The Rise of xenophobic in SA

[kepper]

Johannesburg - The rising tide of xenophobic violence in the Gauteng province was a direct response to policy failures by President Thabo Mbeki's government, the SA Institute of Race Relations (SAIRR) said on Tuesday.
In a scathing indictment on Mbeki's last 10 years of rule, the institute listed crime, inadequate border control, unemployment, education and corruption as some of the key areas where government had failed.
"... poor and ineffective governance had created a tinder box of unmet expectations which exploded in Alexandra and has now spread to several other areas.
"Essentially these failures contributed to create a perfect storm of lawlessness, poverty, and unfulfilled expectations which has now erupted into violence," the SAIRR said in a statement.
It said government's failure to bring the high levels of violent crime under control contributed to an environment where people resorted "to violence without fear of arrest or successful prosecution".
"In failing to maintain the rule of law the state had conditioned many poor communities to violent behaviour," it said.
Warnings 'ignored'
Incompetence in the safety and security ministry and corruption in the police as well as affirmative action had diminished the capacity of the police to ensure a safe environment in the country.
"Warnings to this effect from a variety of sources had been largely ignored or treated with arrogance and contempt from the office of the minister of safety and security downwards.
"That not a single minister or deputy minister responsible for law and order, justice, or prisons was dismissed over close on 10 years of Thabo Mbeki's presidency suggests that the government was either unable to identify the risks presented by lawlessness or had resigned itself to the consequences."
The collapse of border control mechanisms caused millions to enter the country illegally, and poor policy decisions contributed to the large illegal population in the country.
"Without adequate legal standing in the community these people became easy or soft targets for mob violence. The police's own heavy-handed raids on illegal immigrants further created the impression that they were fair game in South Africa."
Unemployment was also a direct contributing cause of the violence, the SAIRR said.
Education was cited as "government's biggest failure" and was also to blame for the high unemployment rates.
'Inappropriate and incompetent'
"Only one percent of black matriculants achieve a good HG (higher grade) maths pass. The output of the school education system was therefore far from adequate to free households from state dependency or to acquire the skills necessary to find employment in a heavily regulated labour market.
"The education system is a good example where policy failures in one area compounded those in another. In this case poor education compounded the inappropriate labour market policy which in turn compounded the unemployment problem." The institute further described government's policy on Zimbabwe as "wholly inappropriate and incompetent". function pop(url) { window.open(url); }var u = window.location.href; x=window;e=x.encodeURIComponent;var windowTitle = e(escape(document.title));function checkIt(){ }function checkit(){ var oldText = document.title; var newText = oldText.replace(/'/g,"'") return newText;}#shareArticle {width:100%; font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:10px;}.sa_cont { float:left; width:100%; margin-right:15px; border-bottom:1px solid #ccc; border-top:1px solid #ccc; margin-bottom:5px; padding:5px 0px 5px 0px;}.sa_contb { float:left; width:100%; margin-right:20px; }.sa_cont_img { float:left; padding-right:5px; padding-top:5px; padding-bottom:5px; margin-right:10px;}.sa_cont_img a{color:#000; text-decoration:none;}.sa_cont_img a:hover{color:#000; text-decoration:underline;}.sa_cont_imgp {padding-right:5px;}.sa_cont_imgr { float:left; padding-right:5px; padding-top:5px; padding-bottom:5px; margin-right:20px;}.sa_cont_imgr a{color:#cc0000; text-decoration:none; font-weight:bold;}.sa_cont_imgr a:hover{color:#cc0000; text-decoration:underline; font-weight:bold;}


Johannesburg - "Specialised units" would be deployed to areas where there had been xenophobic violence, said Safety and Security Minister Charles Nqakula on Tuesday.
He was speaking on a visit to Primrose - one of the areas affected by the violence.
" We are going hard on the situation," said Nqakula.
He said the number of police would be increased and there would be visible police patrols in areas hit by xenophobic attacks.
He told displaced foreign nationals - who had gathered at Primrose police station - that no one had the right to harass them.
The attacks against foreigners, which started last week, have left a trail of destruction, which has so far has claimed 22 lives and left up to 10 000 people seeking refuge in shelters.
Local government MEC for Gauteng Qedani Mahlangu said a provincial disaster management centre had been established to help foreign nationals with arrangements to relocate - if they wanted to do so - and to provide them with food.
Nqakula said displaced foreign nationals would be relocated to habitable places - they would not have to stay in the open space near the Primrose police station.
Home Affairs Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula said the department would not deport any of the foreign nationals, whether documented or not.
"South Africa belongs to all who live in it; foreigners have helped to develop the economy of the country - we cannot be seen as attacking people," she said.
About 1 500 women and children had been accommodated at the Primrose Methodist Church. Men have been staying in the open space near the police station.
Martin Barnard, founder of Chubby Chums which runs a feeding scheme, said he expected the number of displaced foreign nationals to increase.
"We need blankets for women and children," he said.
Fadiga Machava from Mozambique said he had been sleeping on the bare floor of the police station since Saturday.
He was attacked in Makause informal settlement and went to the police station for protection. Nqakula told journalists that police had done their best under the circumstances by opening police stations to provide shelter for the displaced. function pop(url) { window.open(url); }var u = window.location.href; x=window;e=x.encodeURIComponent;var windowTitle = e(escape(document.title));function checkIt(){ }function checkit(){ var oldText = document.title; var newText = oldText.replace(/'/g,"'") return newText;}#shareArticle {width:100%; font-family:Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:10px;}.sa_cont { float:left; width:100%; margin-right:15px; border-bottom:1px solid #ccc; border-top:1px solid #ccc; margin-bottom:5px; padding:5px 0px 5px 0px;}.sa_contb { float:left; width:100%; margin-right:20px; }.sa_cont_img { float:left; padding-right:5px; padding-top:5px; padding-bottom:5px; margin-right:10px;}.sa_cont_img a{color:#000; text-decoration:none;}.sa_cont_img a:hover{color:#000; text-decoration:underline;}.sa_cont_imgp {padding-right:5px;}.sa_cont_imgr { float:left; padding-right:5px; padding-top:5px; padding-bottom:5px; margin-right:20px;}.sa_cont_imgr a{color:#cc0000; text-decoration:none; font-weight:bold;}.sa_cont_imgr a:hover{color:#cc0000; text-decoration:underline; font-weight:bold;}

