Sunday, December 20, 2009
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Xenophobia victims must vacate Peter Mokaba stadium before weekend
Foreign nationals, mostly Zimbabweans, still housed at the Peter Mokaba stadium in Polokwane, have until the end of the week to vacate the premises. They are part of a group that was driven out of the Westernburg Township during a spate of xenophobic attacks two weeks ago.
Spokesperson for the provincial Safety, Security and Liaison Department, Joe Maila, says by the end of this week everything will be wrapped up. “We are talking as stakeholders to make sure that that process becomes smooth in order to make sure that the temporary shelter is closed."
Maila adds that they don't foresee any trouble in terms of the foreigners not moving out of the stadium because they have been consulting them on the issue.
- SABC
Spokesperson for the provincial Safety, Security and Liaison Department, Joe Maila, says by the end of this week everything will be wrapped up. “We are talking as stakeholders to make sure that that process becomes smooth in order to make sure that the temporary shelter is closed."
Maila adds that they don't foresee any trouble in terms of the foreigners not moving out of the stadium because they have been consulting them on the issue.
- SABC
Thursday, December 10, 2009
New forms of xenophobia on the rise, warns UN
Attacks on foreigners in South Africa are "gravely alarming" and the government should implement laws to prevent further outbreaks of violence, the United Nations Commissioner for Human Rights said on Thursday. (from IOL)
A South African native herself, Navi Pillay said it was worrying that South Africa, which only emerged from apartheid in 1994 and has prided itself as a model of democracy since, has failed to protect its foreign residents.
"New forms of xenophobia are on the rise, particularly against refugees and migrants. Attacks against non-nationals in South Africa and elsewhere are gravely alarming," Pillay said.
At least 42 people died and tens of thousands foreigners were displaced across the country last year in riots over jobs and rising crime in Africa's biggest economy.
Other smaller uprisings over jobs and poor delivery of sanitation and health services, especially to the country's townships, have occurred since. Last month, 2 700 Zimbabwean asylum seekers had to set up temporary safety camps in rural areas after attacks.
Minister of Justice Jeff Radebe said that attacks on migrants were a "matter of shame" for all South Africans and said dedicated prosecutors and courts had been made available to confront the problem.
A South African native herself, Navi Pillay said it was worrying that South Africa, which only emerged from apartheid in 1994 and has prided itself as a model of democracy since, has failed to protect its foreign residents.
"New forms of xenophobia are on the rise, particularly against refugees and migrants. Attacks against non-nationals in South Africa and elsewhere are gravely alarming," Pillay said.
At least 42 people died and tens of thousands foreigners were displaced across the country last year in riots over jobs and rising crime in Africa's biggest economy.
Other smaller uprisings over jobs and poor delivery of sanitation and health services, especially to the country's townships, have occurred since. Last month, 2 700 Zimbabwean asylum seekers had to set up temporary safety camps in rural areas after attacks.
Minister of Justice Jeff Radebe said that attacks on migrants were a "matter of shame" for all South Africans and said dedicated prosecutors and courts had been made available to confront the problem.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Zimbabweans pour into De Doorns camp
The number of Zimbabweans living in a De Doorns safety camp is growing rapidly, a situation the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) has described as "concerning".
Monique Ekoko, from the UNHCR, says having too many people in the camp could result in further divisions and possible flare-ups among communities.
The camp was set up on a rugby field alongside the town's main road in November after Zimbabweans were told by their South African neighbours to leave the informal settlements in De Doorns.
South African farmworkers in the area accused the Zimbabweans of stealing their jobs, an allegation that resulted in the displacement of more than 2 000 Zimbabweans.
Ekoko said the number of people living in the camp had been increasing daily, boosted by outsiders beginning to arrive.
"The main issue we have to be clear about is that the site was set up for the people who were affected by the violence, and we want to maintain it that way. This is not a site for Zimbabweans all over the Western Cape, or nationwide," said Ekoko.
Government officials and UNHCR workers have been providing relief at the camp in recent weeks.
Last Thursday, police and camp leaders had their hands full when a van of about 50 Zimbabweans from Malmesbury arrived with their possessions.
They arrived late in the afternoon and had expected to be housed there, said Shaun Minnies, a camp manager.
The authorities were forced to turn them away.
Minnies said they believed the van had taken the Malmesbury Zimbabweans to a farm in the area.
"The camp is only for those who were displaced and we cannot accommodate more people," he said.
De Doorns police station commissioner Superintendent Desmond van der Westhuizen confirmed that police were monitoring the camp and had been asked to intervene when the van arrived.
"Only the managers know who is supposed to be in the camp. We as police were asked to monitor the site and would need to step in when the managers are having problems," he said.
He said the group did not react violently to being denied entry.
Ekoko, however, echoed the camp managers' concerns about overcrowding.
She said the the effects of the increasing numbers were evident in the distribution of the food rations, available tent space and toilets.
Overcrowding, she warned, could later affect health and other services.
Ekoko said there were also concerns that the South Africans who had forced the Zimbabweans out of their communities might believe that relief efforts favoured Zimbabweans. This could cause further tension.
"At this stage it might have an affect on reintegration efforts, and integration is key," she said. - Cape Argus
Monique Ekoko, from the UNHCR, says having too many people in the camp could result in further divisions and possible flare-ups among communities.
The camp was set up on a rugby field alongside the town's main road in November after Zimbabweans were told by their South African neighbours to leave the informal settlements in De Doorns.
| 'Only the managers know who is supposed to be in the camp' |
South African farmworkers in the area accused the Zimbabweans of stealing their jobs, an allegation that resulted in the displacement of more than 2 000 Zimbabweans.
Ekoko said the number of people living in the camp had been increasing daily, boosted by outsiders beginning to arrive.
"The main issue we have to be clear about is that the site was set up for the people who were affected by the violence, and we want to maintain it that way. This is not a site for Zimbabweans all over the Western Cape, or nationwide," said Ekoko.
Government officials and UNHCR workers have been providing relief at the camp in recent weeks.
Last Thursday, police and camp leaders had their hands full when a van of about 50 Zimbabweans from Malmesbury arrived with their possessions.
They arrived late in the afternoon and had expected to be housed there, said Shaun Minnies, a camp manager.
The authorities were forced to turn them away.
Minnies said they believed the van had taken the Malmesbury Zimbabweans to a farm in the area.
"The camp is only for those who were displaced and we cannot accommodate more people," he said.
De Doorns police station commissioner Superintendent Desmond van der Westhuizen confirmed that police were monitoring the camp and had been asked to intervene when the van arrived.
"Only the managers know who is supposed to be in the camp. We as police were asked to monitor the site and would need to step in when the managers are having problems," he said.
He said the group did not react violently to being denied entry.
Ekoko, however, echoed the camp managers' concerns about overcrowding.
She said the the effects of the increasing numbers were evident in the distribution of the food rations, available tent space and toilets.
Overcrowding, she warned, could later affect health and other services.
Ekoko said there were also concerns that the South Africans who had forced the Zimbabweans out of their communities might believe that relief efforts favoured Zimbabweans. This could cause further tension.
"At this stage it might have an affect on reintegration efforts, and integration is key," she said. - Cape Argus
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Life spared for not being from SA
Three foreigners decided not kill a white Zimbabwean woman they had just raped, assaulted, robbed and kidnapped because she was not South African.
The three men told the woman that they were also from Zimbabwe and would therefore not kill her because she was their "sister".
"We only kill white South Africans," the then 39-year-old Denise Pollard* was told.
At the time of the attack, she had been living in South Africa for six years.
The men, however, are from Mozambique and at the time that they attacked Pollard, one of them - Andries Simango, 25 - had a month earlier robbed and hacked a woman to death in her flat in Haddon in Joburg's southern suburbs. He was also in the country illegally.
On Friday, Simango, who is serving a life sentence and an additional 20 years for the Haddon crime, was, along with Nelson Abdul, 25, and June Immanuel, 34, found guilty of the rape, kidnapping and robbery of Pollard. They each received 15 years for robbery, a life sentence each for the rape and an additional five years each for kidnapping.
On July 7, 2006 the three broke into Pollard's Fourways townhouse, where she was sleeping. She was awoken by her small dog barking when three men rushed into her bedroom.
One held his hand over her mouth while another held a gun against her body. They asked her where the money was and ransacked her drawers. The gang found R200 and a cellphone.
Immanuel slid his hands under Pollard's nightie, found that she was not wearing any underwear.
Pollard begged the men not to rape her, but her pleas fell on deaf ears. She was struck on the face and then Abdul and Immanuel raped her.
During the rapes, Simango held a gun to her head, and her arms were also held down. At some point the men threatened to kill her dog. When the men were finished raping her, they took her to the garage and insisted that she drive them out of the complex, which had security guards.
Abdul is said to have been aggressive and ordered that Pollard be killed. But her life was spared when the men realised that she was from Zimbabwe, and her driving licence proved that.
In their defence, the men said Pollard was a prostitute they had picked up at a nightclub in town, and that she had taken them home for consensual sex in exchange for drugs.
In handing down judgment, magistrate George Andrews said Pollard was an excellent witness who was eloquent and whose evidence was clear despite her ordeal.
He rejected the evidence of the accused and said it was false and improbable.
* Not her real name
- The Star
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Xenophobia brewing in Cape Town
Zimbabwean political refugee and teacher Anthony Muteti says that South African residents of Hout Bay's Imizamo Yethu informal settlement are openly warning that foreigners will be driven out for good after next year's Fifa World Cup. (from the M&G)
Muteti was one of scores of foreigners hounded out of Imizamo last weekend after three Malawians were arrested following the alleged rape of a three-year-old child. He and his family were also forced to flee during last year's xenophobic upheavals.
He claimed that police stood by and watched as residents broke down and looted the house the Malawians rented, running off with televisions, stereo sets and other electrical goods.
Muteti says 57 foreign nationals were driven from their homes in the settlement.
His family has taken refuge at the home of people he worked for when he arrived in Hout Bay in 2004.
Muteti says locals now talk in the taxis and buses about how "xenophobia will happen" after 2010 and that foreign nationals are scared to speak their own languages.
"I was totally enraged when I heard a child had been raped," said Muteti. "After the house of the alleged rapists was broken down, I never thought the community would turn on us.
"I left my family at home and when I returned I saw people toyi-toyiing on the street. I am baffled as to how they can say it's not xenophobia."
His 16-year-old daughter, Kudzaishe, who has many friends in Imizamo and attends school in Hout Bay, said 10 men burst into the family home on Saturday and told them to leave by 5pm the next day.
"I just turned to my mother and asked her where we were going to go," she said. "I don't want to go back to Imizamo Yethu. When my father returned home, I just grabbed my school uniform and we fled."
The Hout Bay purge is the latest sign that resentment of foreign nationals is bubbling up in the Cape townships. Two weeks ago foreigners were hounded out of the rural settlement of De Doorns.
Hout Bay's South African National Civic Organisation chairperson, Clifford Nogwavu, however, denied that the purge was xenophobic. "The locals are just fed up with crime, especially when it involves an innocent child. This was not a case of xenophobia. It is not the same as what happened recently in De Doorns, where all foreign nationals were forced from their homes. Only those who lived close to the home [of the child] were forced out," Nogwavu said.
When the Mail & Guardian visited Imizamo this week, tourists ambled up steep slopes to browse through the pavement craft stalls set up in the sprawling seaside settlement.
But it seemed that a tsunami had thundered through the next street. Wood was scattered around the plot formerly occupied by the arrested Malawians and hacked couches and chairs were dispersed among the ruins.
The child who was allegedly raped lived next door with her aunt, who looked after her when her 22-year- old unemployed mother went out to look for work.
"I'm very angry," said the quietly spoken young mother, who cannot be identified to protect the identity of the child. "I was out looking for work in Sea Point when they say it happened. I still don't know how this is going to affect my child."
She said doctors at the hospital gave her daughter antiretroviral drugs to ward off possible infection.
"I just feel so sad. I never thought it would happen in this place, where all the children play in the streets," she said. "I am going to send my child back home to my family in the Eastern Cape where they can keep her safe."
Nogwavu said the foreign nationals were starting to return to Imizamo Yethu and a meeting to resolve the tensions was to be held with their leaders at the police station.
Hout Bay station commissioner Dorothy Xesha denied that police in three vans watched as residents tore down and looted the house rented by the Malawian families.
"There were no vans up there," said Xesha. "It was all over by the time they came to complain to us."
Xesha confirmed that one of the Malawians will be charged with rape, while charges will be brought against two others alleged to have been present.
Muteti was one of scores of foreigners hounded out of Imizamo last weekend after three Malawians were arrested following the alleged rape of a three-year-old child. He and his family were also forced to flee during last year's xenophobic upheavals.
