On State of Nigeria today we look the stablisation of the Xenophobia tide in South Africa, Nigeria’s Government’s ignorance on this surge and who is to blame really!
Xenophobia is intense or irrational dislike or fear of people from other countries – Wikipedia. Here are some facts about Xenophobia in South Africa;
- At least 67 people died in what was identified as xenophobic attacks between 2000 and 2008.
- Five people were killed and hundreds were forced to flee their homes during one of South Africa’s worst xenophobic attacks in 2015. Among those five people who were killed, was a 14-year-old boy who was shot during the looting.
- President Jacob Zuma is allegedly reluctant to take action against perpetrators.
- Foreign nationals have resorted to sleeping at police stations around the country, out of fear of being killed.
Now, in contrast to the meaning or more like supressing the urge is Ubuntu, a southern African ethical concept that suggests that humanity is interdependent. It’s rooted in a sense of community, ‘ubuntu’ means that we are people through other people.
I love the way Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu used it to substantiate rainbowism. While South Africans claim the concept of ubuntu, some also display disturbingly xenophobic undercurrents, which emerged in 2008. And they keep resurfacing. Over the last couple of weeks we have heard and seen in the news a resurgence in xenophobia in areas like Pretoria West, Atteridgeville and Rosettenville. There was even a whole entire march against immigrants that took place in Pretoria on 24 February… can you believe that?!
VICTIMS
Added to that is the idea of this whole scapegoatism AKA xenophobia, these angry fellas look for vulnerable people to blame who cannot fight back. If you blame government, government is going to fight back. In terms of level playing fields, there’s no level playing fields because one can use its power or control over the media to squash you so your narrative gets lost. Generally we could say: if you want to attack people, ait would be like in the west were ‘racism thrives, so the white people may be the first target common-sensically’,given the history of apartheid.
It’s because the wealth is concentrated in the hands of 1% of people – most of them, white people. But you can’t [blame white people] because white people will crush you. They have money, they have power. So who is vulnerable? It’s the
foreigners – some of them are living on a slippery slope. They don’t have papers – they are illegitimate – so they can’t fight you. The idea of scapegoatism plays a role of catharsis because it’s like frustration that is acted out – when you burn some businesses or punch some people in the face it kind of gives you some satisfaction that the foreigners condition is terrible but you’ve meted out your stupid version of justice to those people who are responsible, even if they are the wrong target.
POLITRICKS
- Even if you say they’ve taken your jobs, women and so on, how are they to blame for being attractive, schooled or what? Anyways, both governments need to take the lead in tackling xenophobia and it needs to be probed. It may be out of line, because last week I saw on TV an official stating they’ll need to send back illegal immigrants and un-registered businesses will be crushed… are you really funny? How is that the solution and why are some thinking only of how to calm these xenophobists instead of clamping down on both illegals and attackers.
- The Nigerian Government is taking an eternity to do something even speak about it.. smh
- Jacob Zuma doesnt look at all interested talk alone doing something.
- Johannesburg Mayor Herman Mashaba has been quoted as saying that illegal immigrants are holding our country to ransom and that he is going to be the last South African to allow it. Not only that, the mayor then went on a tirade which gave me flashbacks of apartheid in Hillbrow, requesting that people produce their IDs in order to prove that they were in the country legally.
- We also can’t have SA ‘leaders’ like Zwelithini and Mashaba fuelling the fires of the views many South Africans hold to begin with.
Although the mayor’s actions and statements have been as irresponsible as the views held by the Zulu king, is it not time for us as South Africans to introspect? The ANC national government has not provided an example of how to treat foreign nationals, People of influence who say things that are xenophobic are let off the hook?! Who does that?
Very few of the people who call themselves leaders in Africa can escape blame here. And if any of them think that they can blame someone else, it’s time they took a look in the mirror.
Is it not time to ask ourselves if this may be an issue of self hatred?
How often will this reccur or is it here to stay? Is this envy or hate?
Yes, the blame game won’t solve the issue, but who holds more blame here?
SHE 