lived peacefully as
fellow-Africans, until the dark days of May that descended upon them
without warning.
We are meeting here, today, to pledge
that:
? we will do everything necessary to ensure
that as Africans, regardless of our geographic origins, we will once
more live together as Africans, at peace with one another, refusing
to impose on ourselves a new apartheid
order;
? we will work expeditiously to achieve the
reintegration of all the displaced Africans within the communities
from which they were forced to flee because of murderous criminal
activities;
? we will do everything necessary to assist
the victims of this criminal onslaught, both the South Africans and
our foreign guests, to resume their normal
lives;
? we will act without any unnecessary delay
to address all genuine concerns which may give birth to tensions
between the native and immigrant
Africans;
? as we work to improve our social and
national cohesion, we will also address the challenge to entrench
the understanding that this includes full acceptance within all our
communities of new residents from other countries, as well as the
understanding among the latter that we welcome them as good
neighbours and citizens;
? we will work to mobilise all our
communities to isolate and defeat the evil elements in our midst who
target vulnerable African migrants, subjecting them to violent
attacks for criminal purposes and personal
gain;
? we will ensure that all those responsible
for the criminal activities during the dark days of May, targeted
against African migrants, face the full might of the law;
and,
? we will take all necessary and possible
measures to sustain respect for the law and our Constitutional order
by all who live in our country, and the safety and security of all
these, whether native-born or
immigrant.
As many were killed or maimed during the dark
days of May, thousands displaced, businesses and homes looted, and
homes and businesses destroyed by arson, I heard it said insistently
that my people have turned or have become
xenophobic.
The word xenophobia means a deep antipathy
towards or hatred of foreigners. When I heard some accuse my people
of xenophobia, of hatred of foreigners, I wondered what the accusers
knew about my people, which I did not
know.
Over many years I have visited many parts of
our country, both urban and rural, in all our provinces, and met
many people from other countries, including African countries, who
have not hesitated to announce their countries of
origin.
On occasion I have been amazed to hear people
in the Western Cape introduce
themselves as migrants from Angola and the Democratic
Republic of Congo. On occasion I have been amazed to hear people in
small towns of Mpumalanga introduce
themselves as migrants from Somalia. On occasion I
have been amazed to hear people in Western Gauteng introduce
themselves as migrants from Mozambique.
On these and other occasions I have known
that these immigrants could thus openly introduce themselves because
they knew, from their experience, that because they had not
experienced any xenophobia, they had no need to hide their countries
of origin.
I have been to Guinea Conakry, at the upper
end of the Gulf of Guinea on the African west
coast. The Guineans told me of their fellow-nationals who live in
our country and tell their relatives and government of how they have
made our country their new home.
Everything I know about my people tells me
that these heirs to the teachings of Tiyo Soga, J.G. Xaba and Pixley
Seme, the masses who have consistently responded positively to the
Pan-African messages of the oldest liberation movement on our
Continent, the African National Congress, are not
xenophobic.
These masses are neither antipathetic
towards, nor do they hate foreigners. And this I must also say -
none in our society has any right to encourage or incite xenophobia
by trying to explain naked criminal activity by cloaking it in the
garb of xenophobia.
I know that there are some in our country who
will charge that what I have said constitutes a denial of our
reality.
However, I dare say that if anyone convenes
residents of Nkomazi in Mpumalanga, Hammanskaraal, Atteridgeville,
Alexandra Township, Diepsloot, Orange Farm, Ekurhuleni, Motherwell,
Khayelitsha, Inanda, and stays to listen to these ordinary South
Africans, none will hear our people say we should attack immigrants,
or that they hate these because they are
foreigners.
And yet, despite everything I have said, we
have, as native South Africans, gathered here today with heads bowed
in shame, because of the immense pain and fear about the future that
some among us deliberately inflicted on fellow Africans in our
country, who originate from other lands on our Continent and
elsewhere in the world.
In spite of this reality, I will not hesitate
to assert that my people are not diseased by the terrible affliction
of xenophobia which has, in the past, led to the commission of the
heinous crime of genocide.
I will not hesitate to say that the cultures
of all our people, black and white, and despite the many centuries
of racism imposed on our society by force of arms, continue to
inform the overwhelming majority of our homesteads that they should
welcome all visitors and travellers in a spirit friendship and human
compassion.
I will not hesitate to say that despite the
centrifugal impulses generated by colonialism and apartheid leading
to the dissipation of the human instinct towards human solidarity,
my people, still, harbour in their hearts a deep-seated respect for
the practice immanent in the outlook described as Ubuntu, to give
water, food and refuge to the
traveller.
As a people, we fully understand the proverb
of the people of Madagascar that it is not
the fire in the fireplace which warms the house, but the people who
get along well.
Still, we, the offspring and heirs to the
noble spirit and vision of African unity and solidarity advanced by
our own giants of thought and action, Tiyo Soga, J.G. Xaba and
Pixley Seme, have gathered here today with heads bowed in shame,
because some in our communities acted in ways that communicated the
message that the values of Ubuntu are dead, and that they lie
entombed in the graves of the cadavers of people who died ostensibly
solely because they came among us as travellers in search of
refuge.
Obviously and needless to say, we have a
common responsibility to explain this conundrum - the seeming
disjuncture which sets in opposition one to the other, what we pride
ourselves about who and what we are, and what our practical actions
broadcast about who and what we really
are.
The dark days of May which have brought us
here today were visited on our country by people who acted with
criminal intent. What happened during these days was not inspired by
a perverse nationalism, or extreme chauvinism, resulting in our
communities violently expressing the hitherto unknown sentiment of
mass and mindless hatred of foreigners -
xenophobia.
Those who have eyes to see will have seen
that much of the violence we experienced was targeted at the
immigrants who had property to loot. Those who have eyes to see will
have seen that the majority of the immigrants who live in conditions
of poverty as do many of our people were not
attacked.
Those who have eyes to see will have seen
that in other disturbances in the past, allegedly occasioned by
so-called service failures of municipal councils, small shops owned
by immigrants have been looted.
We are confronted by the reality that,
objectively, it will take a considerable period of time before we
achieve our objective of providing a better life for all our people.
Objectively, therefore, together with the masses of our people as a
conscious agent of change, we must continue to manage the reality of
unfulfilled expectations.
As we have said before, like other countries
in Africa and elsewhere in the world, we are going through a very
difficult period of rising food and fuel prices, higher costs of
borrowing, rising inflation, and therefore the erosion of the living
standards of especially the poor.
None of us can be happy or satisfied with
this reality.
At the same time we must recognise the
reality, and work continuously to oppose it, that some in our midst
will seek to exploit this to attack the immigrants in our midst,
falsely blaming them for our woes, seeking to use their
vulnerability to loot their possessions for personal gain, as
happened during the dark days of May.