He claimed that police stood by and watched as residents broke down and looted the house the Malawians rented, running off with televisions, stereo sets and other electrical goods.
Muteti says 57 foreign nationals were driven from their homes in the settlement.
His family has taken refuge at the home of people he worked for when he arrived in Hout Bay in 2004.
Muteti says locals now talk in the taxis and buses about how "xenophobia will happen" after 2010 and that foreign nationals are scared to speak their own languages.
"I was totally enraged when I heard a child had been raped," said Muteti. "After the house of the alleged rapists was broken down, I never thought the community would turn on us.
"I left my family at home and when I returned I saw people toyi-toyiing on the street. I am baffled as to how they can say it's not xenophobia."
His 16-year-old daughter, Kudzaishe, who has many friends in Imizamo and attends school in Hout Bay, said 10 men burst into the family home on Saturday and told them to leave by 5pm the next day.
"I just turned to my mother and asked her where we were going to go," she said. "I don't want to go back to Imizamo Yethu. When my father returned home, I just grabbed my school uniform and we fled."
The Hout Bay purge is the latest sign that resentment of foreign nationals is bubbling up in the Cape townships. Two weeks ago foreigners were hounded out of the rural settlement of De Doorns.
Hout Bay's South African National Civic Organisation chairperson, Clifford Nogwavu, however, denied that the purge was xenophobic. "The locals are just fed up with crime, especially when it involves an innocent child. This was not a case of xenophobia. It is not the same as what happened recently in De Doorns, where all foreign nationals were forced from their homes. Only those who lived close to the home [of the child] were forced out," Nogwavu said.
When the Mail & Guardian visited Imizamo this week, tourists ambled up steep slopes to browse through the pavement craft stalls set up in the sprawling seaside settlement.
But it seemed that a tsunami had thundered through the next street. Wood was scattered around the plot formerly occupied by the arrested Malawians and hacked couches and chairs were dispersed among the ruins.
The child who was allegedly raped lived next door with her aunt, who looked after her when her 22-year- old unemployed mother went out to look for work.
"I'm very angry," said the quietly spoken young mother, who cannot be identified to protect the identity of the child. "I was out looking for work in Sea Point when they say it happened. I still don't know how this is going to affect my child."
She said doctors at the hospital gave her daughter antiretroviral drugs to ward off possible infection.
"I just feel so sad. I never thought it would happen in this place, where all the children play in the streets," she said. "I am going to send my child back home to my family in the Eastern Cape where they can keep her safe."
Nogwavu said the foreign nationals were starting to return to Imizamo Yethu and a meeting to resolve the tensions was to be held with their leaders at the police station.
Hout Bay station commissioner Dorothy Xesha denied that police in three vans watched as residents tore down and looted the house rented by the Malawian families.
"There were no vans up there," said Xesha. "It was all over by the time they came to complain to us."
Xesha confirmed that one of the Malawians will be charged with rape, while charges will be brought against two others alleged to have been present.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
De Doorns unhappiness continues
More than two weeks after the attacks that drove some 3,000 Zimbabwean migrant workers from their homes in an informal settlement called Stofland, outside De Doorns, a farming town about 140km from Cape Town, South Africa, the mood among the displaced remains grim. (from IRINNews)
"The situation seems like we must go back to Zimbabwe," farm worker Taphiwa Mheva told IRIN. "You don't know with these people - maybe one of these days they think about killing us. We would go now, but we have no money."
Mheva is one of the lucky ones. She is one of 282 Zimbabweans given accommodation on the farm where she works, and plans to return to Zimbabwe after the grape harvesting season ends in April.
Another 1,200 Zimbabweans are living in 190 tents provided by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), pitched on the De Doorns sports field. On weekends that number swells to around 1,600, when spouses and partners working in other areas come to visit. Almost all the displaced are seasonal labourers on the area's wine farms, an industry worth over US$400 million annually.
Every evening hundreds of workers disembark from trucks returning from the farms and wait while security guards check their papers and possessions before entering the safety site. Red Cross volunteers check registration lists, and distribute food around the camp.
"We are trying to avoid a situation where this becomes an overcrowded area, and where people are coming from other areas," said UNHCR Regional Protection Officer Monique Ekoko.
More worrying is that people are coming from as far away as Port Elizabeth, in South Africa's Eastern Cape Province, and even straight from Zimbabwe. "People are coming to take advantage of what is happening here - that itself will create a problem. We want to maintain the temporary nature of this site, and to ensure that people move as soon as the conditions are right," Ekoko told IRIN.
She also noted the importance of dealing swiftly and effectively with the situation. "The longer we keep this site here, the chances increase that it might spur other people to take similar actions [xenophobic attacks]. Integration efforts are key, and not only to send a message that people have to live side by side."
According to Martin van Rooyen, a member of the De Doorns Displacement Crisis Committee, 11 December has been set as the starting date for reintegrating displaced people into their original communities.
"We have various processes unfolding to create an enabling environment," Van Rooyen said, citing an interfaith prayer service on 29 November, and ongoing meetings with local government, religious ministers, and the police.
The people living in the camp have given no indication of being willing to leave. "For me there is no option to go back in the community. I've got three kids and a wife - I managed to escape with only a few blankets," Doubt Chinomera, a Zimbabwean labour contractor, told IRIN.
"It's only an option if our security is guaranteed ... because last time when they attacked us the police were there." Chinomera's sentiment was echoed by many, and the perception that the police did nothing to protect them remains vivid.
"The police were just accompanying the South African people. When they were busy destroying the shacks the police were there behind them, looking at them, not arresting them," said farm worker Siyabonga Nkomo.
Superintendent Desmond van der Westhuizen, commander of the De Doorns police station, said the police had been aware that some people in the townships of Stofland and Ekuphumleni had intended some kind of action against the Zimbabweans.
"It was established that the community wanted to stop [Zimbabweans] to go to work the next day, and then they indicated that they would try to dismantle some of the shacks," he told IRIN.
Van der Westhuizen said he had requested support from Worcester, the nearest large town, and Cape Town, as his force was too small to handle the situation, but the distance of those stations from De Doorns meant the additional police officers did not arrive until it was too late.
"At that stage [when the Zimbabweans were blocked from going to work and the looting began] we were trying to do it on our own. It was not obvious whose property was whose. There were 12 officers; police had to use discretion. The crowd was so big - there was chaos, actually - they didn't make arrests earlier because of the manpower shortage."
"There is still resentment on the part of South Africans," committee member Van Rooyen said, referring to allegations that the Zimbabweans worked for less than the minimum wage of R60 ($8) per day, thus "robbing" South Africans of jobs.
"Now, the latest resentment is that you're getting services on this site, when we are told to be patient [and to wait for water, sanitation and electricity] by our same government," Van Rooyen said.
People were also angry about the 24 arrests after the attacks - 12 of those arrested were released for lack of evidence, and a bail hearing has been set for the remaining 12 on 5 December.
The Zimbabweans insist that they are not working for less, a claim strongly supported by Agri Western Cape and the Hex River Valley Table Grape Association, umbrella associations to which all the producers in the region belong.
"With regards to the allegations that workers are paid less than minimum wage, Agri Wes-Cape would like to challenge the organisations and individuals that are making these allegations to provide the Department of Labour with the necessary proof, so that those allegedly responsible can be investigated," the association said in a recent press release.
According to Agri Wes-Cape statistics, during the harvest season nearly 9,000 seasonal workers swell the ranks of 5,337 permanent workers; of the total workforce of some 14,000, just over 1,500 are Zimbabwean.
Agri Wes-Cape also noted an independent study in 2008 by the Labour and Enterprise Policy Research Group at the University of Cape Town, whose findings indicated that most workers in the De Doorns area, including the Zimbabweans, were earning R10 ($1.40) a day above the minimum wage.
Nonetheless, local South Africans persist in their belief that Zimbabweans are taking their jobs. "The farmer comes with a truck, says, 'I need 100 people.' Those Zimbabweans, they go like sheep; so our citizens stay behind and don't have bread in their house," Manghozi, a resident of Stofland, told IRIN.
Manghozi and his friends also complained that the Zimbabweans worked on Sundays and holidays. "They must respect our labour rules," he said. Then we can live together."
"The situation seems like we must go back to Zimbabwe," farm worker Taphiwa Mheva told IRIN. "You don't know with these people - maybe one of these days they think about killing us. We would go now, but we have no money."
Mheva is one of the lucky ones. She is one of 282 Zimbabweans given accommodation on the farm where she works, and plans to return to Zimbabwe after the grape harvesting season ends in April.
Another 1,200 Zimbabweans are living in 190 tents provided by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), pitched on the De Doorns sports field. On weekends that number swells to around 1,600, when spouses and partners working in other areas come to visit. Almost all the displaced are seasonal labourers on the area's wine farms, an industry worth over US$400 million annually.
Every evening hundreds of workers disembark from trucks returning from the farms and wait while security guards check their papers and possessions before entering the safety site. Red Cross volunteers check registration lists, and distribute food around the camp.
"We are trying to avoid a situation where this becomes an overcrowded area, and where people are coming from other areas," said UNHCR Regional Protection Officer Monique Ekoko.
More worrying is that people are coming from as far away as Port Elizabeth, in South Africa's Eastern Cape Province, and even straight from Zimbabwe. "People are coming to take advantage of what is happening here - that itself will create a problem. We want to maintain the temporary nature of this site, and to ensure that people move as soon as the conditions are right," Ekoko told IRIN.
She also noted the importance of dealing swiftly and effectively with the situation. "The longer we keep this site here, the chances increase that it might spur other people to take similar actions [xenophobic attacks]. Integration efforts are key, and not only to send a message that people have to live side by side."
According to Martin van Rooyen, a member of the De Doorns Displacement Crisis Committee, 11 December has been set as the starting date for reintegrating displaced people into their original communities.
"We have various processes unfolding to create an enabling environment," Van Rooyen said, citing an interfaith prayer service on 29 November, and ongoing meetings with local government, religious ministers, and the police.
The people living in the camp have given no indication of being willing to leave. "For me there is no option to go back in the community. I've got three kids and a wife - I managed to escape with only a few blankets," Doubt Chinomera, a Zimbabwean labour contractor, told IRIN.
"It's only an option if our security is guaranteed ... because last time when they attacked us the police were there." Chinomera's sentiment was echoed by many, and the perception that the police did nothing to protect them remains vivid.
"The police were just accompanying the South African people. When they were busy destroying the shacks the police were there behind them, looking at them, not arresting them," said farm worker Siyabonga Nkomo.
Superintendent Desmond van der Westhuizen, commander of the De Doorns police station, said the police had been aware that some people in the townships of Stofland and Ekuphumleni had intended some kind of action against the Zimbabweans.
"It was established that the community wanted to stop [Zimbabweans] to go to work the next day, and then they indicated that they would try to dismantle some of the shacks," he told IRIN.
Van der Westhuizen said he had requested support from Worcester, the nearest large town, and Cape Town, as his force was too small to handle the situation, but the distance of those stations from De Doorns meant the additional police officers did not arrive until it was too late.
"At that stage [when the Zimbabweans were blocked from going to work and the looting began] we were trying to do it on our own. It was not obvious whose property was whose. There were 12 officers; police had to use discretion. The crowd was so big - there was chaos, actually - they didn't make arrests earlier because of the manpower shortage."
"There is still resentment on the part of South Africans," committee member Van Rooyen said, referring to allegations that the Zimbabweans worked for less than the minimum wage of R60 ($8) per day, thus "robbing" South Africans of jobs.
"Now, the latest resentment is that you're getting services on this site, when we are told to be patient [and to wait for water, sanitation and electricity] by our same government," Van Rooyen said.
People were also angry about the 24 arrests after the attacks - 12 of those arrested were released for lack of evidence, and a bail hearing has been set for the remaining 12 on 5 December.
The Zimbabweans insist that they are not working for less, a claim strongly supported by Agri Western Cape and the Hex River Valley Table Grape Association, umbrella associations to which all the producers in the region belong.
"With regards to the allegations that workers are paid less than minimum wage, Agri Wes-Cape would like to challenge the organisations and individuals that are making these allegations to provide the Department of Labour with the necessary proof, so that those allegedly responsible can be investigated," the association said in a recent press release.
According to Agri Wes-Cape statistics, during the harvest season nearly 9,000 seasonal workers swell the ranks of 5,337 permanent workers; of the total workforce of some 14,000, just over 1,500 are Zimbabwean.
Agri Wes-Cape also noted an independent study in 2008 by the Labour and Enterprise Policy Research Group at the University of Cape Town, whose findings indicated that most workers in the De Doorns area, including the Zimbabweans, were earning R10 ($1.40) a day above the minimum wage.