[VALIS]

I think this is further evidence that refutes the fallacy that a few far leftists believe; that racism stems from the slave trade and can only be committed by white people.

[VedranM]

I think this is further evidence that refutes the fallacy that a few far leftists believe; that racism stems from the slave trade and can only be committed by white people.

You are right, racism is not something that stems from anything, when it happenes, it happens, for all sorts of stupid reasons, mob mentality, social instability, beeing drunk, beein brought up that way...

Mah, as for the OP, sad, you flee from one hell hole, think your safe, and then a mob burns you alive

[Erik]

If my country boarded Mugabe's Zimbabwe, I would become xenophobic too.

[pajomife]

Is not racism?Is xenophobic violence?
I think racism was a white problem not a Zulu one,or Shosa.
Zulus against Bantu's is what?

[Erik]

Is not racism?Is xenophobic violence?
I think racism was a white problem not a Zulu one,or Shosa.
Zulus against Bantu's is what?

Aren't Zulu's a different race from Bantu's?

[Каие]

What the black south Africans are doing is nothing short of an absolute travesty and shame. Africans....

[Erik]

What the black south Africans are doing is nothing short of an absolute travesty and shame. Africans....

You honestly believe Europeans would have acted any better if their countries got flooded with dirt poor refugees?

[Ludicus]

Zulus, largest ethnic South Africa group, have embraced Zuma trade mark song as their unofficial hymn: " Bring me my machine gun"
"If you erase the songs , you erase the record of history", said Zuma, in a speech to his supporters wearing T-shirts with the words " 100% Zulu boy"

Five months ago, from the the Telegraph: "South Africa fears the worst from Jacob Zuma"
Coincidence?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/m.../20/do2002.xml

[Каие]

You honestly believe Europeans would have acted any better if their countries got flooded with dirt poor refugees?

Of course they will, perhaps what i meant was Humans. The greatest monsters of them all.

But for the time being Africa's post colonial world is all based around senseless violence against each other, with any difference (White v Black, tribes v other tribes, ethnic group v ethnic group, country v country....etc.) they can find always failing to understand that we're all Africans and we all need help.

[antares24]

yep i was reading of this on the bbc: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7411357.stm disgusting...23 people killed, far more wounded and raped and 13.000 forced to flee their homes, with people flocking to refuges where the have to be protected by the police, wtf
i agree that south africa immigration policy has been a disaster, with 30% of people unemployed and a lot of poors the last thing you need is millions more of poor and unskilled immigrants but when huge mobs start to assault and kill and thousand of people are forced to flee.....
world cup 2010 in south africa with this kind of situation and their crime rate... yay great idea

quite ironic however, a nation with former aparthaid that now is openly racist versus immigrants

You honestly believe Europeans would have acted any better if their countries got flooded with dirt poor refugees?

?? Erik in Europe we have millions of poor immigrants coming from various Eu and non Eu countries, as you know.
Granted the situation it's not the same, we don't have a zimbabwe next door whose population flee in mass and we don't have 30% unemployment, but we have a fair number of "dirt poor refugees".

[Kiljan Arslan]

Its most likley caused by officals using the tried and true "blame the minority".

[Kiljan Arslan]

dose that make it right though Erik?

[The Super Pope]

The South African army has been deployed to quell the violence, in the first civil deployment of the South Africn army since Apartheid.

Erik: How many Eastern European refugees have been hacked to death in Western Europe?

[Каие]

Eastern Europeans are not dirt poor

[The Super Pope]

Eastern Europeans are not dirt poor

One word, Albania.

Besides, how many south Asians, middle-easterners, west indians or africans have been hacked to death in the last 30 years of immigration

[Каие]

One word, Albania.

Besides, how many south Asians, middle-easterners, west indians or africans have been hacked to death in the last 30 years of immigration

Yep dirt poor.
Its like im looking at Africa.


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi..._in_Tirana.jpg

[Dr. Croccer]

You honestly believe Europeans would have acted any better if their countries got flooded with dirt poor refugees?

That already happened in the sixties and seventies. No mass murder. Instead we welcomed them with open arms.

[Dr. Croccer]

Albania isn't Eastern European. Southern European or Balcan. Eastern Europe is doing surprisingly well.

Trying to compare rich, established countries with immigrants from far away who come here to earn money to a poor, severly unstable one that is using war refugees from a neighbouring country as a scapegoat is stupid anyway.

[antares24]

dude no offence if you're albanian but albania, by western standards, IS dirty poor as the guy above said.
Obviously there are many countries that are faar poorer, but that don't change it.