Today, gathered here as a representative
microcosm of our country, we must reaffirm that we remain loyal
heirs of our noble forebears, Tiyo Soga, J.G. Xaba, Pixley Seme and
the martyrs who sacrificed their lives for our liberation, and
therefore will continue, as Africans, to be our brothers' and our
sisters' keepers.
Today, gathered here as a representative
microcosm of our country, we must reaffirm that we are committed to
the sustained pursuit of the goal of the regeneration of Africa and
the African Diaspora, based on the unshakeable understanding that we
are to one another, as Africans, brothers and
sisters.
Today, gathered here as a representative
microcosm of our country, we must pledge that never again will we
allow that anybody brings shame to our nation by betraying the
values of Ubuntu and committing crimes against our visitors and
travellers, thus to besmirch the character of the eminently good
human beings who constitute our nation as a people afflicted by the
cancerous disease of xenophobia.
Today, gathered here as a representative
microcosm of our country, and proud of our people's pioneering and
vanguard role in the struggle for the emancipation of all Africans
and the restoration of their dignity, we must make the solemn
undertaking that we, as leaders and representatives of our people,
will continue to act as servants of the African peoples, determined
to combat all tendencies that lead to the dissolution of African
cohesion and solidarity at the altar of the pursuit of the
pernicious goal of personal gain and
aggrandisement.
Today, gathered here as a representative
microcosm of our country, we must state that we know that the
problems of our country and Continent will not be solved by
declarations and demands, and suggestions that we have instant
solutions to address long-standing and complicated
challenges.
I thank you for taking the trouble to gather
here this afternoon. Let everybody who comes to learn of this
occasion and everything that was said this afternoon, understand the
unalterable truths that:
? as Africans we will never abandon the
values of Ubuntu;
? as Africans we will never become enemies of
other Africans;
? we define ourselves as Africans because we
belong within the family of the billion Africans who live in
Africa and the Africa Diaspora, who
are linked to one another by a common
destiny;
? we are proudly African, not only because of
our indelible contribution to human civilisation, but also because
we know that the regeneration of Africa will add new humane values
to human society, as demonstrated by the many in our society who
rallied to provide assistance to and reintegrate the thousands of
displaced fellow Africans;
? as South Africans, who fought for more than
three centuries to achieve the dignity of all Africans and all human
beings, regardless of race, colour, and gender, we will never allow
that we fall victim to the criminal perversion of xenophobia, which,
in earlier times, led to the genocidal destruction of entire peoples
in the Americas, South Africa and Australia, and, more recently, the
Jewish Holocaust in Europe and the Genocide in Rwanda;
and,
? as South Africans, who know the value of
international solidarity and Pan-Africanism, we will continue to
extend a hand of help to all other Africans whether in
Haiti or the
Central African
Republic; Somalia, Guinea Bissau or
Comoros;
Sudan,
Niger or
Zimbabwe.
On behalf of our people and Government I
humbly convey to our people, our foreign guests, all Africa and the
peoples of the world, our apology that we allowed criminals in our
midst to inflict terrible pain and damage to many in our society,
including and particularly our foreign
guests.
We will do everything possible and necessary
to ensure that we have no need in future to proffer this humble
apology, which is inspired by genuine
remorse.
Thank you.
Text of speech issued by The Presidency,
Tshwane, July 3 2008
Street soccer festival to
end xenophobia
http://www.genderjustice.org.za/
Sonke Gender Justice in partnership with Hope World Wide, Western
CapeStreet Soccer League and Grassroots Soccer is hosting a "Street
Soccer Festival to End Xenophobia" on Saturday, 5 July 2008.
As civil society organisations working on human rights for all
people living in South Africa we have all been distressed by the
recent spate of xenophobic violence. We are, however, proud of the
response by the many individuals and ordinary citizens in the
affected communities who have shown their opposition to the violence
and their commitment to a human rights culture by taking swift
action to support people affected by xenophobia.
By hosting this event, Sonke intends to both honour those who
played a role in addressing the violence and also foster interaction
and dialogue between all people living in Khayelitsha. Teams
comprising both South Africans and foreign nationals will play in
this inaugural event and in so doing strengthen friendships,
connections and common bonds.
We invite you to attend this event, to be held at Manyanani Peace
Park,
Section A, Khayelitsha on 5 July 2008 from 10:00 to 15:00.
For further information please contact Leo Mbobi
on
leo@genderjustice.org.za
?
???????????????????? ?A FOREIGNER IN MY OWN
LAND.
IF BEING a South African means beating on the
door of a shack and demanding to see a green identity book ? the
dompas of citizenship ? then I am a foreigner.
If being a
South African means dragging a woman into the road to push up her
skirt and drive my boot between her legs, then I am a
foreigner.
If being a South African means sharpening my
machete to split the skull of a man returning home from work, then I
am a foreigner.
If being a South African means ripping an
infant from its mother?s back to spit in a little face wizened by
terror, then I am a foreigner.
If being a South African
means dropping concrete blocks on that mother?s head until it bursts
like a ripe watermelon on the dry dust of my street, then I am a
foreigner.
If being a South African means arrogating the
roles of policeman, prosecutor, judge and executioner, then I am a
foreigner. If being a South African means hanging over my fence and
watching the smooth skin of a man blister as he burns alive, then I
am a foreigner.
For that skin is an infant?s, once caressed
by a mother?s hand. That skin is a man?s, and a lover?s hand passed
over it, marveling at its smoothness. That skin is a father?s,
reached for in the night by a child afraid of the dark. That burning
skin was a man?s ? and if being a South African means I can?t feel
that skin as my own, then I am a foreigner.????????- Margie
Orford?
?AFRICA DAY: CELEBRATION AND
REFLECTION ON THE CHALLENGES OF LIVING TOGETHER?
The violence in Alexandra and other places in our country,
including the Western
Cape, is shocking. It is horrible and has
left us sad, bewildered, confused, insecure and deeply concerned.
Our growing confidence (in some areas of our development) has been
dealt a severe blow. We could not have imagined, as we astonished
the world and stood in long lines in all our glorious diversity in
1994, that just 14 years later we would see South Africans turn on
themselves in crime and on their African brothers and sisters with
ferocity, the explanation for the latter simplistically called
xenophobia. We had believed that as a nation we had taken "a
great leap forward", that we had shown the world a new way to live.
The world stood in awe and used us as an example of what was
possible when human differences were dealt with within a spirit of
respect, reconciliation and civility. We were encouraged to act in
the most wonderful ways by national leaders who knew and impressed
upon us that our chances of building a nation and contributing to
the development of our continent would be greatly influenced by the
ways in which we behaved towards one another as we engaged in that
quest. We realised how fragile this young democracy was and that we
would be challenged severely, but we were bold enough to believe
that our triumph was assured. Alas!