Nonetheless, local South Africans persist in their belief that Zimbabweans are taking their jobs. "The farmer comes with a truck, says, 'I need 100 people.' Those Zimbabweans, they go like sheep; so our citizens stay behind and don't have bread in their house," Manghozi, a resident of Stofland, told IRIN.
Manghozi and his friends also complained that the Zimbabweans worked on Sundays and holidays. "They must respect our labour rules," he said. Then we can live together."
Sunday, November 29, 2009
We were chased like dogs ...
Anthony Muteti worked tirelessly to improve his community. He started a development forum to find jobs for young people and was instrumental in having the streets cleared of raw sewage. (from TimesLive)
But this week Muteti, his wife, children and about 70 other families who hail from Zimbabwe and Malawi were chased from their homes "like dogs".
The men and women lived in Hout Bay's Imizimo Yethu informal settlement near Cape Town. After three Malawian men were arrested for the rape of a three-year-old girl last Friday, people turned on the families. They were given a few hours to pack their bags and "get lost".
Thursday, November 26, 2009
De Doorns simmers
The keeping of 23 De Doorns people in custody has intensified the anger of locals towards Zimbabwean refugees, with some blaming the foreigners for the arrests.
Residents of De Doorns, near Worcester, left the Magistrate's Court fuming after the 23 held on public violence charges were remanded until Monday.
"Our people are in jail, but the Zimbabweans are at work," said one of them.
One community leader said yesterday that the locals were so furious they did not want to see the foreigners in Stofland informal settlement.
Another, Mlungisi Funyanwa, who is also deputy chairman of the Community Policing Forum, said while the community was willing to meet the authorities to discuss the crisis, it would be difficult to consider reintegration "while people are in jail".
The 23 appeared in court on Monday. It is expected about 1 500 people will march to the court in a show of support.
De Doorns police station commissioner Desmond van der Westhuizen said community leaders had been granted permission to lead a march.
He said it had been quiet in De Doorns since the court proceedings, but police continued to maintain a visible presence.
Mayor Charles Ntsomi said there would be a meeting today to discuss the plight of the refugees, who were being accommodated in tents on a sports field.
They were driven out of Stofland and their shacks torn down last Tuesday by South Africans who accused them of stealing their jobs.
A number of organisations and including political parties have condemned the violence.
The Women on Farms Project called on the government to launch an immediate investigation into the living and working conditions of the area's farm workers.
The ACDP said unemployment and the influx of refugees needed to be addressed, while Cope said the government had not learnt from last year's xenophobic attacks.
A prayer meeting is to be held on the sports field on Sunday. - Cape Times
Residents of De Doorns, near Worcester, left the Magistrate's Court fuming after the 23 held on public violence charges were remanded until Monday.
"Our people are in jail, but the Zimbabweans are at work," said one of them.
| 'Our people are in jail, but the Zimbabweans are at work' |
Another, Mlungisi Funyanwa, who is also deputy chairman of the Community Policing Forum, said while the community was willing to meet the authorities to discuss the crisis, it would be difficult to consider reintegration "while people are in jail".
The 23 appeared in court on Monday. It is expected about 1 500 people will march to the court in a show of support.
De Doorns police station commissioner Desmond van der Westhuizen said community leaders had been granted permission to lead a march.
He said it had been quiet in De Doorns since the court proceedings, but police continued to maintain a visible presence.
Mayor Charles Ntsomi said there would be a meeting today to discuss the plight of the refugees, who were being accommodated in tents on a sports field.
They were driven out of Stofland and their shacks torn down last Tuesday by South Africans who accused them of stealing their jobs.
A number of organisations and including political parties have condemned the violence.
The Women on Farms Project called on the government to launch an immediate investigation into the living and working conditions of the area's farm workers.
The ACDP said unemployment and the influx of refugees needed to be addressed, while Cope said the government had not learnt from last year's xenophobic attacks.
A prayer meeting is to be held on the sports field on Sunday. - Cape Times
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Foreigners given ultimatum
Foreign nationals have been given until tonight to move out of two streets in a Cape Town informal settlement - or, warn local residents, their homes will be broken apart.
The ultimatum came about after three Malawians were arrested at the weekend in connection with the rape of a three-year-old girl from the area.
During a street committee meeting last night, one resident from Imizamo Yethu informal settlement, Sonwabo Bazi, said: "This is not xenophobia, it is about the rape of a little girl and we are saying their ethics and morals are not the same as ours, they must therefore leave peacefully because we do not want them here."
This breaking news flash was supplied exclusively to iol.co.za by the news desk at our sister title, the Cape Argus.
For more about this story, carry on watching iol.co.za or click here to subscribe to the digital or print edition of the newspaper.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
What's next for De Doorns migrants?
Cape Town - Up to 2 700 Zimbabwean asylum seekers have set up a temporary "safety camp" in a rural South African town following attacks on their shacks in a dispute about jobs, a human rights group said on Wednesday.
South African police fired rubber bullets on Tuesday to disperse a mob who attacked shacks belonging to hundreds of migrants following several days of tension.
The attacks in De Doorns, a town 150 km from Cape Town, was reminiscent of 2008 riots in which foreigners were targeted. At least 42 people died and tens of thousands were displaced across South Africa.
"At the moment between 1 300 and 2 700 people, mostly Zimbabwean asylum seekers, have set up an internally displaced persons camp site or safety site, at De Doorns sports ground," Braam Hanekom, co-ordinator of People Against Suffering, Suppression, Oppression and Poverty (PASSOP), told Reuters.
Hanekom said the asylum seekers were housed in two large tents. There was limited water, poor security and a few portable toilets, he added.
"Today all the displaced asylum seekers refused to go to work for fear of being attacked," Hanekom said.
The attacks flared over competition for seasonal jobs at farms in the area, with local people arguing that Zimbabweans were "stealing jobs" by agreeing to work longer hours for less pay than locals were prepared to do.
The De Doorns police station commander, Superintendent Desmond van der Westhuizen, told Reuters the displaced migrants would probably be held in tents for the next week, as discussions about their future continued with authorities.
"There were no new incidents reported over the last 24 hours," he said. He estimated 3 000 were affected by Tuesday's attacks.
In 2008, a wave of attacks on foreigners in and around Johannesburg led to 15 000 migrants, most of them Zimbabweans, being forced into settlement camps.
The violence also spread to Cape Town, swelling the overall numbers of displaced, and was aimed mainly at the millions of Zimbabweans who fled their homeland in search of work and a better future.
The global economic downturn and the first recession in two decades have caused massive job losses in Africa's largest economy. Unemployment is officially close to a quarter of the country's population of 49 million. - Reuters
South African police fired rubber bullets on Tuesday to disperse a mob who attacked shacks belonging to hundreds of migrants following several days of tension.
The attacks in De Doorns, a town 150 km from Cape Town, was reminiscent of 2008 riots in which foreigners were targeted. At least 42 people died and tens of thousands were displaced across South Africa.
"At the moment between 1 300 and 2 700 people, mostly Zimbabwean asylum seekers, have set up an internally displaced persons camp site or safety site, at De Doorns sports ground," Braam Hanekom, co-ordinator of People Against Suffering, Suppression, Oppression and Poverty (PASSOP), told Reuters.
Hanekom said the asylum seekers were housed in two large tents. There was limited water, poor security and a few portable toilets, he added.
"Today all the displaced asylum seekers refused to go to work for fear of being attacked," Hanekom said.
The attacks flared over competition for seasonal jobs at farms in the area, with local people arguing that Zimbabweans were "stealing jobs" by agreeing to work longer hours for less pay than locals were prepared to do.
The De Doorns police station commander, Superintendent Desmond van der Westhuizen, told Reuters the displaced migrants would probably be held in tents for the next week, as discussions about their future continued with authorities.
"There were no new incidents reported over the last 24 hours," he said. He estimated 3 000 were affected by Tuesday's attacks.
In 2008, a wave of attacks on foreigners in and around Johannesburg led to 15 000 migrants, most of them Zimbabweans, being forced into settlement camps.
The violence also spread to Cape Town, swelling the overall numbers of displaced, and was aimed mainly at the millions of Zimbabweans who fled their homeland in search of work and a better future.
The global economic downturn and the first recession in two decades have caused massive job losses in Africa's largest economy. Unemployment is officially close to a quarter of the country's population of 49 million. - Reuters
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
They said we must go!
"What will the future hold for us? They started destroying our houses and said we must go." (News24)
This was the feeling on Tuesday night of a weary Philip Chinomera, 46, one of 3 500 foreigners who fled their shacks in the township of De Doorns in the Western Cape because of angry locals.
On Tuesday morning locals tried to stop foreigners from getting onto the trucks of farmers coming to collect workers for the day. They had also demolished a number of shacks rented by foreign nationals. Luckily, they had already been vacated.
'They don't belong in SA'
Tensions began to flare up after 68 foreigners had slept at a municipal storeroom next to a police station at the weekend following a shebeen fight in which Zimbabweans were involved.
Rumours then began to circulate that action was to be taken against foreigners.
A local resident, Sibongiseni Makapela, 18, said South Africans are breaking down the homes of Zimbabweans because "they don't belong in South Africa".
About 1 800 of the foreign nationals who fled, including children, were escorted by police to a sports field where they will sleep in tents.
At the municipal storeroom, Nyasha Masayire described South Africans as "very rough".
"They treat us like shit."
Another Zimbabwean man came running up, holding out his work permit.
"Why do South Africans want to chase us away? We have work permits!" he called out.
This was the feeling on Tuesday night of a weary Philip Chinomera, 46, one of 3 500 foreigners who fled their shacks in the township of De Doorns in the Western Cape because of angry locals.
On Tuesday morning locals tried to stop foreigners from getting onto the trucks of farmers coming to collect workers for the day. They had also demolished a number of shacks rented by foreign nationals. Luckily, they had already been vacated.
'They don't belong in SA'
Tensions began to flare up after 68 foreigners had slept at a municipal storeroom next to a police station at the weekend following a shebeen fight in which Zimbabweans were involved.
Rumours then began to circulate that action was to be taken against foreigners.
A local resident, Sibongiseni Makapela, 18, said South Africans are breaking down the homes of Zimbabweans because "they don't belong in South Africa".
About 1 800 of the foreign nationals who fled, including children, were escorted by police to a sports field where they will sleep in tents.
At the municipal storeroom, Nyasha Masayire described South Africans as "very rough".
"They treat us like shit."
Another Zimbabwean man came running up, holding out his work permit.
"Why do South Africans want to chase us away? We have work permits!" he called out.
More than 2,000 Zimbabweans flee, fearing attacks
 Photo: Tebogo Letsie/IRIN  |
| More than 100,000 people were displaced when xenophobic violence erupted in 2008 |
Fearing a resurgence of xenophobic attacks, around 2,500 Zimbabwean migrants have taken refuge in government buildings in De Doorns, a farming town about 140km from Cape Town, South Africa, after some of their shacks in an informal settlement were attacked and demolished, said a police official.
The attacks took place early in the morning of 17 November in Stofland, meaning dustland in Afrikaans, the largest squatter camp in De Doorns. All the displaced Zimbabweans are documented.
The local police station commander, Superintendent Desmond van der Westhuizen, told IRIN the local residents were unhappy that farm owners had been employing Zimbabweans for "less money", and had complained that farmers were "excluding the local community".
The attacks took place early in the morning of 17 November in Stofland, meaning dustland in Afrikaans, the largest squatter camp in De Doorns. All the displaced Zimbabweans are documented.
The local police station commander, Superintendent Desmond van der Westhuizen, told IRIN the local residents were unhappy that farm owners had been employing Zimbabweans for "less money", and had complained that farmers were "excluding the local community".
 But the residents threatened to prevent the Zimbabweans from going to work on 17 November [Monday morning |
The global economic recession has hit South Africa hard; the government's latest labour force survey said 484,000 jobs had been lost in the last six months, and unemployment stood at 24.5 percent for the period July to September 2009, up from 23.2 percent during the same period in 2008.
Van der Westhuizen told IRIN that the situation had been tense since 13 November, when Zimbabweans had been involved in a violent spat in an informal tavern. "Following that incident, some 68 Zimbabweans" had fled the area, fearing a resurgence of xenophobic violence.
In May 2008 a tide of xenophobic violence erupted in Johannesburg and quickly spread through most parts of the country, killing more than 60 people and displacing about 100,000 others.
"The same area was affected in 2008," van der Westhuizen said. The 68 Zimbabweans took refuge in government buildings in De Doorns during Saturday and Sunday.
