South Africa has been
experiencing xenophobia especially in parts of KwaZulu Natal, and lately
Johannesburg. Many people wonder why humans butcher each other as if they are
killing animals. People also wonder whether this scourge of violence has only
been experienced by South Africa. For the record, not only South Africa has
experienced this form of discrimination or dislike of foreigners, countries
like Germany once witnessed xenophobic attacks against Turkish nationals.
Xenophobia is an unreasonable fear or hatred of foreigners (strangers), or of that which is foreign or strange. This means it is fear that has been generated by several factors emanating from various sources, be it historical, culture, economic, colonial local factors. In an article titled;South Africa must confront the roots of its xenophobic violence- which appeared in the mail and guardian, one of the major reason propounded by the writer was that of colonialism. Violence in South Africa can be traced to the days of colonialism, the way colonialists treatedSouth Africans has resulted in a culture of violence. The way ethnic groups were treated in South Africa -- during the period of apartheid -- has resulted in deep seated antagonism against foreign nationals. South Africans have a feeling that whilst attacking a foreign national, the Police’s heavy handedness will not descend on them.
High unemployment rate among local youths is one of the contributing factors. The unemployment rate is over 40% among blacks, and this is compounded by labour legislation which is inappropriate for unskilled locals. Some of the foreign nationals do not have requisite papers to stay in South Africa. As a result, they are viewed by manySouth African employers as a source of cheap labour. Illegal immigrants, if ill-treated by employers in South Africa, will not report the ill-treatment to relevant authorities because of the fear of arrest or deportation. And because of lack of papers, these foreign nationals are unable to join trade unions.Hence, the concept of we are what we are because of those around us does not apply to foreign nationals because they are fragmented. Again, because of some foreign nationals’ desperate situations, they accept low wagessince half a loaf is better than nothing. It is because of these reasons that employers prefer foreigners tolocals, and this has resulted in deep seated antagonism between locals and foreign nationals. It has led to what is being witnessed today in South Africa as Black immigrants are being mainly targeted for attack.
The South African economy is white dominated. This means the Whites dominate large businesses, and the Blacks – because of new entrants in the economy -- are mainly concentrated in small businesses. In those small businesses, they still compete with better resourceful African and Asian immigrants. The Somalians operate businesses as a group, and they are successful because of their entrepreneurial skills and the unity they have when in foreign lands. Somalians also help each other establish businesses, which will result in them dominating small businesses. This has resulted in resentment against the foreigners, and the locals believe that the foreigners are benefiting from local resources more. Remember; we are not referring to industries here, but small grocery shops which might create employment for one person who happens to be the owner. But this generally angers the locals.
One of the causes of xenophobia is the wealth distribution which is skewed in favour of a few. Most Blacks are wallowing in poverty while a few whites and some top black elites are benefitting from the economy. So Blacks feel they have been shortchanged by policy makers, and they retaliate by killing foreign nationals as they view them as part of the problem also.