But just as concerning perhaps is the willingness on the part
of many in our nation and elsewhere to take the high moral ground
and treat such horrible events as the behaviour of others whom it is
enough to despise and condemn in public statement. The fact is that
large numbers of South Africans, many of them otherwise ordinary
citizens, have been caught up in these events and have themselves
done terrible things. These are our own people. We must distance
ourselves from what they have done, but we must not use moral
outrage to avoid our responsibility to search together for answers
to our many, many potentially crushing challenges. There is work to
be done on three levels, that of the state, the organisation and the
individual. History suggests that the struggle of building a culture
that is competent to support the needs of its citizens is not an
easy matter. This challenge now, given the dramatic global changes
on so many levels, is probably more difficult than it has ever been.
University people have a particular responsibility in this.
The privilege of a higher education brings with it responsibility.
Educated people are expected to lead in ways which support the
growth and welfare of our people. Countries spend considerable sums
supporting their universities so that they can generate new ideas
and suggest new actions for the good of the society.
? We, at UWC, can be expected to lead by example in our
relationships with one another on and off campus, including the ways
in which we engage with and challenge one another so that we can
overcome the deadening aspects of our past. This is a challenge in
the classroom, in residences, in campus activities and in the ways
in which we behave in our interactions with people in the wider
world. We have to have always before us the question of whether our
conduct is inclusive and likely to promote social transformation and
development. This is no simple matter and needs to be discussed and
debated regularly. Last year and early this year we took on this
challenge boldly. We had a week long project on homophobia and a
conference on Citizenship under the rubric of ?Contesting with the
Past". We arranged discussions on diversity, on inclusion, and
racism, each of these connected directly to the matter of
inclusively and respect. Unfortunately not all of them were well
attended.
? We can be expected to lead by action in areas which are
close to us in the communities and organisations to which we belong.
This involves being good citizens in standing up to be counted not
just rhetorically, but also through applying our knowledge and
skills to immediate
circumstances.
? Perhaps most important, we can be expected to give an
intellectual lead. The debates about matters of racial and national
difference are often conducted largely in grab-all terms like racism
and xenophobia, which have long since lost the sharp edge of meaning
which is necessary if they are not going to blur our vision and
prevent us from understanding the major issues which they once
pointed to. We have to challenge one another constructively to come
to grips with our realities within a dramatically changed world,
where our erstwhile allies are now often our biggest competitors,
and understand these realities well enough to be able to take and
promote practical action. The word "intellectual" means someone who
understands. We must not caricature it and reduce the intellectual
work to a secondary consideration which we would struggle defend.
The concept ivory tower is unfortunate and profoundly misleading. We
must reclaim our intellectual space as one of our nation?s
indispensable treasures.
The challenges of our country can come very close to us. We
all know of people who have been brutally dealt with, not only in
what is described as xenophobic attacks, but through crimes like
murder and rape. A student at a neighbouring institution was
murdered on their campus this week and another student was kidnapped
from our Tygerberg campus and raped. We also have unconfirmed
information about a UWC student whose father was killed in these
attacks. These three instances show the kinds of challenges our
society faces. We must unhesitatingly show our support to them and
for all others whose lives have been directly affected by these
waves of attacks. We have a long tradition at UWC of showing our
solidarity in ways which are really helpful. I ask you to make it
your business to give such support when the opportunity presents
itself. But we have to go further than the individual cases. We have
to commit ourselves to building the new South
Africa that the struggle was about.
That means facing the fact that each one us has to change: to grow
in the process.
There have been many opportunities on our campus to work
through these issues over the past year and there will be many more.
I must ask you to make use of them. Attend the discussions. Read
widely about the issues, many of them which are dealt with in your
curriculum. They should draw engaged and enthusiastic scholarship
from you. We are a University. We have a very strong mandate to
support our country?s intellectual capabilities. Success in this
alone would make us good citizens, responding appropriately to what
the real challenges are. The special sense of concern that
characterises so much of what we do here is a powerful force. This
gives us confidence that we can take practical account of the brutal
legacy of the past and surmount it.
Sunday is Africa day, our
continent?s special day. Traditionally it is a day where we spend
some time in celebration, but perhaps this year it should not be
celebrations of the banners and fanfare kind. Perhaps a quieter
reflective time in our own private spaces and also in the company of
those closest to us: families, special friends, roommates in
residences, study groups, societies, clubs or the like. We do a lot
of public celebrating with thunderous speeches and perhaps a T-Shirt
and a cap as a memento. Perhaps the current challenges call for
deeper, more personal moments and longer term practical commitments.
Our mission alerts us to our responsibility to Africa within an international context.
Africa day offers each of us an
opportunity to renew our commitment to the task of building a
strong, viable and democratic continent, characterised by the
principles of Ubuntu: another term that requires our intellectual
attention. I have been asked for comments by the media. I have
responded immediately and in addition I am writing an article on the
challenge of living together. It should be published next week. Our
generation has been called to lead the way. We may not
fail.
Prof Brian
O?Connell
Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the University of
Western
Cape
CPUT strongly condemns
xenophobia??
Cape Peninsula
University of Technology deplores the shameful and painful treatment
of foreign nationals in different parts of South
Africa during the past two weeks.
Ubuntu, respect and integrity are some of the values the
University embeds in everyday living, through example and teaching.
Intolerance, killing and maiming fellow human beings are viewed with
abhorrence.
CPUT further declares
its respect and love for international staff and students who help
to make its community a truly universal one. This community will
continue to strive to create an empowering environment for all its
staff and students.
Dr
Nomathamsanqa Tisani, Acting Registrar
The Cape Peninsula University of Technology supports the
efforts of Higher Education South
Africa (HESA) and The International Education
Association of South Africa (IEASA) to
mobilise universities against xenophobia.
http://info.cput.ac.za/News/news.php?aid=538
PRESS STATEMENT
Law Deans
condemn Xenophobia
?The South African Law Deans? Association (SALDA) deplores the
rise of
xenophobia in various sectors of our society and expresses
its concern
at the state?s apparent incapacity to deal effectively with
the causes
of the problem and its consequences. We are particularly
concerned that
students and colleagues around the country might no longer
feel safe in
our society and we would like to reassure them of our support
and
solidarity.
SALDA totally opposes the expression of prejudice and
intolerance and
the violent reaction that we have witnessed recently. Such
conduct
violates the values of human dignity, equality and freedom
which are
fundamental to our Constitution. We emphasise that the
Constitution
does not have limited application: except in a few particular
instances,
the fundamental rights apply to everyone. Irrespective of
their place of
origin, every person in our society is entitled to have their
rights to
life, human dignity and property
respected.