The police, accompanied by local government and disaster management officials, held a meeting with the informal settlement residents on the evening of 16 November to calm the situation. "But the residents threatened to prevent the Zimbabweans from going to work on 17 November [Monday morning]," van der Westhuizen told IRIN.
Police had to fire rubber bullets to disperse the residents, who attacked some more shacks in Stofland, forcing the Zimbabweans to flee. "Fortunately, none of the Zimbabweans were harmed and they all moved out with their personal belongings voluntarily," the police superintendent said.
The local authorities are trying to erect a tent shelter and provide portable toilets for the displaced people on the town's sports ground. Van der Westhuizen told IRIN: "We are making interim arrangements to keep them here for a week until we try and mediate with the local residents to get the Zimbabweans integrated back into the community." - IRIN
Van der Westhuizen told IRIN that the situation had been tense since 13 November, when Zimbabweans had been involved in a violent spat in an informal tavern. "Following that incident, some 68 Zimbabweans" had fled the area, fearing a resurgence of xenophobic violence.
In May 2008 a tide of xenophobic violence erupted in Johannesburg and quickly spread through most parts of the country, killing more than 60 people and displacing about 100,000 others.
"The same area was affected in 2008," van der Westhuizen said. The 68 Zimbabweans took refuge in government buildings in De Doorns during Saturday and Sunday.
The police, accompanied by local government and disaster management officials, held a meeting with the informal settlement residents on the evening of 16 November to calm the situation. "But the residents threatened to prevent the Zimbabweans from going to work on 17 November [Monday morning]," van der Westhuizen told IRIN.
Police had to fire rubber bullets to disperse the residents, who attacked some more shacks in Stofland, forcing the Zimbabweans to flee. "Fortunately, none of the Zimbabweans were harmed and they all moved out with their personal belongings voluntarily," the police superintendent said.
The local authorities are trying to erect a tent shelter and provide portable toilets for the displaced people on the town's sports ground. Van der Westhuizen told IRIN: "We are making interim arrangements to keep them here for a week until we try and mediate with the local residents to get the Zimbabweans integrated back into the community." - IRIN
Foreigners flee xenophobia in the Boland
About 1 000 foreign nationals have evacuated informal settlements at De Doorns in the Western Cape following a flare-up of xenophobia, police said on Tuesday.
Gallery: Xenophobia
De Doorns station commissioner Superintendent Desmond van der Westhuizen said, however, that he had had no reports of physical violence against foreigners. He said tensions had been building since last week.
On Tuesday morning, local residents had prevented foreigners from climbing onto the trucks of farmers coming into the town to collect seasonal workers for the day.
The locals claimed the foreigners - mostly Zimbabweans, but including some Lesotho nationals - were accepting lower wages than locals and robbing them of jobs.
The locals had also demolished a number of shacks rented by the foreigners before police intervened, at one point firing rubber bullets.
The shacks had already been vacated, Van der Westhuizen said.
He said 68 foreigners had slept at a municipal storeroom next to the police station over the weekend following a shebeen fight on Friday night in which Zimbabweans were involved, and rumours that action was to be taken against foreigners.
By Tuesday afternoon about 1 000 people had gathered at the hall with their possessions.
Officials and councillors from the Breede River municipality, as well as the Western Cape MECs for social development and safety, Ivan Meyer and Lennit Max, were on the scene to assess the situation.
The situation was quiet and police were monitoring the four informal settlements.
Van Der Westhuizen said he was, however, worried about what was going to happen under the cover of darkness.
He said most Zimbabweans stayed in a settlement named Stofland, and others in Ekuphumleni and Hasie Square, while the Lesotho nationals stayed in a settlement named Maseru.
He said the outbreak of xenophobia was not a one-off incident, but an annual occurrence.
"It's a thing with a history," he said. "We must all come on board to solve this problem." - Sapa
Gallery: Xenophobia
De Doorns station commissioner Superintendent Desmond van der Westhuizen said, however, that he had had no reports of physical violence against foreigners. He said tensions had been building since last week.
On Tuesday morning, local residents had prevented foreigners from climbing onto the trucks of farmers coming into the town to collect seasonal workers for the day.
| 'It's a thing with a history' |
The locals had also demolished a number of shacks rented by the foreigners before police intervened, at one point firing rubber bullets.
The shacks had already been vacated, Van der Westhuizen said.
He said 68 foreigners had slept at a municipal storeroom next to the police station over the weekend following a shebeen fight on Friday night in which Zimbabweans were involved, and rumours that action was to be taken against foreigners.
By Tuesday afternoon about 1 000 people had gathered at the hall with their possessions.
| 'We must all come on board to solve this problem' |
The situation was quiet and police were monitoring the four informal settlements.
Van Der Westhuizen said he was, however, worried about what was going to happen under the cover of darkness.
He said most Zimbabweans stayed in a settlement named Stofland, and others in Ekuphumleni and Hasie Square, while the Lesotho nationals stayed in a settlement named Maseru.
He said the outbreak of xenophobia was not a one-off incident, but an annual occurrence.
"It's a thing with a history," he said. "We must all come on board to solve this problem." - Sapa
They hate us, says Zimbabwean woman
Scores of De Doorns residents, most of them farmworkers, ripped down shacks belonging to Zimbabweans this morning, accusing them of "stealing our jobs".View the gallery
The Zimbabwean families were forced to pack up their belongings and seek refuge in a community hall in the Hex River Valley town, which is about two hours from Cape Town.
As residents, armed with sticks and stones, raced through the Ekuphumleni informal settlement tearing down makeshift homes, police fired rubber bullets and used a stun grenade to disperse them.
Angry residents said they wanted the Zimbabweans to leave De Doorns and that local farmers were opting to employ the Zimbabweans ahead of South Africans.
One Zimbabwean woman, who was too frightened to give her name, stood alongside the N2, which runs through De Doorns, her belongings stacked beside her.
"They hate us because we work harder than them and we work every day," the woman said.
- Cape Argus
The Zimbabwean families were forced to pack up their belongings and seek refuge in a community hall in the Hex River Valley town, which is about two hours from Cape Town.
As residents, armed with sticks and stones, raced through the Ekuphumleni informal settlement tearing down makeshift homes, police fired rubber bullets and used a stun grenade to disperse them.
Angry residents said they wanted the Zimbabweans to leave De Doorns and that local farmers were opting to employ the Zimbabweans ahead of South Africans.
One Zimbabwean woman, who was too frightened to give her name, stood alongside the N2, which runs through De Doorns, her belongings stacked beside her.
"They hate us because we work harder than them and we work every day," the woman said.
- Cape Argus
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Home affairs in the dark about number of illegal immigrants
The Department of Home Affairs has no idea how many illegal immigrants are in South Africa. (from the M&G)
Responding to a question at a parliamentary media briefing on Thursday, Home Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said providing such a figure was "difficult".
Asked to give her department's latest estimate of the number of people illegally living and working in South Africa, she replied: "I don't know. If somebody's here illegally, how do I know they are here? I do not know, that's an honest answer."
Tthe South African Police Service, in its 2008/09 annual report, said there could be as many as six million "undocumented" foreigners in the country.
"According to various estimates, the number of undocumented immigrants in South Africa may vary between three and six million people," according to the report.
The police go on to say most of these illegal immigrants "may belong to the economically-active age group, as well as the high crime-risk age group".
Responding to a question at a parliamentary media briefing on Thursday, Home Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma said providing such a figure was "difficult".
Asked to give her department's latest estimate of the number of people illegally living and working in South Africa, she replied: "I don't know. If somebody's here illegally, how do I know they are here? I do not know, that's an honest answer."
Tthe South African Police Service, in its 2008/09 annual report, said there could be as many as six million "undocumented" foreigners in the country.
"According to various estimates, the number of undocumented immigrants in South Africa may vary between three and six million people," according to the report.
The police go on to say most of these illegal immigrants "may belong to the economically-active age group, as well as the high crime-risk age group".
Monday, November 2, 2009
Zimbabwean beaten to death in Diepsloot
A 22-year-old Zimbabwean man has been beaten to death by Diepsloot residents who accused him of robbery, said police. (from the M&G)
Two of his friends, aged 20 and 25, were severely assaulted in the attack on Saturday, said Captain Tessa Jansen.
The three men were walking in Extension One at 6pm when a man accosted them, she said.
"The South African man accused one of the three Zimbabweans of having robbed him of money in the past two weeks," she said.
"He then shouted and called for back up from the other residents.
"The residents came in big numbers and took the three men to a shack nearby, where they assaulted all of them with fists and everything they could lay their hands on."
Jansen said the police were called by a concerned member of the community.
"When the police arrived at the scene, the crowd quickly dispersed and no one was arrested.
"But the man who was accused of robbery was already dead. His two friends were rushed to Tembisa Hospital in a serious condition."
No arrests had yet been made.
Two of his friends, aged 20 and 25, were severely assaulted in the attack on Saturday, said Captain Tessa Jansen.
The three men were walking in Extension One at 6pm when a man accosted them, she said.
"The South African man accused one of the three Zimbabweans of having robbed him of money in the past two weeks," she said.
"He then shouted and called for back up from the other residents.
"The residents came in big numbers and took the three men to a shack nearby, where they assaulted all of them with fists and everything they could lay their hands on."
Jansen said the police were called by a concerned member of the community.
"When the police arrived at the scene, the crowd quickly dispersed and no one was arrested.
"But the man who was accused of robbery was already dead. His two friends were rushed to Tembisa Hospital in a serious condition."
No arrests had yet been made.
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Xenophobia simmering under the surface
Last Saturday in Harare squatter camp in Khayelitsha local residents knocked on the doors of foreign nationals to remind them to be leaving. No violence accompanied the xenophobic intimidation, however the xenophobia continues to simmer just under the surface.
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Nobody loves a Refugee
Some business owners in Maitland plan to lodge an interdict application to force the Home Affairs Department to move its newly opened refugee centre out of Voortrekker Road. (from IOL)
The City of Cape Town has told the Cape High Court that it is essential to evict more than 200 refugees from Bluewaters, near Strandfontein, because it requires the land as a recreational facility and holiday resort for the upcoming festive season. (also from IOL)
The City of Cape Town has told the Cape High Court that it is essential to evict more than 200 refugees from Bluewaters, near Strandfontein, because it requires the land as a recreational facility and holiday resort for the upcoming festive season. (also from IOL)
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Seething below the surface
'Xenophobic violence could happen today, tomorrow or next week, who knows," shouts Moriti Phasha inside his humid corrugated iron office in Brazzaville, a craggy informal settlement on the outskirts of Atteridgeville, west of Pretoria, and the site of the first outbreak of xenophobic violence early last year. (from the M&G)
Phasha is a self-appointed community leader who handles more than 100 service delivery queries by Brazzaville residents each day.
It's been 18 months since last year's violent attacks and Phasha says the community remains remorseless.
"Who can blame the community for behaving like this?" he asks. "The people of Brazzaville have lived here for 12 years without electricity, water and employment and are very frustrated. It is unfair to expect them to be pleased to share the little space they have with Zimbabweans and Malawians and Mozambicans and Somalis under these circumstances."
Phasha says the attacks were intended to draw government's attention ahead of the 2009 general elections.
"The government's response to the attacks made us look like fools. Instead of addressing our concerns, they rushed to set up camps for foreigners using our tax money. They treated them like royalty and had the police guarding the camps day and night. But nobody ever says anything about our problems and the promises government always makes. We have become victims of the vote."
Despite wide public condemnation of last year's violence, which claimed more than 60 lives and left about 20 000 foreigners displaced, sporadic attacks have continued, say experts. And as frustrated communities countrywide take to the streets in protest against lacklustre service delivery and corrupt local government officials, fears abound of yet another spate of violence.
Dr Loren Landau, head of the forced migration studies programme at the University of the Witwatersrand, says that although last year's attacks were a result of a combination of broken election promises, skyrocketing food prices and electricity outages, they cannot be seen as something of the past.
"When government does not deliver and people begin to feel left out, they are vulnerable to be mobilised for attacks of this nature," he says, adding that the 2011 local government elections will be a platform community leaders will use to mobilise against one another in the jostling for positions.
What worries Landau most is that government hasn't done much to change the situation. "An initial commission of inquiry has gone nowhere," he says, "and it is clear from the draft national plan of action that they still need to understand the real issues."
He says government's approach of attributing the attacks to poor people's increasing impatience with the lack of service delivery further entrenched the idea that foreigners -- more than 75% of migrants are from the Southern African Development Community -- are a threat to people's livelihoods because they are taken care of with resources meant for South Africans.
The decision to give Zimbabweans 90 days visa-free entry to South Africa exacerbated the perception that foreigners are being treated better by the government than citizens.
