Xenophobia: The state flexes its muscles, calls for more action

On Tuesday night, hundreds of people gathered at Constitutional Hill to protest against xenophobia. It wasn't quite your typical South African vigil. At the Lead SA event, school children led the crowd in the national anthem. Concerned South Africans and foreigners held candles during a moment of silence. Some brought picnic blankets. A small group dutifully sung Struggle songs while the crowd stopped taking selfies and started filming the quasi-toyi-toyi.

After weeks of inaction, the country's political leaders, under pressure from the public, foreign governments and an increasingly negative view of South Africa across the world, have started addressing the problem. This week, we're seeing the first examples of what action is being taken, both by the state and the public.

In Jeppestown on Wednesday morning, men who stay at the local hostel complained that the police treated them roughly during a raid overnight. Police, supported by the SANDF, went room-to-room on Tuesday evening searching for weapons and illicit material such as dagga and goods looted from stores in the area. The men at the hostel have threatened foreigners in the area and Jeppestown was the first location in Johannesburg to see xenophobia spread from KwaZulu-Natal.

On Tuesday, Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula announced the deployment of troops and the raids were clearly a show of force.

Residents from the hostel whom Daily Maverick spoke to on Wednesday claimed they would not be deterred. While they were tired after being woken in the night and forced into the corridors, their anger over failed promises for decent jobs and service delivery still very much present, with foreigners the outlet of their aggression. Some spoke of aims this week to protest against both foreigners in the area and demand the release of the 11 people arrested during the overnight raids, but there were no clear plans and the residents seemed subdued after the show of force.

The raid came after the attacks started late last month around Durban, causing the death of seven people, potentially displacing thousands, and leading to hundreds of arrests. South Africa has been criticised in other African countries and has received damning attention in international news bulletins. Combined with James Oatway's pictures of the murder of Emmanuel Sithole in Alexandra published in Sunday Times appears to have also hastened the government's response.

In Pretoria on Wednesday, President Jacob Zuma held a stakeholder meeting in the wake of the attacks on foreigners with around 40 different organisations. Zuma has also established an inter-ministerial task-team to help end the violence; the list includes 14 different ministers.

The president said there was no justification for attacks on foreigners and that the overwhelming majority of South Africans are not xenophobic. “No one can say South Africans attack foreigners only,” he said, reported City Press. “We have a history that these things happen. There is violence here that nobody has forgotten. Political violence here you couldn’t say was xenophobic, xenophobia,” said Zuma, concerned about the perception of South Africa and contextualising the current violence within the broader violence seen across the country.

“These attacks are not a small matter, nor is it a matter for government alone but for all of us as South Africans. We don't need another occurrence of these attacks in our country,” he added. After the 2008 attacks, Zuma said government did not expect to see such violence again (even though attacks on foreigners have been occurring ever since). The stakeholders proposed different ways forward, both to protect foreigners against violence and acknowledge concerns over lax immigration controls. They suggested a colloquium to investigate the causes of the attacks. The business sector plans to speak out against the violence and “continue to reverse the negativity”. Education programmes on South Africans' responsibilities could be rolled out. Youth and sporting groups are looking at their role and a body to oversee the prevention of drug abuse was suggested.

On Thursday, civil society groups, with support from the Gauteng government, are marching in Johannesburg against xenophobia in what is billed to be a huge statement against violence on foreigners. While different sectors of society have been mobilised on the issue as violence has moved from KwaZulu-Natal to parts of Johannesburg, there should be serious engagement on what the responses can achieve, beyond sending the armed forces into townships and hostels.

The country needs to continue engaging with the issue of xenophobia and its underlying causes even after the violence dissipates. “The meeting concluded that it couldn't guarantee that these attacks will not happen again, unless urgent solutions are found to address genuine concerns that are raised by South Africans,” said the presidency on Wednesday. DM

Photo: Members of the South African Defence Force mobilise outside the Jeppe Hostel in Johannesburg, South Africa, on 21 April 2015, as members of the South African Police raided the men's residence. EPA/KEVIN SUTHERLAND