South Africa has been thrown into a general panic of xenophobic attacks since May 11. South Africans have been shocked by the depth of the hatred reflected in the violence against immigrants. The attacks have mostly targeted impoverished migrants from neighboring African countries living—some legally, some illegally—in shantytowns around Johannesburg, the business capital of Africa's wealthiest country. Foreigners fled to police stations, churches and community halls for safety from attackers during the nightmarish fortnight. The anti-migrant violence has already left around 60 dead and tens of thousands homeless. President Thabo Mbeki on May 21 ordered his army into black townships around Johannesburg for the first time since the apartheid era, hoping to quell the riots.
The casualties and physical damage caused by the anti-immigrant attacks might be the more tangible after-effects. More elusive is the damage to South Africa's national fabric. Many South Africans, and even the world—perhaps more accustomed to white-black conflict in the country – have been shocked by profound black-on-black hatred revealed in recent times.
Since 1994, when South Africa abolished the apartheid system and declared a nominal end to racial discrimination, its national economy has enjoyed robust growth, particularly in recent years, with the annual growth rate remaining 4% and 5%. Despite this, nearly half a century of white supremacist rule has made the country's economic development defective, with the clear tendency for a Dual-element Economy System. The South African government has long attached a priority to developing modern and massive-scaled industries by staging preferential economic policies. In addition, the fourteen years of African National Congress (ANC) rule have failed to reverse deep-seated social inequality inherited from the apartheid era and the strain caused by mass unemployment, which remains at 23 percent after a sharp drop from more than 40 percent. The illiteracy rate hovers around 20 percent; and there is poor sanitation and limited services in many townships. The situation has erupted into a vicious campaign of ethnic cleansing.
Nevertheless, South Africa remains a strong appeal and the only haven for African refugees fleeing their trouble-ridden countries. Currently, around 5 million immigrants from neighboring African countries are living and working in various parts of South Africa; and unfortunately, they had to bear the violent brunt of dark sentiment from xenophobia during a fortnight of mob attacks. Crowds of South African men, some brandishing guns, rampaged through areas dominated by refugees since May 11, warning the foreigners to leave the country, burning huts, raping women, and beating and killing men. The victims said their attackers accused them of taking jobs away from South Africans, in a country with appallingly high employment and where immigrant labor is welcome in the labor-intensive industries for their acceptance of low wages and hard work.
Evidently, anti-immigrant violence is by no means an accident. Although the latest wave of xenophobic violence has targeted immigrant communities in Johannesburg; last year the Somali community in Cape Town and Port Elizabeth came under attack. The rioting raised the eyebrows of South African authorities: President Mbeki extended "a deep apology" to the victims saying the attacks "placed a very negative reputation on South Africa." Zuma, leader of the ANC, South Africa's ruling party, pointed out that the burning question remains how best to convert this collective revulsion into a lasting South African refugee policy – and short-term responses – so that fellow Africans in South Africa do not have to live in terror simply because they are strangers.
It seems that the recent violence is a cruel wake-up call to South African authorities, prompting them to take action to remedy and rebuild the national image of South Africa as a regional power spearheading the African continent.
By People's Daily Online
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