But Gauteng government spokesperson Thabo Masebe maintains that the victims of the xenophobic violence integrated themselves back into society without any real help from government.
"Our job was to create an environment of safety and communities had to accept that they can live with foreign nationals. None of these communities where the attacks [occurred] had any problems again."
Masebe says this is thanks to government's public education strategies and campaigns by community leaders to convince communities to accept foreigners. "And the message has sunk in," he says.
Landau disagrees, saying attacks have continued but on a much smaller scale. "There have been continuing attacks -- not necklacing, but they have been there."
A recent study by the forced migration programme found that no reintegration had actually taken place. He says victims did not return to their original homes but instead relocated to the inner city, where accommodation is more expensive but deemed safer.
Landau says government has not paid enough attention to the small civic groups that were originally set up in the 1980s and 1990s and which were responsible for organising the attacks. "These groups are community policing forums or street committees that are socially legitimate and which, in the name of security and protecting the community's values, encourage violence against foreigners."
According to recent reports, 137 people have been convicted in connection with the xenophobic attacks, and 182 cases have been withdrawn because of witnesses or complainants having left the country. In May this year 51 cases were ready for trial and 82 had been referred for further investigation.
The national prosecuting authority's Bulelwa Makeke says there have been convictions for these cases under various charges, such as assault and grievous bodily harm, intimidation, murder and malicious damage to property.
"I am, however, not in a position to provide you [with] any statistics and precise numbers, as our information is captured according to conviction rates [for] general crime types," says Makeke, indicating that the xenophobic attacks have not been classified or tracked independently of general crime.
But a brisk walk along Brazzaville's muddy avenues, which draws curious stares from the locals, shows not much has changed and highlights the obvious divisions between South Africans and foreigners.
Unemployed resident Norah Matloa says foreigners in Brazzaville have become stubborn and are quick "to cry xenophobia". She says they are involved in all sorts of criminal activities, but when confronted or reported to the police they claim that they are being victimised because they are foreigners.
"These people are untouchables now and we are nothing in our country," says Matloa. "Most of us are not happy with this situation and I wouldn't be surprised if another attack happens."
Meanwhile, outside the home affairs' refugee reception centre in the Crown Mines industrial area, refugees, mostly Zimbabweans, Mozambicans and Somalis, crowd the busy road. Colourfully dressed female traders selling cold drinks, cigarettes and biscuits have taken pavement space to set up stalls. The area looks like a mini-market and taxis come and go -- loading and off-loading refugees opposite the centre's heavily guarded entrance.
Joyce Sibanda, a Zimbabwean refugee, is one of the traders. She arrives at the centre at 5am daily to do business.
"It is an everyday struggle but it is better than being in Zimbabwe doing nothing," she says. Sibanda's wish is "to get a green book" so that she can conduct her business freely. "For me getting the green book is the ultimate goal. Zimbabwe won't be fixed overnight. It will take a long time and maybe all of us will be dead then," she says, chuckling, fingering the variety of sweets and bubblegum on her stall.
Since the opening of the refugee centre four years ago, tussles about trading space between refugee traders and factory owners have become a common occurrence. Factory owners recently complained to the Department of Home Affairs about the booming informal activities next to the factories and the increase in theft that has come with it.
But Sibanda is not troubled. "We don't care what happens between the department and the owners of these factories. All we want is a better life and better treatment from South Africans," she says. "They can chase us all they can but we are not going anywhere. I'd rather be killed here [in South Africa] than die of hunger in Zimbabwe."
Phasha is a self-appointed community leader who handles more than 100 service delivery queries by Brazzaville residents each day.
It's been 18 months since last year's violent attacks and Phasha says the community remains remorseless.
"Who can blame the community for behaving like this?" he asks. "The people of Brazzaville have lived here for 12 years without electricity, water and employment and are very frustrated. It is unfair to expect them to be pleased to share the little space they have with Zimbabweans and Malawians and Mozambicans and Somalis under these circumstances."
Phasha says the attacks were intended to draw government's attention ahead of the 2009 general elections.
"The government's response to the attacks made us look like fools. Instead of addressing our concerns, they rushed to set up camps for foreigners using our tax money. They treated them like royalty and had the police guarding the camps day and night. But nobody ever says anything about our problems and the promises government always makes. We have become victims of the vote."
Despite wide public condemnation of last year's violence, which claimed more than 60 lives and left about 20 000 foreigners displaced, sporadic attacks have continued, say experts. And as frustrated communities countrywide take to the streets in protest against lacklustre service delivery and corrupt local government officials, fears abound of yet another spate of violence.
Dr Loren Landau, head of the forced migration studies programme at the University of the Witwatersrand, says that although last year's attacks were a result of a combination of broken election promises, skyrocketing food prices and electricity outages, they cannot be seen as something of the past.
"When government does not deliver and people begin to feel left out, they are vulnerable to be mobilised for attacks of this nature," he says, adding that the 2011 local government elections will be a platform community leaders will use to mobilise against one another in the jostling for positions.
What worries Landau most is that government hasn't done much to change the situation. "An initial commission of inquiry has gone nowhere," he says, "and it is clear from the draft national plan of action that they still need to understand the real issues."
He says government's approach of attributing the attacks to poor people's increasing impatience with the lack of service delivery further entrenched the idea that foreigners -- more than 75% of migrants are from the Southern African Development Community -- are a threat to people's livelihoods because they are taken care of with resources meant for South Africans.
The decision to give Zimbabweans 90 days visa-free entry to South Africa exacerbated the perception that foreigners are being treated better by the government than citizens.
But Gauteng government spokesperson Thabo Masebe maintains that the victims of the xenophobic violence integrated themselves back into society without any real help from government.
"Our job was to create an environment of safety and communities had to accept that they can live with foreign nationals. None of these communities where the attacks [occurred] had any problems again."
Masebe says this is thanks to government's public education strategies and campaigns by community leaders to convince communities to accept foreigners. "And the message has sunk in," he says.
Landau disagrees, saying attacks have continued but on a much smaller scale. "There have been continuing attacks -- not necklacing, but they have been there."
A recent study by the forced migration programme found that no reintegration had actually taken place. He says victims did not return to their original homes but instead relocated to the inner city, where accommodation is more expensive but deemed safer.
Landau says government has not paid enough attention to the small civic groups that were originally set up in the 1980s and 1990s and which were responsible for organising the attacks. "These groups are community policing forums or street committees that are socially legitimate and which, in the name of security and protecting the community's values, encourage violence against foreigners."
According to recent reports, 137 people have been convicted in connection with the xenophobic attacks, and 182 cases have been withdrawn because of witnesses or complainants having left the country. In May this year 51 cases were ready for trial and 82 had been referred for further investigation.
The national prosecuting authority's Bulelwa Makeke says there have been convictions for these cases under various charges, such as assault and grievous bodily harm, intimidation, murder and malicious damage to property.
"I am, however, not in a position to provide you [with] any statistics and precise numbers, as our information is captured according to conviction rates [for] general crime types," says Makeke, indicating that the xenophobic attacks have not been classified or tracked independently of general crime.
But a brisk walk along Brazzaville's muddy avenues, which draws curious stares from the locals, shows not much has changed and highlights the obvious divisions between South Africans and foreigners.
Unemployed resident Norah Matloa says foreigners in Brazzaville have become stubborn and are quick "to cry xenophobia". She says they are involved in all sorts of criminal activities, but when confronted or reported to the police they claim that they are being victimised because they are foreigners.
"These people are untouchables now and we are nothing in our country," says Matloa. "Most of us are not happy with this situation and I wouldn't be surprised if another attack happens."
Meanwhile, outside the home affairs' refugee reception centre in the Crown Mines industrial area, refugees, mostly Zimbabweans, Mozambicans and Somalis, crowd the busy road. Colourfully dressed female traders selling cold drinks, cigarettes and biscuits have taken pavement space to set up stalls. The area looks like a mini-market and taxis come and go -- loading and off-loading refugees opposite the centre's heavily guarded entrance.
Joyce Sibanda, a Zimbabwean refugee, is one of the traders. She arrives at the centre at 5am daily to do business.
"It is an everyday struggle but it is better than being in Zimbabwe doing nothing," she says. Sibanda's wish is "to get a green book" so that she can conduct her business freely. "For me getting the green book is the ultimate goal. Zimbabwe won't be fixed overnight. It will take a long time and maybe all of us will be dead then," she says, chuckling, fingering the variety of sweets and bubblegum on her stall.
Since the opening of the refugee centre four years ago, tussles about trading space between refugee traders and factory owners have become a common occurrence. Factory owners recently complained to the Department of Home Affairs about the booming informal activities next to the factories and the increase in theft that has come with it.
But Sibanda is not troubled. "We don't care what happens between the department and the owners of these factories. All we want is a better life and better treatment from South Africans," she says. "They can chase us all they can but we are not going anywhere. I'd rather be killed here [in South Africa] than die of hunger in Zimbabwe."
Friday, October 23, 2009
Nowhere to run
Despite attempts to evict victims of last year's xenophobic violence from a Cape Town safety camp, their future remains uncertain. Their relocation could mean more attacks, writes Yazeed Kamaldien (from the M&G)
Rehema Shindano is 15 and the eldest of five sisters -- refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo -- who haven't been to school for more than a year.
Having fled their home when xenophobic violence erupted countrywide in May 2008, they now live in a plastic tent with their parents at the Blue Waters safety site in Strandfontein, Cape Town.
Shindano's family was among the 20000 African foreigners in Cape Town displaced by the violence.
Now they face the possibility of a second eviction -- and this time it will probably be back to the townships they fear. They have lived at Blue Waters for about 18 months, against the will of officials who have wanted them off the site since last September.
The City of Cape Town's application for an eviction order to get Shindano, her family and about 300 other refugees out of the Blue Waters seaside recreation area continued in the Cape High Court this week. Meanwhile, Shindano lives in limbo.
"I would like to go back to school one day, but not in this country because I don't feel comfortable here anymore. I would like to live in a safe place where the people will welcome us with open arms. Where people are kind to us. I'm not sure where that will be," says Shindano of her ideal future.
Her younger sisters giggle and play in the small tent where they live. Utensils and foodstuffs are packed on the tent's floor. There is not much light inside the tent as there is no electricity here -- they use candles to light their temporary homes and firewood for cooking. If they want cellphone batteries recharged, they send the devices to friends. There is no hot water; mobile toilets have been set up but sanitation is not this site's best feature. Tents are grouped according to the nationalities of the site's inhabitants.
The site is a sort of no-man's-land the inhabitants of which face an uncertain future. It's a bleak existence at Blue Waters, but the refugees stay on. Why not reintegrate?
Shindano says it simply: "We are still scared of what might happen." She says they had lived in the Samora Machel informal settlement in Phillipi, Cape Town, from the time they arrived in South Africa in 2003. But then everything changed.
"I remember refugees taking their belongings and running to the police station. I was coming home from school that day. In trains people were shouting that they would kill foreigners. We were scared of showing them our faces or telling them that we were foreigners," says Shindano. "We got home and our father told us that we should leave. We knew what would happen. They were saying that we should leave this country."
The Shindanos ended up at a police station, then at two different mosques and finally at Blue Waters. It doesn't offer much.
"People give us food and clothes. That's the happiest time. Sometimes it's very boring to live here. It feels like the United Nations has failed us," says Shindano.
Most refugees at Blue Waters have the impression that the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) will secure them a brighter life elsewhere.
Lawrence Mbangson, an UNHCR representative in Cape Town, has been acting as a mediator between refugees and the city's authorities. He seems to be more sympathetic to the city's desire to clear Blue Waters.
The UN body has been pivotal in moving the Blue Waters refugees to the Delft Symphony Way temporary relocation area, which has problems of its own. Mbangson feels strongly that some refugees are exploiting the situation.
"Some refugees are in this country illegally. They want resettlement … very few people get that.
"Even if you meet the criteria, it can take four to eight years. And they don't qualify. They don't realise that a plane will not come from nowhere to take them to America or Europe," he said.
Moving these refugees to Delft -- which locals call Blikkiesdorp, in reference to its 1 300 flimsy zinc structures -- has so far been disastrous. Refugees say they constantly face death threats from locals, while murders and drug abuse are common.
Samsam Ahmad, a Somali mother of two children, said that she does not "feel safe in this place". She was holding her new-born baby as she talked about her fears.
"Every night they knock and say, 'What are you doing here? This is my place'. They say they want to burn us. My children's lives are at risk. Every night I don't sleep. I left Blue Waters because the UNHCR said they want to give us protection. But now my life is in danger. This is not protection."
A fragile-looking 60-year-old Somali woman demonstrates the loud bangs they get at night on their temporary zinc homes in Blikkiesdorp. An Ethiopian refugee appears, willing to share his story, but is scared of being named.