We associate ourselves fully with calls upon perpetrators to
desist
from such unacceptable conduct and instead to respect one
another and
uphold and promote our fundamental
values.
Issued by: Prof Rob Midgley, President: SALDA, 23 May
2008
Prof Riekie Wandrag,
Deputy Dean
Faculty of Law
UWC
?By Andrea Hart and Jean Yung, Cape Times, 9 June
2008
DESPERATE for United Nations intervention, at least one
Somali - and possibly five others - at Soetwater attempted suicide
by jumping into the Atlantic Ocean yesterday as 100 others
threatened to do the same.
While police and Sea Rescue stopped a suicide bid,
rumours spread that some refugees were still missing, causing a
score of others to swim out looking for them.
Husein Faras, who attempted suicide, was rescued by other
Somalis and carried back to the camp, refugees said. Community
members surrounded the shivering 25-year-old Faras as he rubbed the
bloodied cuts on his legs.
?He wanted to die because of his stress,? said community
leader Abdulaani Wenliye.
?His brother was murdered in Du Noon in 2006 by robbers
and now he has nothing to eat,? Wenliye translated.
Unrest was sparked in the refugee camp after an
unsatisfactory meeting between refugee leaders and the United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on Saturday.
Immediately after the discussions, Somalis at Soetwater went on a
hunger strike that escalated into threats of suicide.
They were ?left with no options and no one else to appeal
to? and ?had no choice but to resort to desperate measures to get
the world?s attention?, read a statement released by the Soetwater
Refugee Leadership Committee.
The NSRI pulled from the water people looking for the
missing four, said incident commander Ian Klopper. Three rescue
boats and a team of swimmers were sent to the scene at 10am.
?We woke up and heard that four people had gone into the
water to kill themselves,? said Somali Fatima Hiljk, who went
searching in the water with 20 other community members. Hiljk said
she was pulled out by the NSRI after several hours in the water.
?It is quite a dangerous situation because they
(community members) were not trained for rescue and those waters are
extremely cold and unsafe,? Klopper said. The typically unclear
waters near Soetwater are full of rocky ledges and sharp barnacles,
he added.
When the Cape Times arrived there, more than 50 people
were standing on the rocks, still looking for people in the water.
?We are fighting with the UN because they don?t give us
assistance,? Hiljk said, pointing to a pile of stale bread and
bottles of expired juice delivered to the camp the previous day.
In addition to meeting Soetwater community members on
Saturday, two representatives, Arvin Gupta and Yusuf Hassan, from
the UNHCR?s Pretoria field office, met displaced expatriates from
Caledon Square, Blue Water and His People Centre.
Though he could not discuss the specifics of the
weekend?s talks, Hassan said South Africa did not have a
resettlement programme and the UNHCR?s plan was to help the
government with the reintegration of the displaced people - an
unwelcome option for most camp leaders.
?We submitted our request to quit this country,? said
Burundian Damas Nigonkuru from His People Centre in N1 City.
?(UNHRC) told us they can?t do anything except to help the
government reintegrate us. That was not something we were expecting.
We were shocked.?
Yves Bonyeme, spokesperson for the Blue Waters camp, said
they were writing to UN headquarters to ask for a visit from a
resettlement expert.
According to Hassan, resettlement is an option, but an
extremely rare one. A single resettlement application takes between
18 and 24 months to process.
?It?s not that UNHCR has a key to open the doors to all
these countries, which is a deeply embedded view in the minds of
these people,? Hassan said. Rather, its focus is on the safety and
security of the large number of displaced people and to ensure that
they are receiving assistance.
?We cannot look at the medium- and long-term solutions,?
Hassan said.
In light of the Soetwater crisis, the Treatment Action
Campaign has once again asked all levels of government to take
action and close the camps.
Activists have demanded that President Thabo Mbeki
deliver a mandate to the UN to repatriate or resettle displaced
people in a third country.
?A tragedy is unfolding as people who fled xenophobic
terror now face the uncaring machinery of the state,? read a TAC
statement.
While the SAPS said the situation at Soetwater was back
to ?normal?, some Somalis were still threatening suicide.
?I?m ready to jump in the sea with my eight children
because I have no hope,? said a Somali woman, Raxma Moalin.
Clutching her five-month-old daughter, Moalin added: ?I have nothing
to give my children.???
?????????????????????????
09/06/2008 -? Since this morning
there?have been?conflicting reports on the issue of refugees
attempting to commit suicide by drowning themselves at Soetwater,
even blatant denials - the norm as far as the government is
concerned. When I saw the front page of the Cape Times this evening,
I was horrified, angry and sad. Apart from the hell the foreigners
have had to endure; being attacked, threatened, robbed of their
belongings and chased from their homes, they were placed in camps.
Over the weekend I heard that the 2010 Stadium in Green Point needs
another R600 million to complete the task. To hell with the stadium
and the World Cup - is soccer and the World Cup more important than
the lives of these refugees? Something has gone dreadfully wrong in
this country and it has been that way for a long time. Some of these
refugees at Soetwater were desperate enough to try to commit suicide
by drowning themselves. My God, they have been given 2 months to
either leave the country or to return to their battered and broken
down communities where they were treated worse than dogs a few weeks
ago.?This hatred of foreigners is not something that happened
overnight. The only reason they want some of them back is because
they miss the spaza shops where goods were cheaper than the
supermarkets - they have grown tired of travelling to the
supermarkets. I am ashamed to be a South African and have been for
years, only now I am disgusted as well.
In a recent magazine
article dated 29th May,?Malose Langa, a psychologist at the
Johnnesburg Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation was
quoted as saying "South African history reflects a culture of
violence, especially in townships. We've always used violence to
solve our problems and bring about
change."
Nelson Mandela, your
vision and dream has died along with the spirit of the rainbow
nation.
In your own words" Never, never and never again shall
it be that this beautiful land will again experience the oppression
of one by another and suffer the indignity of being the skunk of the
world."
The
foreigners are being treated like
skunks.
???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
?- Barbara Volkwyn
I would like first to send my
greatest warm condolences to those who lost their loved ones at the
hands of those hooligans and barbarians. It saddens me to see our
so-called people spitting in the same hands that gave us shelter in
the times of apartheid, supported us in their best possible way, for
us to enjoy the freedom we are abusing.
May the Lord protect our fellow brothers and sisters
against evilness.
??Never spit to the hand that feeds or once fed you
because calamity and catastrophy will be upon you.??
Today I?m ashamed to be a South
African.
- Syanda Ngcobo, Cape Town
We South Africans lack the understanding of what is it
to be Africans, so we only think of being a South African.
