South Africa - xenophobic violence follows World Cup.

How very sad, just as SA and its people were praised by FIFA for a great World Cup. For a while rumours have been doing the rounds that massive violence to drive out "African foreigners" would surface after the World Cup.
It began already last week, with an exodus of Zimbabweans allafrica.com... As usual, the ANC denied everything, and blamed it on "rumours", "criminal elements" and even the media and negative white politicians.
The fleeing Zimbabweans, we were told, were "seasonal workers" going home (to what one wonders, and abandoning their local homes, schools and jobs - yeah right). Meanwhile, pleading Zimbabweans were recorded on media with their tales of xenophobic attacks. Things reached a ridiculous level this weekend, as the police Minister denied xenophobia, even as Somali shops were attacked and looted a few blocks away.

The ANC response is baffling, verging on blatant denialism of a clearly observable fact.
Today the Cape Times reported: www.capetimes.co.za...

Sadly the peaceful image of refugees returning from the "safety" of police sations painted by The Argus on Monday didn't hold: www.capeargus.co.za...
Sad for me was also the first true to form attack on a white motorist by local black police with a punch to the face before several witnesses, and the usual threat that whites will all be killed: www.capetimes.co.za...
Well, we're back to normal, it seems.


[edit on 14-7-2010 by halfoldman]

reply to post by halfoldman

A very sad tale about how a meeting to resolve xenophobia turned into the opposite two days ago: www.capeargus.co.za...
While it may be regional, the denialism of the ANC fools nobody, and makes it even harder to address.
Let us hope it is temporary, and people won't be burned in the streets like in 2008.

reply to post by halfoldman

One does wonder who or what is behind it all.
Rumour has had it for years that some ANC leaders and police are involved.
Something about the situation is very fishy, and stretched resources, a lack of basic services and the superior business skills of foreigners explains a lot of the mass psychology.
But who co-ordinates it? Who prints pamphlets telling non-SA born citizens to get out? Although it will hopefully be nipped in the bud, and historical comparisons are always awkward, "ANC Nazism" and an impending "Kristalnacht" for "undesireables" do come to mind.
But what is the ANC?
On the one hand they virtually opened the borders to the rest of Africa, and they have an academic, liberal leadership that speaks glowingly of the many contributions made by African immigrants to the economy and to communities which once took them in as exiles from apartheid, but for many of their restless voters those sentiments are not shared.
Speaking to some Congolese friends today it was worrying to hear that in some areas people are arming themselves to fight back. They also make no bones about their belief that xenophobia is not limited to a small criminal group - in the townships, they say, 90% of locals are xenophobic.
This is just something the ANC cannot rationally address - they just don't want to believe it. Either that, or they are involved, as the lack of any significant criminal cases from the brutal wave of attacks in 2008 suggests.
But why - why, why, why?

Images and statements from 2008:
photos.mg.co.za...
Prez Mbeki's response (whose power was beginning to wane) was that it could not be xenophobia, since there was nothing about "his people" he didn't know - this was also the man who denied HIV led to AIDS for a decade, killing 350 000 people.


[edit on 14-7-2010 by halfoldman]

Hey half where are you from? i gather your south african, but where?

Thanks for posting this on ATS.

I really had enough of South Africa. I am leaving SA for New Zealand on 24th July 2010.

I cannot see how things can come right here, while the ANC is in control. I see myself as a refugee. I love this country with all my heart and if I had the option, I never would have made the move, but I cannot see a future for this country and its people under the ANC government and the absurd criminal statistics of this country. I literally fear for my life.

I really feel sorry for the people who do not have the money and the resources to get out of this country.

All I can say is, that I will pray for those left behind.

Thanks for the posts!
To kykweer, I've responded to your query by U2U.

Depsite today being relatively calm, the saga continued with police being shown pamphlets that mentioned dates for attacks and xenophobic propaganda. Surprisingly (or maybe typically) the police said their hands were tied, since they can only investigate person-to-person threats (makes one wonder why we have hate speech laws?):
www.news24.com...

I'm really wondering what is going on here? There seems to be a major conspiracy at work, and everytime the ANC denies something it seems that something is about to happen, or the opposite is true. It's truely bizarre.
Mbeki virtually opened the borders to Zimbabwe allowing a flood of refugees (3 million in SA) and taking the pressure off his close friend Robert Mugabe. Now the ANC are blaming everybody for their policy failures, mainly the whites and the media, everyone but themselves and their "noble" supporters. What is clear is that the rhetoric around xenophobia is very much tied to anti-white racism, and one cannot help but feel that it is all a gradual build-up for something bigger. Perhaps they'd rather divert people's anger at foreigners, rather than having the crumbling services blamed on themselves. And crumbling services look all the more glaring in the face of muli-million Rand World Cup stadiums that are now basically useless. I'm still thinking there's more behind it.
Some groups of foreigners like the Nigerians were easy to stereotype as drug dealers. However, the trial of Jackie Selebi (the former Police Minister and ex-head of Interpol!) revealed that drug money was going all the way to the top. So denial and deflection are at least a part of the conspiracy.


[edit on 14-7-2010 by halfoldman]

Well I'm glad justice is served to Selebi, I just hope he stays in prison and doesn't get released in a few months because of health reasons.

The pamphlets are a scary thought, but i would have liked to know more detail about them! I suppose that publishing a date in the media would be very silly as it will stir trouble.

I just think that we are constantly going from the next big "cleansing" event to the next with little happening and it either makes people leave the country, join extremists or some just feel what may come will come and I'll take it from there.

Lots of crazy things are bound to happen, but the media being viciously censored during the world cup is bound to take the next big news to the extremely sensational next level.

reply to post by halfoldman


I haven't made enough posts to send you a U2U back, but i realize that i asked you a pretty inappropriate question from a stranger!

Anyway, just want to know if you have seen anything or heard anything personally from a xenophobia point of view?