"I came here [to Blikkiesdorp] because I had no choice," he says. "The UNHCR said it would put us somewhere where there is protection. But here, someone can kill me."
Back at Blue Waters, Shindano is scared and uncertain. She says she had lots of South African friends.
"They didn't feel right about what was happening but I knew somewhere inside of them they felt that foreigners should leave this country. I'm not sure how I knew this. I thought that their parents started talking about it to them," says Shindano.
"When the whole country is against you, it's just not right. You are scared and you just want to run."
Rehema Shindano is 15 and the eldest of five sisters -- refugees from the Democratic Republic of Congo -- who haven't been to school for more than a year.
Having fled their home when xenophobic violence erupted countrywide in May 2008, they now live in a plastic tent with their parents at the Blue Waters safety site in Strandfontein, Cape Town.
Shindano's family was among the 20000 African foreigners in Cape Town displaced by the violence.
Now they face the possibility of a second eviction -- and this time it will probably be back to the townships they fear. They have lived at Blue Waters for about 18 months, against the will of officials who have wanted them off the site since last September.
The City of Cape Town's application for an eviction order to get Shindano, her family and about 300 other refugees out of the Blue Waters seaside recreation area continued in the Cape High Court this week. Meanwhile, Shindano lives in limbo.
"I would like to go back to school one day, but not in this country because I don't feel comfortable here anymore. I would like to live in a safe place where the people will welcome us with open arms. Where people are kind to us. I'm not sure where that will be," says Shindano of her ideal future.
Her younger sisters giggle and play in the small tent where they live. Utensils and foodstuffs are packed on the tent's floor. There is not much light inside the tent as there is no electricity here -- they use candles to light their temporary homes and firewood for cooking. If they want cellphone batteries recharged, they send the devices to friends. There is no hot water; mobile toilets have been set up but sanitation is not this site's best feature. Tents are grouped according to the nationalities of the site's inhabitants.
The site is a sort of no-man's-land the inhabitants of which face an uncertain future. It's a bleak existence at Blue Waters, but the refugees stay on. Why not reintegrate?
Shindano says it simply: "We are still scared of what might happen." She says they had lived in the Samora Machel informal settlement in Phillipi, Cape Town, from the time they arrived in South Africa in 2003. But then everything changed.
"I remember refugees taking their belongings and running to the police station. I was coming home from school that day. In trains people were shouting that they would kill foreigners. We were scared of showing them our faces or telling them that we were foreigners," says Shindano. "We got home and our father told us that we should leave. We knew what would happen. They were saying that we should leave this country."
The Shindanos ended up at a police station, then at two different mosques and finally at Blue Waters. It doesn't offer much.
"People give us food and clothes. That's the happiest time. Sometimes it's very boring to live here. It feels like the United Nations has failed us," says Shindano.
Most refugees at Blue Waters have the impression that the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) will secure them a brighter life elsewhere.
Lawrence Mbangson, an UNHCR representative in Cape Town, has been acting as a mediator between refugees and the city's authorities. He seems to be more sympathetic to the city's desire to clear Blue Waters.
The UN body has been pivotal in moving the Blue Waters refugees to the Delft Symphony Way temporary relocation area, which has problems of its own. Mbangson feels strongly that some refugees are exploiting the situation.
"Some refugees are in this country illegally. They want resettlement … very few people get that.
"Even if you meet the criteria, it can take four to eight years. And they don't qualify. They don't realise that a plane will not come from nowhere to take them to America or Europe," he said.
Moving these refugees to Delft -- which locals call Blikkiesdorp, in reference to its 1 300 flimsy zinc structures -- has so far been disastrous. Refugees say they constantly face death threats from locals, while murders and drug abuse are common.
Samsam Ahmad, a Somali mother of two children, said that she does not "feel safe in this place". She was holding her new-born baby as she talked about her fears.
"Every night they knock and say, 'What are you doing here? This is my place'. They say they want to burn us. My children's lives are at risk. Every night I don't sleep. I left Blue Waters because the UNHCR said they want to give us protection. But now my life is in danger. This is not protection."
A fragile-looking 60-year-old Somali woman demonstrates the loud bangs they get at night on their temporary zinc homes in Blikkiesdorp. An Ethiopian refugee appears, willing to share his story, but is scared of being named.
"I came here [to Blikkiesdorp] because I had no choice," he says. "The UNHCR said it would put us somewhere where there is protection. But here, someone can kill me."
Back at Blue Waters, Shindano is scared and uncertain. She says she had lots of South African friends.
"They didn't feel right about what was happening but I knew somewhere inside of them they felt that foreigners should leave this country. I'm not sure how I knew this. I thought that their parents started talking about it to them," says Shindano.
"When the whole country is against you, it's just not right. You are scared and you just want to run."
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
AmaMpondo vs AmaZulu
Last night at about 11:30 a group of about 40 heavily armed men attacked the Abahlali baseMjondolo office in the Kennedy Road settlement where the movement was holding an all night camp for the Youth League.
The men who attacked were shouting:
'The AmaMpondo are taking over Kennedy. Kennedy is for the AmaZulu.”
Some people were killed. We can't yet say exactly how many. Some are saying that three people are dead. Some are saying that five people are dead. Some people are also very seriously injured. They broke everything that they could.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Somalis fear for their lives
The plight of Somalis in the Blikkiesdorp emergency camp in Delft is worsening as they say they are now terrified of even leaving their houses to look for food.
A 60-year-old mother says sometimes at night people bang on the wall of her State-supplied tiny, single-roomed zinc dwelling without bathroom or toilet and shout "Somalians, go away".
"We can't go outside because it's very dangerous," said a frightened 30-year-old woman who asked not to be named.
Delft police spokesman Joe Wilson said no compaints of violence had been reported to them.
"But we are monitoring the situation there closely," he added.
Police regularly patrol the area, Wilson said.
The 30-year-old and 26 other Somalis have been staying in Blikkiesdorp for the past three weeks, in appalling conditions. There is no electricity or running water in their corrugated iron structures. The woman and her family sleep on the floor and smoke from the paraffin stove is a health hazard to her children, including a month-old baby. - The Cape Times
A 60-year-old mother says sometimes at night people bang on the wall of her State-supplied tiny, single-roomed zinc dwelling without bathroom or toilet and shout "Somalians, go away".
"We can't go outside because it's very dangerous," said a frightened 30-year-old woman who asked not to be named.
Delft police spokesman Joe Wilson said no compaints of violence had been reported to them.
"But we are monitoring the situation there closely," he added.
Police regularly patrol the area, Wilson said.
The 30-year-old and 26 other Somalis have been staying in Blikkiesdorp for the past three weeks, in appalling conditions. There is no electricity or running water in their corrugated iron structures. The woman and her family sleep on the floor and smoke from the paraffin stove is a health hazard to her children, including a month-old baby. - The Cape Times
Mob attack sparks fear of xenophobic violence
Tensions are running high after two men were murdered in a mob attack at the Kennedy Road informal settlement on Sunday, sparking fears of xenophobia and retaliation attacks.
A local community organisation claims the attacks were as a result of xenophobia - with Xhosas being told to leave the largely Zulu community.
Police, however, were adamant the murders were not xenophobia-related but could have been committed by vigilantes.
Transport, Community Safety and Liaison MEC Willies Mchunu was at the scene late last night trying to calm the community, and stopped the crowd from taking the law into their own hands.
Abahlali baseMjondolo (shack-dwellers' movement) (AbM) spokesperson Mzwakhe Mdlalose said: "The men were shouting, 'The AmaMpondo are taking over Kennedy. Kennedy is for the amaZulu'."
"Many people are also seriously injured. The attackers broke everything that they could, including the windows of the (Clare Estate Community) hall.
"They destroyed 15 houses before launching their attack. They were knocking on each door shouting, 'All the amaZulu must come out' and then destroying the shacks," he said.
Mthokozisi Ndlovu and Ndumiso Mnguni were killed after members of the Kennedy Road Development Committee were attacked by a group of about 40 armed men early on Sunday morning, according to AbM.
Eight suspects were arrested by police hours after the killings and police fired rubber bullets to settle the unruly crowd as they scoured the area for suspects.
Tension in the community flared up again late last night, forcing Mchunu, to step in to reassure the shack-dwellers...
- Daily News
A local community organisation claims the attacks were as a result of xenophobia - with Xhosas being told to leave the largely Zulu community.
Police, however, were adamant the murders were not xenophobia-related but could have been committed by vigilantes.
Transport, Community Safety and Liaison MEC Willies Mchunu was at the scene late last night trying to calm the community, and stopped the crowd from taking the law into their own hands.
Abahlali baseMjondolo (shack-dwellers' movement) (AbM) spokesperson Mzwakhe Mdlalose said: "The men were shouting, 'The AmaMpondo are taking over Kennedy. Kennedy is for the amaZulu'."
"Many people are also seriously injured. The attackers broke everything that they could, including the windows of the (Clare Estate Community) hall.
"They destroyed 15 houses before launching their attack. They were knocking on each door shouting, 'All the amaZulu must come out' and then destroying the shacks," he said.
Mthokozisi Ndlovu and Ndumiso Mnguni were killed after members of the Kennedy Road Development Committee were attacked by a group of about 40 armed men early on Sunday morning, according to AbM.
Eight suspects were arrested by police hours after the killings and police fired rubber bullets to settle the unruly crowd as they scoured the area for suspects.
Tension in the community flared up again late last night, forcing Mchunu, to step in to reassure the shack-dwellers...
- Daily News
Friday, September 18, 2009
Somali shop owner's death 'not surprising'
Three suspects were behind bars after the body of a Somali shop owner was found dumped in an open field in the Khayelitsha area yesterday morning.
Mohammed Mohammed Abdi, 28, was off-loading stock at his store in Mfuleni when two gunmen opened fire and wounded him and the driver of the bakkie, police reported.
The men jumped into the vehicle and drove away with Abdi still on the back of the bakkie, but left the injured driver behind.
The men drove to a field just behind Ilitha Park in Mew Way and dumped the body in the long grass, barely hidden from the public.
Police spokesperson Andre Traut said: "Through our investigation after the shooting incident was reported, we managed to find out from community members in Khayelitsha where the body was."
By afternoon, the body was still lying there, covered with a cloth with the victim's shoes next to it.
Abdi Ahmed Aden, of the Somali Association of South Africa (Sassa) and a close friend of Abdi, said: "The body has been lying there since 10am. We do not know what is taking the morgue van so long."
He said he was "terribly pained" at the killing as Abdi was a good man just earning a living. He added, though, that he was not surprised that another Somali had lost his life.
"Last week, a similar situation took place in Delft, where a shop owner was shot dead after a robbery," Aden said.
Another Somali man called the shooting "inhuman". "Even the community members in Mfuleni who knew Abdi feel the same way. We are scared beyond capacity," he said.
The suspects, aged 18 to 23, were found via a tracking device on the bakkie. They were cleaning the blood from the vehicle when they were caught.
They are being detained on charges of murder, attempted murder and robbery.
Meanwhile, the Somalis who were threatened with being set alight by local residents if they did not move out of Blikkiesdorp in Delft, fear for their lives.
A Somali women said that, despite her fear, she was happy the police kept them safe.
She added: "I still don't go out of my house, and I always make sure my children are inside. I want to go back home."
She said no word had come from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees about sending them home.
Their lawyer, William Kerfoot, was unavailable for comment about the steps being taken to help the refugees.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Residents threaten Somali refugees
Somalis relocated from the Bluewaters refugee camp near Strandfontein to Blikkiesdorp emergency camp in Delft, fear for their lives after being threatened with being burnt alive for allegedly jumping the housing queue.
This after residents demonstrated, and claimed the Somalis were taking their homes.
A fearful Somali woman, who did not want to be named said they had been in Blikkiesdorp for two days and now they desperately wanted to be repatriated to Somalia.
"We have already spoken to the UNHRC (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) and they said they will move us but we must be patient."
She has two children, one only 13 days old, the other two.
"Last night (Tuesday) a crowd of people came to us and started asking all kinds of questions, like why we were there and how we managed to get houses so quickly when they have been on the waiting lists for months," she said.
She added that when they returned inside, the crowd started throwing stones at their dwelling made of corrugated iron and shouted that if they do not move they will burn them.
Her brother who also did not want his name mentioned, said: "At Bluewaters we were safe, we had water and clean toilets. Here we don't have water, there is no electricity and no proper toilets."
Beverley Jacobs, a Blikkiesdorp community leader, said: "Work is being done in terms of electricity, poles are being put up. Most of the toilets do not work, but we have put the matter forward to the council."