We "black South Africans" should learn to appreciate
our fellow Africans and nothing more. Most if not all of the
foreigners in our country are here because the political situations
in their countries is unendurable, and they are contributing to our
GDP by establishing businesses and employing most of South Africans.
We South Africans don?t even have the skills to run businesses like
our foreign brothers.
My last words are: "Let?s not forget that the same
might happen to us tomorrow".
- Vincent Rikhotso
If this is the way we should die or the price of being
in this country ..so let it be. Above all let God have mercy on all
the South African brothers and sisters who believe that killing us
will solve the problems of this country.
- Stanley Ndlovu
I am very much disappointed on my fellow South
Africans. Where is the Ubuntu as Africans? We are in Africa and we
are killing our fellow Africans, which is inhuman and unacceptable.
We are all Africans so let us unite and treat our brothers and
sister equally.
I am afraid as they say they want to kill all
Shangaan, after that they will get to the other tribes and the
minority will suffer. Shangaan are people from Limpopo which is part
of South Africa, so why kill them as they are South African?
I hope the government will do
something.
- Eric Nnditshedzeni
What is happening here is not right. We must just
think about our people (fellow brothers and sisters) who are abroad,
if something like this can happen to them.
And I think our president has turned a blank eye about
this.
The energy that people are putting into this, they
should be using to find jobs.
- Khanyisa MAVIKANI
I think there is a group of people behind this, and
those are the ones who don?t want to see South Africa progress.
What we must look @ is that people are desperate to
succeed as this country is growing, (but some of them are) hopeless,
so they blame people who also need to survive. This thing makes me
sad.
- Nathi Mashinini
This is really sad.
These are people like us, regardless how dark they are
or where they come from.
But my question is where is our protection force
(police) when these thing are happening?
Right now there is chaos in the streets of Jozi, at
this very moment. This is ridiculous!!!!!
- Mpho Mokoka
Right now I feel ashamed of being Proudly South
African.
I feel so much pain when I see the effect of apartheid
colonization manifesting in our country. Apartheid: divide and rule.
Democracy: divide and kill.
This is very un-African, it?s something every normal
South African should be ashamed of.
We should begin to teach the history of the SA
struggle. Those mindless people should know that our democracy came
though Africa....
Please let?s teach our fellow South Africans.
- Ally Mathye
South Africans are lucky that we, by a miracle,
managed to avoid a civil war. We were almost there and with our
current political situation, we could still end up
there.
It?s amazing how quickly we have forgotten our past.
We were assisted by our brothers and sisters from foreign lands and
they supported the end of Apartheid.
Think back to the genocide in Rwanda, the wars in DRC
Congo and all over Africa. Imagine that was you or your loved ones
suffering. Wars start quickly and South Africa is not immune, we
could find ourselves in the same suffering.
These people have battled all kinds of odds to come
here with a dream for a better life which is shared by all human
beings, they eke out whatever living they can and they take whatever
job they can get. We lazy South Africans then accuse them of taking
jobs and whatever else.
While this happens our incompetent, lazy government
does nothing, they are protected by their bodyguards and high walls
while, we, the people, will have to face whatever we find on our
ways home through the city. There was apparently no crisis in
Zimbabwe, then why are all the Zimbabweans here? Home Affairs
doesn?t give skilled foreigners the right papers so they have to
take whatever job they can get, maybe that job could have been for a
South African.
It?s sad, though, that we have become animals.
Human beings are made in God?s image, and there is no
hate in that image.
People: stand up against evil.
- Zain Dhoodat
I?m lost for words. I don?t understand why people are
heartless. How do you look a person in the eye, hear their screams
and still continue to inflict pain on them?
That is just barbaric and not the way of life. How do
these people sleep at night knowing that you have taken someone?s
life?
It is like they have just turned into predators
hunting down animals.
Come on people, this is not fair. They need our help,
not to be killed.
- Masilo.
This is really an outcry - our government should do
something, and not tomorrow, but now.
The whole world is watching, What about 2010 and our
sisters and brothers living on the other side of the world?
- Zweli Zulu
Why kill our own?
I am very much saddened, disappointed and very angry
with what is happening in South Africa now, xenophobic attacks on
our own brothers and sisters.
Those who blame the government for these attacks are
just making this matter worse.
We all ask ourselves where is this hatred coming from?
This is clearly a criminal mind, because those of us
that know the history of our continent, regard our fellow Africans
as our brothers.
Parents and teachers must play a vital rule in
teaching the youth and children about brotherhood.
Police must arrest those criminals and put them behind
bars.
We are one blood, one skin and one nation. Right now I
am just disappointed at being South African. Nkwame Nkrumah, Bob
Marley, Samora Machel, Oliver Tambo and all that preached and hoped
for a United AFRIKA, should be in Shame now. Africa Unite for the
sake of our future, unite for the sake of our children. SAY NO TO
XENOPHOBIA, SAY YES TO AFRIKA.
- Mpho Mulaudzi
South Africans (the thugs) say that they are coming to
get their jobs and are increasing the crime statistics of South
Africa??.. Correct me if am wrong?.. Why then are they looting and
taking the hard-earned stuff of immigrants??? To me they are just
lazy bastards that want things for free and not willing to work hard
for it. They want a job to be given to them on their laps?..why
can?t they go and get the jobs themselves? they can start by getting
a qualification and then improving themselves maybe if they did
immigrants would not stand a chance to be the preferred candidate
when applying for jobs!!
How many years have passed since 1994? It?s not about
apartheid anymore??. They have had enough time to transform
themselves since then but they sit back and expect manna from
heaven?. Life doesn?t happen like that you strive to achieve.
Nothing is for mahara these days, you have to support yourself
academically as well to get anywhere in life.
South Africans went into exile the times of apartheid
and it?s these people?s countries that supported them and looked
after their people in the time of struggle? now they are too good
for their own shoes!!!!
I lived in SA for a good 7 years, went to high school
there and I left because of people with mentalities like those that
think if one is an immigrant? they are all in the same boat ?they
are all makhwerekwere!!
That attitude has to stop, South Africans?..
Racheal Phiri
It?s amazing how a fellow African attacks another
fellow African.
We need to urge our people to go and get some
education.
Let?s urge our people not to rely on government to
make a living.
Parents have to play a role too. Our people need to
know that attacking foreigners wont solve their problems but rather
get them in jail.
Why can?t we just live together and get along.
I was in Musina this weekend and I must say I was
impressed with the way people tolerate each other there, taking into
consideration Musina is the reception and entry point for most
foreigners from Zimbabwe, Malawi and other northern African
countries.
- Prince Mulaudzi
We would all like to travel abroad at some point, even
for a vacation with family, (yet we) can?t even treat people (right)
in our own country. This is sad and revolting to us as South
Africans.
