Anti-immigrant violence in South Africa

[Marcus Marulus]

Anti-immigrant violence in South Africa

Monday, 19 May 2008

Crowds of foreigners have sought refuge at community centres and police stations in Johannesburg amid new attacks of xenophobic violence.
It comes as the death toll from a wave of attacks rose to 15.

Mobs roaming through townships around Johannesburg have killed and beaten up foreigners over the past week, setting them alight and forcing them to flee from their burning shacks.

The violence erupted in Alexandra township last week when two people were killed in an attack and has spread across Johannesburg with another 13 killed over the weekend.

About 250 people have been arrested.

The violence has displaced thousands of foreigners, who are accused by many South Africans of depriving locals of jobs and committing crime.
Local radio reported crowds of people at community centres and police stations who were seeking protection.

Last night an immigrant died after being covered with his own blankets and set alight. The image of the human fireball was captured on the front-page of several South African papers today.

In the same park where the man was set on fire, violence again erupted this morning, with residents forced to flee as their homes were set alight.
Police patrolled the township as large gangs stood around pelting them with stones and barricading roads.

Immigrants clutching belongings sat alongside the road or sought refuge at a local police station.

President Thabo Mbeki and leader of the ruling African National Congress Jacob Zuma have both strongly condemned the attacks.

[source]

[Llywarch Hen]

Does anyone have any idea of the scale of the immigrant labour problem? Are there underlying ethnic dissimilarities or old feuds behind it all?

I bet they're at the stage we were in the Seventies, in terms of the scale of the immigration, and yet it's interesting to see how they act, um, so much more directly and straightforwardly... And they're probably all Bantu, anyway!

[Marcus Marulus]

Originally Posted by Llywarch Hen

Does anyone have any idea of the scale of the immigrant labour problem? Are there underlying ethnic dissimilarities or old feuds behind it all?

From what I could read in the last days, it is black on black riots going on, with South Africans raging against immigrants from other African countries, mostly Zimbabwe. If any phobia can be applied to describe this case, then it is xenophobia in the original meaning of that word. Hardly anything ethnical, it appears, but social. If the media reports are true...

Originally Posted by Llywarch Hen

And they're probably all Bantu, anyway!

It's just a linguistic group.

[Menydh]

The South African newspaper The Times has an excellent coverage of the riots, including all latest news, videos, pictures and other media coverage.

Read it all here: Flames of Hate and Special Report on Xenophobia

[bombadillo]

Originally Posted by Llywarch Hen

Does anyone have any idea of the scale of the immigrant labour problem? Are there underlying ethnic dissimilarities or old feuds behind it all?

The immigrants -- all of whom are black themselves -- serve as a convenient target or lightning rod for pent-up frustrations. Unemployment is at 40% and public services are worse than they were in the days of apartheid. The post-apartheid regime is cosily in bed with global capitalism and as I understand it, hitherto public utilities have been auctioned off to private interests. Job creation has been zilch (and the South African population is a rapidly increasing one). Corruption is rampant from top to bottom. Crime is uncontrollable. Disparities between rich and poor have widened. In short, all the vices and faults of global neoliberal capitalsim, exacerbated by a crooked black government.