She said she had sympathy for the Somalis because when she first arrived in Blikkiesdorp, she had the same problems and the City of Cape Town took a while to do something about it.
Thando Swartz, a resident and also part of the committee, said: "The city must come and fix things in Blikkiesdorp. It is unsafe here especially at night because there is no electricity."
William Kerfoot, the Somalis' legal representative, said he had met them and they decided to stay one more night in Blikkiesdorp and will decide on their next step today.
SAPS and Metro Police set up an office in Blikkiesdorp to ensure residents were safe.
- Cape Times
This after residents demonstrated, and claimed the Somalis were taking their homes.
A fearful Somali woman, who did not want to be named said they had been in Blikkiesdorp for two days and now they desperately wanted to be repatriated to Somalia.
| 'At Bluewaters we were safe, we had water and clean toilets' |
She has two children, one only 13 days old, the other two.
"Last night (Tuesday) a crowd of people came to us and started asking all kinds of questions, like why we were there and how we managed to get houses so quickly when they have been on the waiting lists for months," she said.
She added that when they returned inside, the crowd started throwing stones at their dwelling made of corrugated iron and shouted that if they do not move they will burn them.
Her brother who also did not want his name mentioned, said: "At Bluewaters we were safe, we had water and clean toilets. Here we don't have water, there is no electricity and no proper toilets."
Beverley Jacobs, a Blikkiesdorp community leader, said: "Work is being done in terms of electricity, poles are being put up. Most of the toilets do not work, but we have put the matter forward to the council."
She said she had sympathy for the Somalis because when she first arrived in Blikkiesdorp, she had the same problems and the City of Cape Town took a while to do something about it.
Thando Swartz, a resident and also part of the committee, said: "The city must come and fix things in Blikkiesdorp. It is unsafe here especially at night because there is no electricity."
William Kerfoot, the Somalis' legal representative, said he had met them and they decided to stay one more night in Blikkiesdorp and will decide on their next step today.
SAPS and Metro Police set up an office in Blikkiesdorp to ensure residents were safe.
- Cape Times
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Kristallnacht agreement reached in Gugulethu
After months of haggling and threats a deal has finally been struck between competing local and Somali shopkeepers operating in several townships. (From IOL)
Mncedisi Twalo of the Anti-Eviction Campaign, who along with the UN High Commissioner of Refugees senior liaison officer Lawrence Mgbangson mediated the agreement, said the deal would "stabilise communities" in areas badly affected by xenophobia.
Part of the deal is for the Somalis to increase their prices on basic goods like bread, milk and maize meal to bring it in line with the locals.
Somali-owned shops would have to moved 100 metres away from the locals, new shops opened since July would have to close and only 30 percent of spaza's be owned by foreign nationals.
The agreement follows threats by Gugulethu and Kosovo spaza shop owners in June that their Somali competitors had seven days to leave the township or be forced out.
Mncedisi Twalo of the Anti-Eviction Campaign, who along with the UN High Commissioner of Refugees senior liaison officer Lawrence Mgbangson mediated the agreement, said the deal would "stabilise communities" in areas badly affected by xenophobia.
Part of the deal is for the Somalis to increase their prices on basic goods like bread, milk and maize meal to bring it in line with the locals.
Somali-owned shops would have to moved 100 metres away from the locals, new shops opened since July would have to close and only 30 percent of spaza's be owned by foreign nationals.
The agreement follows threats by Gugulethu and Kosovo spaza shop owners in June that their Somali competitors had seven days to leave the township or be forced out.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
SA on alert for Xenophobic violence
The ANC is desperate to avoid the kind of violence that hit last year, when images broadcast around the world -- including some from Jeffsville of residents burning shacks where Zimbabweans, Malawians, Somalis and other foreigners had lived and worked -- exposed deep anti-foreigner sentiment in South Africa. (from the M&G)
Zuma's party released a statement on Thursday promising "to listen and find solutions to people's concerns" and condemning looting and attacks on foreigners "under the guise of `service delivery protests"' against the government.
The reason that the people are picking on jonny foreigner is because the police didn't do shit when the problem came round the first time. The stock the people stole from the Somalian shopkeepers has finally run out. It should come as no surprise that Mr Foreign Shop Owner is a target again.... only this time the people are shouting "service delivery now!" rather than "kwerekwere out!"
Zuma's party released a statement on Thursday promising "to listen and find solutions to people's concerns" and condemning looting and attacks on foreigners "under the guise of `service delivery protests"' against the government.
The reason that the people are picking on jonny foreigner is because the police didn't do shit when the problem came round the first time. The stock the people stole from the Somalian shopkeepers has finally run out. It should come as no surprise that Mr Foreign Shop Owner is a target again.... only this time the people are shouting "service delivery now!" rather than "kwerekwere out!"
Friday, July 24, 2009
Xenophobia - a view
THOUGH I condemn xenophobic violence, one must remember that most of our struggle for freedom was “with our necklaces and matches”. — Agi Orfanos, Cape Town - The Times
Thousands died in the struggle for freedom.
Most of Africa has had freedom for close to half a century, a period surpassing that of apartheid. But Africa has self-destructed through corruption, genocide and expropriation of productive farms and businesses.
There are more than 15million illegal immigrants in South Africa. They are the majority of the workforce in working-class positions in every aspect of the economy.
Almost every job in a Cape Town restaurant is taken by a Zimbabwean. Every parking attendant is Congolese. Every cook or baker is Angolan.
South African blacks have little chance of finding employment outside the municipality.
Refugees are entrenching themselves in South Africa, the Disney World of Africa.
They are benefitting from schooling, healthcare and even housing, while our own people struggle to survive.
One does not need to question the violence when even the jobs as domestic workers and gardeners are taken by foreigners, while the beggars are South Africans.
Break the law and pay the price, vows Zuma
"There can be no justification for violence, looting and destruction of property or attacks on foreign nationals residing in our country."The law enforcement agencies will continue to act swiftly and to take action against all who break the law. They have our full support as they carry out their mandate to maintain law and order in our communities."
This was the message from President Jacob Zuma, who on Thursday addressed a meeting of black business people in Sandton.
This was echoed by Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs Minister Sicelo Shiceka, who on Thursday said the attacks on foreigners during Mpumalanga service delivery protests were unacceptable and criminal.
| 'The law enforcement agencies will continue to act swiftly' |
"Such acts further take away from any genuine grievances that anyone may be presenting to government," Shiceka said.
On Thursday, a preliminary report into the cause of recent service delivery protests in Mpumalanga was released.
"The findings - include a lack of responsiveness to issues raised by communities," the ministry said.
The report uncovered tensions between the political and administrative sections of some municipalities, as well as the existence of financial mismanagement and allegations of fraud and corruption.
Some ward committees were not fully functional and therefore not communicating properly with communities.
Poor service delivery was identified as the result of poor planning, maintenance and management of infrastructure.
There were also problems with the integrated development plans and budgeting processes of some municipalities.
The report was compiled by a task team dispatched to the province by Shiceka a week ago.
Municipalities assessed include Thaba Chweu, Albert Luthuli, Emalahleni, Emkhondo, Pixley ka Seme, Govan Mbeki, Steve Tshwete and Msukaligwa.
These are some of the areas which have experienced the most violent protests in the past few weeks.
- Sapa
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Charges against jailed Jo'burg homeless people dropped
All charges against the more than 350 homeless people jailed over the weekend have been dropped in the Johannesburg Magistrates Court today. Those arrested, mostly Zimbabweans, were freed following the court decision. Earlier on state lawyers refused to prosecute the jailed homeless who were arrested and charged with loitering.Those freed were nabbed during a police round-up in a midnight raid on Friday. They were crammed into a police cell for the weekend, and now they have expressed their relief at being released but many of them have complained, calling on the police not to treat them like animals.
Police insist those arrested broke the law by sleeping outside a church in the Central Business District. But state prosecutors weren't convinced, and it took them less than an hour to withdraw the case. Now it's the action of the police officers that hangs in balance amid accusations of heavy-handed tactics.
Jacob Van Garderen from the Lawyers for Human Rights says they are disappointed at the way authorities cleared the police operation in question. Garderen says they have received number of complaints over the conduct of the police during the operation.
Meanwhile the South African Police Service says any complaints against its members must be made at the nearest police station. Over the weekend they claimed the arrests were part of a drive to clean up the streets, and insisted that the crackdown will continue. An estimated 60 000 people will sleep on the streets of Johannesburg tonight and non-government organisations say even if some are taken off the streets, others will just replace them.
- SABC
Monday, July 6, 2009
SA slams arrest of homeless Zim
South African human rights organisations on Saturday condemned the arrest of about 300 destitute Zimbabwean nationals.
"We have been informed by the SAPS (South African Police Service) that the purpose of the raid was to clear the streets and enforce municipal bylaws," the Lawyers for Human Rights and Legal Resources Centre said in a joint statement.
"Large numbers of SAPS and metro police swooped on 344 people seeking shelter from cold, shortly after midnight," the statement added.
Bishop Paul Verryn of the Central Methodist Church said among those arrested were women and children.
The church is situated in central Johannesburg and provides shelter to several hundred refugees, who sleep in the building, most of whom had fled the economic meltdown in Zimbabwe.
"This is definitely a political decision, we've had people living on the street all over the country for many years and they are not arrested. They are targeting specifically this area, they are trying to intimidate these people whose only crime is being poor," he said.
Verryn said there were more than 2,500 Zimbabweans inside the church.
"They (police) want to get rid of these people without offering any alternative, where are they suppose go?"
Police spokesman Wayne Minnaar said more than 300 people were arrested between Friday night and early hours of Saturday.
He said the people were arrested for loitering and sleeping on the pavements, following numerous complaints from the high court and business owners in the city.
"They have been arrested for loitering, they will have to pay a R300 fine or appear in court Monday."
However Lawyers for Human Rights spokesman Jacob Van Garderen said "the only crime they committed is to be destitute without shelter"...
- AFP
SABC News reports that the charges were dropped against all loiterers on Monday.
"We have been informed by the SAPS (South African Police Service) that the purpose of the raid was to clear the streets and enforce municipal bylaws," the Lawyers for Human Rights and Legal Resources Centre said in a joint statement.
"Large numbers of SAPS and metro police swooped on 344 people seeking shelter from cold, shortly after midnight," the statement added.
Bishop Paul Verryn of the Central Methodist Church said among those arrested were women and children.
The church is situated in central Johannesburg and provides shelter to several hundred refugees, who sleep in the building, most of whom had fled the economic meltdown in Zimbabwe.
"This is definitely a political decision, we've had people living on the street all over the country for many years and they are not arrested. They are targeting specifically this area, they are trying to intimidate these people whose only crime is being poor," he said.
Verryn said there were more than 2,500 Zimbabweans inside the church.
"They (police) want to get rid of these people without offering any alternative, where are they suppose go?"
Police spokesman Wayne Minnaar said more than 300 people were arrested between Friday night and early hours of Saturday.
He said the people were arrested for loitering and sleeping on the pavements, following numerous complaints from the high court and business owners in the city.
"They have been arrested for loitering, they will have to pay a R300 fine or appear in court Monday."
However Lawyers for Human Rights spokesman Jacob Van Garderen said "the only crime they committed is to be destitute without shelter"...
- AFP
SABC News reports that the charges were dropped against all loiterers on Monday.
Friday, June 26, 2009
Somalis traders fear for their lives
Somali traders in the Western Cape are "terrified" local traders will turn against them after hundreds of residents gathered in Franschhoek earlier this week and stoned foreign-owned businesses. (from IOL)
Aside from saying the incident stemmed from "a dispute about food prices", police have not indicated whether it was motivated by xenophobia.
Meanwhile, in a similar situation relating to food prices, local and foreign traders in Gugulethu are trying to reach an agreement after local traders insisted the Somalis, who they believe are taking over business in the area, increase the prices of their goods. On Thursday Mahad Omar Abdi, of the Somali Crisis Group, said they were terrified.
"We're in a terrible situation and are scared. What happened in Franschhoek is horrifying. And this just keeps on happening ... (The South Africans) want us to increase our prices, but we won't. We will not go ahead with it ... But we don't know what will happen to us next or where," he said.
Police spokesperson Bernadine Steyn said hundreds of residents, possibly up to 1000, had been involved in the four-hour clash in Franschhoek on Monday.
Aside from saying the incident stemmed from "a dispute about food prices", police have not indicated whether it was motivated by xenophobia.
Meanwhile, in a similar situation relating to food prices, local and foreign traders in Gugulethu are trying to reach an agreement after local traders insisted the Somalis, who they believe are taking over business in the area, increase the prices of their goods. On Thursday Mahad Omar Abdi, of the Somali Crisis Group, said they were terrified.
