Xenophobia

It has been quite awhile since I posted on my blog. In that time, I have been to three continents, I have seen my nephew take his first steps, I have saved a beached dolphin, I have done interesting research, I have spent time with good friends, flown hang gliders, made hot air balloons and generally had a rich and varied existence.

But I haven’t posted until now.

What has finally made me post is the deeply disturbing events unfolding in South Africa at present. “Xenophobia-related attacks” they call it. What I see is mob violence against a group of people who have already fled difficult, it not downright dangerous conditions back home.

It started in the township of Alexandra, in Johannesburg, with a mob attacking and killing foreign African nationals. This shameful state of affairs has continued for almost 3 weeks now, and has spread across the country, resulting in 50 people killed and 30 000 displaced, most without any possessions at all. The army has been called out for the first time since the appalling violence that threatened to tear the country apart in 1994.

The horror of this brutal, senseless behavior is at times overwhelming. It makes one despair. We have been badly let down by our government, who have failed to uplift those in poverty in South Africa and ensure stability in the region (i.e. Zimbabwe). This has lead to an influx of foreign nationals into an already desperate situation in our townships and squatter camps, from which the violence has ensued.

Driving around Cape Town today, we could see several groups of foreign nationals standing at churches and police stations, where they have sought shelter, with nothing but a blanket or two. An estimated 10 000 people are displaced in Cape Town at present.

The photos here are from an anti-xenophobia rally we attended in Cape Town on Friday. The only positive about this situation would seem to be just how many people are horrified.