- Nkateko Masingi
I don?t think it?s xenophobia anymore. Now it?s
criminals attacking all nationalities and hiding their criminal act
behind the xenophobia issue.
This has opened doors to all criminals around the
country; this so-called Xenophobia has spread to Soweto area. People
are being mugged in broad day-light, people are being killed for no
reason, people are being attacked inside their homes...
The next thing we know It will be South African
nationalities attacking each other for no reason.
It?s about time we put an end to these criminals acts.
- Nomhle Mdluli
I think it?s very wrong, this thing that is happening. If they
didn?t want to stay with those people, they could have warned them
to say ?we are giving you up to this day you must be gone?. Now they
just attack and kill. It?s very sad. I didn?t think South Africa
will end up like this.
- Mapitsi Diniso
I am very sad and disappointed to see the Africans
killing and hating each other like this. It makes me lose hope in
the African Renaissance.
I hope our government is doing something about this.
It is really bad to treat our brothers and sisters like this.
- Michael Muthadi, Diepsloot
I think it?s just a bunch of criminals giving the
whole country and its good citizens a bad image because they know
our justice is not tough enough and they will get away with this.
I know our government is looking into this and trying
to see what triggered these attacks.
I think they must provide proper shelter to those
people staying in police stations and come up with a proper system
from the border gates ASAP.
I really feel sorry for all of them, especially young
kids.
Kgaogelo Masilo - Sunninghill
Where are the community leaders in these places? Where
were they when these attacks were planned? I suppose even now they
are nowhere to be found, whereas their constituencies are in
turmoil.
This situation was perpetuated by lack of progressive
leadership in these places.
The so-called councillors did not pay attention to the
needs of the people. They shifted the blame to foreigners for a lack
of service delivery. If these foreigners were jumping queues on the
housing lists, who was helping them?
This not to say our fellow Africans are saints but
South Africa?s social ills are not to be blamed entirely on them.
Most of them are poor, just like the majority of us. Many of them
are hard working, honest people, we should embrace them and learn
from them.
And please fellow South Africans, we must not
celebrate when our fellow Africans are being victimised by criminal
elements in our country.
These elements are moving to the next level, that one
of tribalism. Soon South Africans are going to turn against each
other, Xhosas will be told to go the Cape, Zulus to KZN, Pedis to
Limpopo etc.
We want progressive leaders to talk to people on the
ground to try and change their attitudes.
- Asanda Mdala
I just want to let my brothers and sisters know how
much this is hurting and how horrible this is. I am very ashamed of
my fellow black brothers. It hurts just to think how inhuman our
chocolate coloured people are. It sends chills down my spine!
We have children my GOD why do we have to subject them
to this?
African Brothers and Sisters you are hurting me
deeply, I am feeling the worst pain than the brother from another
mother you necklace, all because I am still alive and burning
inside, where I cannot reach out and cool down.
The fire of pain and helplessness inside my heart is
so unbearable to bear thinking that someone out there is homeless
today yet I have a shelter, only because I am still lucky and
tomorrow it might be me.
When is this going to stop?
When is my heartache going to stop?
Will I be able to remove the memory of the burning
human being from my conscience?
Tell me my South African Brother! Tell me my South
African Momma?
Tell me my South African Papa
How do I explain this to the next generation?
How do I explain this to my children?
I feel like I have failed my country just because I am
black and ashamed!
We have failed! We have failed!
- BERTHA SEREKWENG
I?m just so deeply disturbed by this barbaric
behaviour, which has been displayed by my fellow South Africans. To
see people being treated this way is totally unacceptable. My best
friend is from Zimbabwe and I love her dearly - she is human just
like anyone of us. They are also hurting. It?s not like they have no
feelings..... So please stop these senseless attacks and brutal
killings.
- Ayanda Dyasi
South Africans continue to find themselves in a war
with their black brothers and sisters from neighbouring countries.
The current state of affairs in most of our townships
regarding the war between locals and foreigners takes us back to the
black-on-black war which saw many of our people losing their lives.
During those days, we had no idea why there was such a war and this
is also no exception as we are fighting each other in the name of
where one is from.
It saddens many of us to bear witness to the way in
which foreigners are treated in the midst of all the crisis in
Zimbabwe (even though Thabo Mbeki seems certain that there is no
crisis in that country) and how government seems to be stuck not
knowing what to do.
While the war against foreigners is not necessary at
this stage in our country, maybe it is time for government
(especially Thabo Mbeki as Mugabe?s PA) to utilize Lindela Refugee
Centre for the benefit of foreigners because the current situation
leaves a lot to be desired.
Moeketsi Sebiloane - Ratanda
I think that South Africans are promoting racism with
this kind of behaviour. Violence has never been a solution for
anything, we know that for sure.
Zimbabweans,Malawians etc. are all human beings. I
don?t even understand the reason for attacking these people. They
are getting killed in their country.
By running to South Africa they only want to save
their life, not to take anything from us.
What happened to good South African people?
Where do we want to go? How are we going to establish
new relationships with other countries? What type of image are we
getting?
It touches my heart to see people being treated like
that. I hate what I saw/heard on the papers,tv & radio. South
Africans should stop this because we also have brothers and sisters
in other countries who are being treated with
respect.
- Lindiwe Sibeko
We are ALL AFRICANS.
Why should our fellow Africans be treated so badly and
killed so brutally by we South Africans?
This xenophobic thing has helped thugs who are busy
taking valuable properties from this innocent people.
I was shocked on Saturday when these thugs were
bullying street vendors at Tembisa station - spilling their food,
destroying their shelters.
As a Christian, we must all love each other as we are
all Africans.
May the Holy Spirit come upon us.
- Thandi Mthombothi
I don?t like what they are doing to our brothers and
sisters. This so heart-breaking. I wish something can be done about
this situation.
- Siyabonga Mtolo
As a young South African living in the United Kingdom
as an immigrant, I feel sad to have read in your newspaper about the
brutal attack on our fellow African brothers by few ignorant
illiterate South Africans. At first, it was crime that turned me off
from coming back home to South Africa and now it is this....!!!
In the United Kingdom we have many ... immigrants
coming from Poland, Bulgaria, Slovakia and the rest of Europe but
not even a single day have I heard of xenophobic attacks on them.
Why? Because the people were informed about immigration and the
reason for immigration and the benefits of immigration to the
country, which is economic development.
In South Africa this violence is caused by ignorance
and the failure by the South African government to train people
about immigration.
It is not their choice for them to immigrate to South
Africa. They were forced by their political situation in their
countries.
It?s a shame that this violence is happening to a
country which has just got its freedom, where many freedom fighters
were immigrants to the African countries. Government should
encourage these people to read the books about the history of South
Africa to see the contribution made by African countries to our
freedom.
