Taking home lessons from South African xenophobic violence

The xenophobic violence of South Africa could spread beyond its borders.

A man demolished a shack Monday in Ramaphosa, a settlement near Johannesburg where six immigrants have been killed. Joao Silva for The NYT

There is so much resentment towards people coming from the Indian heritage in Kathmandu that it could lead to such a mayhem any day. Kathmandu is like fragile motley. Everything required for an outbreak of a similar havoc is already in place. If you think this prediction is being cynical, then take the Feb 1, 2004 attack on Muslims as the evidence. Everything looked perfectly well for hundreds of years but a single incident exposed the farce and shattered the myth of our glorious religious tolerance. It is an open-secret that there is resentment among Newars, the original inhabitants of the valley, towards the Hilly people particularly Bhahuns- its origin can be traced back to the conquest of the valley by a Hilly king. “Father can’t be your enemy and Newar can never be your friend,” is an old adage ‘popular’ among the outsiders in the valley. Indians are doing so well and opening up successful enterprises in the country that many simply think they have deprived them of their fortune.

So what these poor, unskilled South Africans say comes as not a surprise but a confirmation:

“We want all these foreigners to go back to their own lands,” said Thapelo Mgoqi, who considers himself a leader in Ramaphosa. “We waited for our government to do something about these people. But they did nothing and so now we are doing it ourselves, and we will not be stopped.”

A familiar litany of complaints against foreigners are passionately, if not always rationally, argued: They commit crimes. They undercut wages. They hold jobs that others deserve.

George Booysen said that as a born-again Christian he did not believe in killing. Still, something had to be done about these unwanted immigrants.

They are bad people, he said: “A South African may take your cellphone, but he won’t kill you. A foreigner will take your phone and kill you.”

Beyond that, he said, immigrants were too easy to exploit.

“White people hire the foreigners because they work hard and they do it for less money,” Mr. Booysen said. “A South African demands his rights and will go on strike. Foreigners are afraid.”

- The NYT

A burnt and injured man lies in front of a shack during clashes east of Johannesburg, South Africa. Siphiwe Sibeko/Reuters

Many of the foreigners are not surprised at what has been unleashed against them. Hostility to Africans from other parts of the continent has long been rife in South Africa but has escalated with the arrival of the Zimbabweans who are popular with local employers because many are well educated, speak good English and are seen as working harder than South Africans.

Seven people were murdered in March, including a Somali, Zimbabweans and Pakistanis, in attacks near Pretoria. In January, two Somali shop owners were killed in the Eastern Cape.

"They always hated us," said Muzenda. "We thought this might happen."

- The Guardian

Raj Thackeray’s Maharastra Navnirman Sena (MNS) has threatened to use force to expel outsiders from the state if the situation doesn’t improve for the locals.

After attacking North Indians and targeting the superstar Amitabh Bachchan (who is from Uttar Pradesh), the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) has now picked private firms in the western state as their next prey. MNS asked six private firms to reserve 80% of the posts for only local candidates or ‘bhoomiputras’ – those who had been living in the state for the past 15 years.

The verbal attacks and increasing resentment towards the Hindi-speaking people, who have contributed much to make Mumbai what it is today, could turn into a large-scale violence if the government fails to address the genuine demands of the local populace. Similarly, what role the media choose to play is also equally important to create a favourable environment and promote social harmony in the region.

Let’s hope the Maoists don’t use anti-Madhesi sentiment rife in the hills and valleys to become the sovereign authority in Nepal. Let’s hope the MNS gets its genuine demands fulfilled through fair politics and goodwill than fueling violence or hatred. Let’s hope the increasing anti-Indian sentiment in Europe and America will come to an end.

With a rapid globalization process, the signs of confrontations of this nature and increasing anti-immigrant sentiment were inevitable. The greatest challenge across the world today is not only managing globalisation but also diminishing differences among the people coming from different socio-cultural heritage. Instead of trying to lure foreign investment and manpower or dreaming of expanding borders to the moon and stars and occupations of foreign countries, the governments should try their best to ensure the well-being of their citizens at home.

At the same time, let’s not forget that only a few leave their home to satisfy the wild fantasy of an adventure, most of them have no choice because of the inadequacy of their governments at home. The South African government has failed to provide security to the immigrants who have played determining role to boost its economy. The South African government must save the immigrants and compensate them for the damages. It would be no surprise if those behind the massacre get out of the tragedy unpunished and with a renewed enthusiasm to wreck devilish plans to spill even more blood lest the government upholds laws and punish those found guilty. Given the current situation in the country, it is very unlikely that justice will prevail. What is necessary is will, but it is what seems lacking.

Read-

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A brief MNS listing