Matthew Wate
As the curtain came down on Africa’s first FIFA World Cup and thousands of Spanish revellers filled South Africa’s streets with celebrations and song, trouble was brewing in some of the countries poorer regions. Reports are emerging that foreign nationals living in townships such as Khayelitsha were being targeted by local residents who attacked their property and demanded they leave, threatening them with death if they stay. The South African government, however, is playing down the threat of xenophobia and Police Minister Nathi Mthethwa has claimed that those who are creating the fuss over the xenophobic attacks are trying to distract observers from the successful hosting of the World Cup. In a statement made at a xenophobia summit in Khayelitsha, Minister Mthethwa stated “We condemn and caution against this alarmist phobia by those who fuel these rumours”. It seems apparent that the Ministry of Police is not concerned that the recent violence is linked to a wider xenophobic action, similar to what broke out in 2008. South Africa’s continued position as an economic powerhouse in Africa and the absence of a clear immigration policy are now coming to a head and it is becoming clear that important action needs to be taken soon in order to address the causes of the violence towards foreigners living in some of South Africa’s poorer communities.
Dr Sylvester Bongani Maphosa, Head of the Peace and Security Unit at the Africa Institute of South Africa, believes that the violence is not a purely xenophobic reaction but an expression of discontent with service delivery that is being veiled as an anti-foreigner movement by self-serving elements within the communities themselves. Drawing from experience on the trajectories of Africa’s civil wars and in particular from Burundi’s reconciliation and peace-building work, Dr Maphosa highlights the emerging role of resource predation in flaring and/or re-igniting conflict, “in Burundi we evaluated the role of civil society in peace-building and one of the salient findings was the role of resource predation as important factor in prolonging violence in some communities”. Similarly, Dr Maphosa points out a link can be drawn between the service delivery protests occurring in South Africa and the reverting to xenophobic tendencies. “The xenophobic attacks occur in communities where jobs, education and housing are scarce, thus it is possible that traditional forms of service delivery protests are not having the desired results, leading to foreigners becoming scapegoats for communities’ dissatisfaction.” One way that this link is highlighted is that during the xenophobic attacks, community leadership are often also targeted.
The messages from government indicate that this link is not yet acknowledged, which will perpetuate the poor delivery in certain areas. Dr Maphosa believes that the government must fundamentally shift its mindset in order to effectively tackle the growing xenophobic tendencies; “the government at one time or another has dragged its feet [in dealing with this crisis] as it does not want to be associated with failure, however it is important that the government acknowledges its limitations in service delivery and accept responsibility for the communities’ dissatisfactions”. If the government were to take responsibility for the shortage of housing and undertake to place increased emphasis and accountability on structures that are supposed to be creating opportunities, there is a possibility that those placing blame on foreign elements within the community would lose face and support. Dr Maphosa further argues that a constructive partnership between government and these communities will be vital in developing a lasting stability, “an active citizenship, involved in the affairs of its community, able to engage with accountable and transparent structures, will be able to identify problems and propose solutions in an environment where it feels heard by government, thus reducing the general dissatisfaction and the chance of violent flare ups in the future” he states.
South Africa’s relative strength economically has made it a desirable location for immigrants from around Africa. This has led to a very high rate of immigration into South Africa’s poorer regions where competition for jobs and resources is already high. Despite South Africa’s economic growth levels of domestic inequality remain high and a large majority of the population rely on irregular unskilled work as a means of earning an income. Similarly, a large proportion of the immigrant community is unskilled and is thus thrust into the same desperate struggle for work. It is also imperative that the South African government takes the firmest possible stance against those who resort to violence and intimidation, whether they have legitimate grievances or not, the rule of law should never be undermined. South Africa’s constitutional democracy stands as an example to the world and the actions of a few should not be allowed to belittle the achievements of the country since its emergence from the apartheid system in 1994.
Dr Maphosa points out that the current fears around the possibility of violence are not exaggerated but is quick to underscore that the conflicts should not be viewed purely as xenophobia and that a solution to the crisis will be found by viewing the concerns of the communities concerned holistically.
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