Shaun ?Avuziwe Amandulwini? waka Dlanjwa e-London, United
Kingdom
I think the government must deport them, to save their
lives!
- Rebecca
I think the police are wasting time on keeping people
at police stations.
They must be taken back to their countries cause they
no longer feel safe in South Africa. For how long are the police
stations going to be their home of safety?
They will be afraid to go back to the township now.
They are in big shock over what their brothers and sisters have done
to them.
- Lindelwa Coka
Our SA law must be blamed for this attack as we all
know it easy to become a SA citizen, even the jobs here are easy to
get without... work permits. The Department of Home Affairs together
with the Department of Labour needs to employ people to start
(inspection visits to stop companies employing foreigners).
Ndip?s Ozithobile (this is my personal opinion, and does not
reflect the views of my employer)
According to my individual opinion... these monsters
are lazy while others are diligent. You take them to school; they
drop out coz they are too lazy to study. You give them a job that
requires physical strength, they down tools and vanish. They are
only good at vandalism, serial killing, raping, ATM bombing,
shoplifting, looting, eish the list is endless. Meanwhile I also
suspect poor governance of our country by leaders and others within
the sphere of the government (like) in the Dept of Home Affairs...
Nevertheless, the hard core issue is to ensure that
all of us South Africans should ensure that we distance ourselves
from xenophobic onslaught.
If today we beat up and kill the foreigners, then
tomorrow it is gonna be a Zulu versus Xhosa, Tsonga versus Mopedi,
Venda versus uMswati to name just a few.
From Dr. Dre T Makhubela (shortened)
This is what I think we need to be aware of:
We need to be aware of what we are saying because by
our mouths we can also make a very big contribution on the current
situation.
The present talking is ?this thing is going to spread?
why as a child of God you say such thing? We need to say positive
words and plead to God for his intervention. If we say is going to
spread as others say, to whose brother, sister, Mother, Father is
spreading too?
Let?s love one another
Let?s protect our county?s
image
Let?s be kind to each other
Lastly,
Let?s all pray
for peace and I know the Lord will give it to us.
- Niko Sithole
I don?t think this is the right way, because this is
affecting even fellow South Africans.
I appeal to those who really have powers to put a
command in this matter to stop with immediate effect.
Apart from that, we are too lazy to work for ourselves
but we need to shine and claim that the foreigners took our jobs.
This is not about the foreigners; this is affecting
the dignity of our country as well.
- John Lolo Maswanganye,Tembisa
I think what South Africans do to those people from
outside the country is not right.
I think if they don?t want them to stay here, they
must make a plan to tell them to go back were they belong. not to
kill them the way they do. It is very painful to see a man crying
like a baby.
- Jane Makoro
I think this is being stupid, fighting against our own
brothers and sisters. Apartheid is over now. It?s black against
black crime legendary. It is about the language? Our origin? At
first it was about xenophobia but now thieves got a way of doing
crime.
- Sipho Masuku from Alexandra
My?heart bleeds to see what is happening in our
country. I?m even ashamed to be an African, right now. We?ve got so
much self-hate and an inferiority complex.
Why do you have to hate your fellow brother just
because he comes from the other side of the fence which was erected
by Germans, Dutch, etc. who came to colonise our continent? Other
races are probably laughing at us right now, I?ve never seen a white
South African hating another white from France, Italy, etc. I?ve
never seen an Indian hating another Indian from India or Pakistan.
To Thapelo Mana who thinks more than 70% of South
Africans hate foreigners, don?t assume everybody (thinks the same as
you)... How many SA citizens are in UK right now, how would you feel
if they had to be killed only because they are from
SA?
I?m a South African who was born in Zambia because my
parents were involved in the Struggle.
I grew up in Zambia because the ANC head office was in
Zambia and people from Zambia were very warm to South Africans.
There were hundreds and hundreds of South Africans who
were accommodated in proper houses not shacks.
This is shameful.
I?m even disappointed our leaders are not doing enough
about this situation.
- Tsepiso Molotsi
I?m a very angry South African... My father helped in
building what South Africa is today. We were helping to fight within
the country whilst others were exiled and if I may quote, during 76
we were fully committed to the struggle, we were mobilised to fight
the oppressor.
Today we don?t live to celebrate, let alone enjoy, the
outcome of the struggle.
...Government was supposed to STOP these attacks when
it started in Pretoria... Why don?t they send the army to guard ....
(the vulnerable areas where attacks are happening)?
- P. Mkoronpi
I feel shame to poor people of God. Guys, we are all
African, why are we treating our bradas like that?
Please South Africans, let?s think twice . can we put
the GUNS downs. Let?s join our hands together so we can make a
difference.
- MRS Rapholo, Phomolong
I believe as South Africans we have lost a sense of
humanity (ubuntu).
It all started with people losing respect for others
for e.g. in old times your child was also my child.
There are many issues happening because of the lost
respect like rapes, the Noord taxi rank and the violence in
Alexandra, which is the worst on the list.
We are biting the hand that fed us, I mean back in our
Struggle (apartheid) we were refugees in their countries.
We are a lost nation.
The whole issue makes me angry because not only is it
immigrants but also our own South Africans. So what is the really
problem Alexandra? I believe the people doing this are not working
because where do they get the time to do all this.
This must come to an end.
- Julie Malatji
To say that I am shocked and disgusted would be an
understatement. What is going on in our country? Have our brothers
and sisters forgotten that our neigbouring countries were assisting
us during our apartheid era? Why can?t we just be human and do the
same?
How many white people are foreigners in S.A? Do we
plan on asking for their identity documents to see their
nationality?
How many South Africans are foreigners in other
countries like London, Australia, England and Canada?
How would we as South Africans feel if our brothers
and sisters were treated this way in other countries?
This is not Xenophobia but just plain Thuggery and
laziness of South Africans to work. We expect things on a silver
platter and seek attention from the government in wrong ways.
Killing, raping and robbing our foreign brothers won?t
bring the price of bread down.
- M. Maseko
We have our South African citizens that are overseas
illegally, they also regard them as foreigners but they don?t kill
them?.
It is not fair for foreigners to be treated like that,
I?m highly disappointed??not all of them are criminals?like our
brothers and sisters here, there are criminals and they don?t get
burned. Why not deport them?
So please South Africans let?s practice?????.UBUNTU
- Marjorie Makhafola
How can we turn our backs on our own brothers and
sisters? They need help from their fellow Africans, not for us to
abuse them.
How do these people sleep at night?
Why do we call our fellow Africans foreigners, they
are African just like the rest of us.
- Tebogo Mangope
I don?t think those heartless people who are busy
killing innocent people, saying they are criminals, are using their
mind. There have been criminals here in SA before those people came
in here.
- Jenifer Mathebula
It?s really sad that we have to be so cruel as a
nation.
We are only bringing a curse on our nation and God
will judge us.
If we really were fed up with foreigners, why not find
better means of chasing them rather than murdering? We are
murderers, thieves, selfish, full of hatred and it now is a shame to
call oneself Proudly South African.
The government on the other hand is taking its time in
trying to put a stop to this. The army should be out there putting
law and order in place.
May God give peace and comfort to those foreigners
who?ve lost loved ones. I wonder if they will ever forgive a South
African for the rest of their lives. We have made ourselves an enemy
to every African in this continent.
- B. Phakathi
This is so sad & very gruesome, my heart is
bleeding.
How could somebody do something like this? There is a
phrase that says "Love your neighbour like you love yourself".
People don?t have respect anymore. They?re lost
because they what are they are fighting for, they?re killing
innocent people. The people who are doing such things, they really
to be penalised.
South Africa is in Africa, where are all these fellows
suppose to go if not South Africa.
We South Africans, we like to make funny issues &
most of us we are very lazy especially when coming to work related
issues. For e.g. We South Africans can?t go out & look 4 the job
because we have this perception of saying ?Government said there?s
gonna be more jobs created so we think that government will come to
our houses & deliver jobs 4 us?, which is wrong.
Our fellows are here to make a living & they don?t
deserve to be treated like this, I must say.
We had voted for freedom & democracy -- where are
those 2 things? Why did we vote for Democracy & Freedom if we
are still fighting with each other?
- Nel from JHB
I believe the people committing this injustice are
criminals attempting to acquire assets belonging to foreigners
illegally.
The one thing that people do not realize is that for
all these people they are violating; you can take away their homes
and property but you will never take away the experience they went
through to build their lives.
So when the dust settles, these people will go back to
their country or start afresh and will become just as successful
again.
The question is: where will the person who did the
looting and killing be?
- Ishmael Dube
IWhat is happening at the moment is totally without
sense.
Our country is not ready for such barbaric acts.
Do those involved ever think about the bad reputation
our country is gaining, and my question is: ?Are those involved
ready for the after-effects??
- Noughty Maluleke
I really think this is not on. Yes they are in our
country illegally but who gave the South Africans the right to kill
anybody.
Look at these guys selling fruit, veggies, sweating
their lives away. These poor people do not choose the jobs they do -
they take anything that can put food on the table.
What I would like to say to the South Africans who do
this is: when the wheel turns, their turn will come.
- CD Sefekedi
Where is ubuntu, guys? Leave God?s children, they
deserve to be alive like you and me.
- Concerned Nthabi
I don?t think this is fair and democratic. People gave
up their lives for this country to be where it is today. Our late
politicians must be very ashamed of us. We fought very have to live
free and fair.
We ruled out apartheid against whites, so why are we
doing the same thing we fought very hard to take
away.
Let us give our fellow Africans a chance to live in
our country. They work very hard to make a living.
Believe me, innocent people will die because of some
selfish people of South Africa.
Give them a chance, they are good
people.
- Precious Mnisi
My heart has an immense vacuum.
I don?t really understand why should we fight our
brothers and sisters. They are trying to make a living here in our
country same as our brothers and sisters who are trying to make a
fortune in United Kingdom and America etc.
How would South Africans feel if their families can
get kicked out in the foreign countries?
Our politicians were well-treated in the neighbouring
and overseas countries. They could do anything they wanted to do
freely.
What infuriates me the most is that our leaders are
not doing enough to stop this violence. Instead of going out there
to speak to these angry people, they are sitting and making comments
from their offices.
Our president as a leader of this country should leave
whatever he is busy with, and attend to attackers and victims before
it?s too late. Our leaders must lead by example.
- Buns
I saw the clips Flames of Hate. The next thing, a drop of
tear fell off my face?
How on earth can I sleep at night when I have
witnessed (or those who participated) in such an act?
I call upon HIS name I ask HIM to lay HIS holy hand
above every SA citizen who has lost their conscience.
Let their conscience be re-awakened so that they can
feel the pain I feel about them.
They are human and victims of unforeseen circumstances
from their home of birth... the next thing to be killed heartlessly?
I plea to all who has power and voice to put a stop to
it with immediate effect!!!!!!!
- Mthandeni Masuku
This is very disturbing to see our fellow neighbours
dying in this fashion.
I will say the Home Affairs Department has still got a
lot to do in this issue. The control for who gets in and goes out is
not effective. Enough is not done on our borders. I think police
need to control the situation as soon as possible.
- Emmanuel Magoro, Tshwane
The freedom that our brothers and sisters fought for
in the apartheid era, we use to kill today.
The rainbow nation has now turned their backs on their
needy African neighbours. The right to life and dignity does not
only apply to SA citizens but to all human kind. By taking their
lives we imply that they do not deserve to live not only in our
country but anywhere else? But it makes it okay when we go to other
countries to empower ourselves and we are treated with the utmost
humanity.
The thing that foreigners are taking our jobs is not
true because we are too arrogant to start at low jobs, we rather
settle for stealing people?s hand bags and cell phones. Even if
foreigners are all dragged out of the country, conditions will not
change for as long as the attitudes of people do not change! South
Africans are lazy and blaming it on the foreigners.
We must start learning to use our brains because
nothing is free and hard work pays.
I am not encouraging illegals to come to our country,
but my cry is against the brutal killings as a result of Xenophobia.
- Kelebogile Khoza in Pretoria
Do the people in South Africa still want SA to host
the Soccer World Cup? Violence against foreigners is sending out a
negative message to the world.
The people whom are attacking and killing foreigners
are murderers.
I think in SA we would rather want the good foreigners
than criminal South Africans.
Instead of taking the law in your own hands, let?s
petition the government, to start a campaign to send foreigners back
to their own countries.
Using violence is not the right thing to do, as a lot
of innocent people are killed.
- Concerned South African, M. Steyn
We have had the great fortune of having someone who
took our country from chains into freedom without plunging us into a
war, these unfortunate people did not have such a leader.
I beg you as once-proud South Africans to listen to
your hearts and have a bit of compassion.
If you believe that there are some foreigners who are
causing problems, help the police in identifying them and
apprehending the and leave those hardworking ones
alone.
- James Burton (shortened)
It?s very bad that some South Africans are beating foreigners,
especially blacks. I think they forgot the days of apartheid when
they used to live in other countries peacefully even in Mozambique.
What could have triggered this?
Should we treat South Africans who live in our
countries like that too?
I don?t think an educated person does what this people
are doing.
They should be ashamed.
- Modiri Ontitile