"We're in a terrible situation and are scared. What happened in Franschhoek is horrifying. And this just keeps on happening ... (The South Africans) want us to increase our prices, but we won't. We will not go ahead with it ... But we don't know what will happen to us next or where," he said.
Police spokesperson Bernadine Steyn said hundreds of residents, possibly up to 1000, had been involved in the four-hour clash in Franschhoek on Monday.
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Special permit for Zimbabweans put on hold
The special permit for Zimbabwean migrants, announced by the South African government, is being put on hold pending a review of the decision by cabinet. (from IRIN)
The outgoing home affairs minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula announced in April 2009 that Zimbabwean migrants would be eligible for a special permit allowing them to stay legally in South Africa for six months.
Home Affairs Deputy Minister Malusi Gigaba said at the time, "We have taken an important decision, which acknowledges that migration patterns between South Africa and Zimbabwe have probably changed permanently."
Home Affairs director-general of Immigration Services, Jackie MacKay, told local media: "The permit confers on them [Zimbabwean migrants] the right to stay in South Africa for a period of six months, it confers on them the right to schooling or education, it confers on them the right to work and access to basic health care."
But after South Africa's general election on 22 April, the new president, Jacob Zuma, appointed former foreign affairs minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma to the home affairs portfolio and the much heralded special permit system for Zimbabweans came under review.
Home Affairs spokesperson Ronnie Mamoepa told IRIN: "The [home affairs] minister wanted cabinet to be briefed about the matter, about the scope and implications of that decision [to grant special permits to Zimbabweans], and we'll take it from there."
I see it coming. Zimbabweans will get 6 month papers and if caught in the country after that they will be deported. How much education can a person get in 6 months? Everyone is elated that the refugees will be given a 6 month reprieve.... BUT THEN WHAT?
The outgoing home affairs minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula announced in April 2009 that Zimbabwean migrants would be eligible for a special permit allowing them to stay legally in South Africa for six months.
Home Affairs Deputy Minister Malusi Gigaba said at the time, "We have taken an important decision, which acknowledges that migration patterns between South Africa and Zimbabwe have probably changed permanently."
Home Affairs director-general of Immigration Services, Jackie MacKay, told local media: "The permit confers on them [Zimbabwean migrants] the right to stay in South Africa for a period of six months, it confers on them the right to schooling or education, it confers on them the right to work and access to basic health care."
But after South Africa's general election on 22 April, the new president, Jacob Zuma, appointed former foreign affairs minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma to the home affairs portfolio and the much heralded special permit system for Zimbabweans came under review.
Home Affairs spokesperson Ronnie Mamoepa told IRIN: "The [home affairs] minister wanted cabinet to be briefed about the matter, about the scope and implications of that decision [to grant special permits to Zimbabweans], and we'll take it from there."
I see it coming. Zimbabweans will get 6 month papers and if caught in the country after that they will be deported. How much education can a person get in 6 months? Everyone is elated that the refugees will be given a 6 month reprieve.... BUT THEN WHAT?
How many Zimbabweans in South Africa?
South Africans share a common belief that large numbers of Zimbabweans have been streaming over the border, but how to handle this influx - and even how many Zimbabweans are in South Africa - is a source of disagreement. (from News24)
The number varies from a high of 9.84 millionm through 4.1 million. Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC)
"This perception produces feelings of helplessness and desperation among officials," concluded the Centre for Development and Enterprise which estimates the number of foreigners in Johannesburg to be only between 500 000 to 550 000.
"You’d think that if it was a large volume of people there’d be a lot of pressure to do something about it but it seems to work the other way around. I think certain government officials like it because it’s an excuse not to do anything because it's too big of a problem." Polzer said
There is a problem with Polzer's counting. If you read the article you will find that he is talking ONLY Zimbabwean MALES. Africa is not just filled with Zimbabwean males - there are women, children and the elderly too, not to mention OTHER countries!
The number varies from a high of 9.84 millionm through 4.1 million. Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC)
"This perception produces feelings of helplessness and desperation among officials," concluded the Centre for Development and Enterprise which estimates the number of foreigners in Johannesburg to be only between 500 000 to 550 000.
"You’d think that if it was a large volume of people there’d be a lot of pressure to do something about it but it seems to work the other way around. I think certain government officials like it because it’s an excuse not to do anything because it's too big of a problem." Polzer said
There is a problem with Polzer's counting. If you read the article you will find that he is talking ONLY Zimbabwean MALES. Africa is not just filled with Zimbabwean males - there are women, children and the elderly too, not to mention OTHER countries!
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Xenophobia still smoldering
"My worry is that my children are going to be slaves because they won't have anything. These foreign people come to South Africa with nothing, but tomorrow he has cash, third day he owns a shop and fourth day he has a car. Where do these foreign people get this money?" (from IPS News)
Small business owners are venting their frustrations on 'foreign nationals' - among them many Somalis - who own shops in the country's townships, causing experts to warn that xenophobic violence could increase.
Businesspeople from four of Cape Town's impoverished communities - Delft, Masiphumelele, Samora Machel and Gugulethu - held several meetings in late May and early June to discuss ways of ridding their communities of foreign-owned shops.
The meetings echo those held a year ago in the Gauteng townships of Atteridgville and Alexandra, shortly before over 150,000 foreign nationals were displaced by a wave of xenophobic violence that swept the country, killing 62 people with thousands more beaten or raped.
On Jun. 14 this year, an unidentified man delivered letters to all 'Somali' shops in Gugulethu, giving the shopkeepers until Jun. 20 to leave the area.
The handwritten, photocopied letters purported to come from the Gugulethu Business Forum, and even though some members distanced themselves from the letters, others accused Somali shopkeepers of having a deliberate agenda to 'kill off' local business.
"Somalians want to be the cheapest business people in town. If they see that am also pricing my goods like them they are going to find ways to undercut me," said one woman shopkeeper who declined to be named for this story.
"At the end of the day there is going to be a lot of trouble in my township. If I had money I would have left long time ago because there is no peace here. And those boys from Somalia have come and created more troubles," said another, who identified himself only as 'Boyce'.
Add the plans to remove 'Somali shopkeepers' to the steady number of attacks and murders of 'foreign nationals' and the mix becomes deadly, says Loren Landau, director of the University of the Witwatersrand's Forced Migration Studies unit.
"Violence against foreigners is rapidly becoming fully integrated into the standard politics of some townships," says Landau.
In May 2008, over 150,000 foreign national were displaced by a wave of xenophobic violence that swept the country, with thousands being murdered or raped.
But since the "officially recognised" outbreak of xenophobia ended last June, police have not kept official statistics of xenophobia-related murders, claiming instead that any deaths of foreign nationals are the result of South Africa's generally high crime rate.
This itself has fuelled xenophobia, says the Somali Association of South Africa.
"There is a culture of impunity developing. When Somali traders are murdered the police don't act on it. There is a perception that if people kill or do whatever to Somalis, nothing will happen to them," says the Somali Association of South Africa's Western Cape co-ordinator Hussein Omar.
Omar's fears appear to be borne out by recent events - in the last fortnight, two young Somali shop assistants were burnt to death, one Zimbabwean and one national of Bangladesh murdered, three shop assistants injured with gunshot wounds in Delft, and another 'Somali shop' in the Cape Town suburb Khayelitsha set alight.
In Gugulethu, a local activist group - the Gugulethu Anti-Eviction Campaign - tried for three weeks to convince the Gugulethu Business Forum not to vent their anger on Somali shopkeepers, but instead to ask government why it was not doing more to support small business.
But the Gugulethu Anti-Eviction Campaign's Mncedisi Twalo says after the businesspeople delivered the threatening letters to 'Somali' shops, he was forced to ask the police for a guarantee that they would protect the Somali shopkeepers.
The police have since arranged meetings between local businesspeople and the Somali shopkeepers, which they have closed to the media.
Omar fears that the actions of small groups of local businesspeople could become a catalyst for other people to vent their frustrations on 'foreign nationals'.
And Landau says that as people come to accept that it is legitimate to plot against "foreign" business people, "the violence will only spread".
Small business owners are venting their frustrations on 'foreign nationals' - among them many Somalis - who own shops in the country's townships, causing experts to warn that xenophobic violence could increase.
Businesspeople from four of Cape Town's impoverished communities - Delft, Masiphumelele, Samora Machel and Gugulethu - held several meetings in late May and early June to discuss ways of ridding their communities of foreign-owned shops.
The meetings echo those held a year ago in the Gauteng townships of Atteridgville and Alexandra, shortly before over 150,000 foreign nationals were displaced by a wave of xenophobic violence that swept the country, killing 62 people with thousands more beaten or raped.
On Jun. 14 this year, an unidentified man delivered letters to all 'Somali' shops in Gugulethu, giving the shopkeepers until Jun. 20 to leave the area.
The handwritten, photocopied letters purported to come from the Gugulethu Business Forum, and even though some members distanced themselves from the letters, others accused Somali shopkeepers of having a deliberate agenda to 'kill off' local business.
"Somalians want to be the cheapest business people in town. If they see that am also pricing my goods like them they are going to find ways to undercut me," said one woman shopkeeper who declined to be named for this story.
"At the end of the day there is going to be a lot of trouble in my township. If I had money I would have left long time ago because there is no peace here. And those boys from Somalia have come and created more troubles," said another, who identified himself only as 'Boyce'.
Add the plans to remove 'Somali shopkeepers' to the steady number of attacks and murders of 'foreign nationals' and the mix becomes deadly, says Loren Landau, director of the University of the Witwatersrand's Forced Migration Studies unit.
"Violence against foreigners is rapidly becoming fully integrated into the standard politics of some townships," says Landau.
In May 2008, over 150,000 foreign national were displaced by a wave of xenophobic violence that swept the country, with thousands being murdered or raped.
But since the "officially recognised" outbreak of xenophobia ended last June, police have not kept official statistics of xenophobia-related murders, claiming instead that any deaths of foreign nationals are the result of South Africa's generally high crime rate.
This itself has fuelled xenophobia, says the Somali Association of South Africa.
"There is a culture of impunity developing. When Somali traders are murdered the police don't act on it. There is a perception that if people kill or do whatever to Somalis, nothing will happen to them," says the Somali Association of South Africa's Western Cape co-ordinator Hussein Omar.
Omar's fears appear to be borne out by recent events - in the last fortnight, two young Somali shop assistants were burnt to death, one Zimbabwean and one national of Bangladesh murdered, three shop assistants injured with gunshot wounds in Delft, and another 'Somali shop' in the Cape Town suburb Khayelitsha set alight.
In Gugulethu, a local activist group - the Gugulethu Anti-Eviction Campaign - tried for three weeks to convince the Gugulethu Business Forum not to vent their anger on Somali shopkeepers, but instead to ask government why it was not doing more to support small business.
But the Gugulethu Anti-Eviction Campaign's Mncedisi Twalo says after the businesspeople delivered the threatening letters to 'Somali' shops, he was forced to ask the police for a guarantee that they would protect the Somali shopkeepers.
The police have since arranged meetings between local businesspeople and the Somali shopkeepers, which they have closed to the media.
Omar fears that the actions of small groups of local businesspeople could become a catalyst for other people to vent their frustrations on 'foreign nationals'.
And Landau says that as people come to accept that it is legitimate to plot against "foreign" business people, "the violence will only spread".
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Angolan refugee killed
The death of an Angolan has raised more questions about the safety of refugees at the Nyanga refugee centre.
Sebastian Santana, 29, was stabbed to death by unidentified men on Monday morning at the bridge near the centre.
Angolan refugee leader Joao Nascineto told the Cape Argus last night that Santana was on his way to the centre to renew his papers when he was approached by men who told him to go back to his country.
"They then tried to rob him and when he resisted, they stabbed him three times," Nascineto said.
He said refugees were concerned about xenophobic attacks in the area, and had asked that the centre be moved.
"If the location is not changed, more bodies are going to be seen there. My friend, colleague and my countryman has died, how many have to die until something is done about the centre?" Nascineto asked.
Braam Hanekom, chairperson of Passop (People against Suppression, Suffering, Oppression and Poverty), said it was not only the refugees but also the neighbouring businesses who wanted the centre moved.
Bishop Lavis police spokesperson Captain Marie Louw said police found Santana's body at about 10.20am in the field alongside Borcherd's Quarry Road.
"According the clerk at the Nyanga Home Affairs office, (Santana) had an appointment for 7am to renew his work permit," she said. Santana had apparently not been robbed, since he still had his cellphone, as well as R2 400 in his pocket.
"Police are investigating a murder case," Louw said.
A Somali shopowner was shot and killed in Guguletu on Monday night.
Police spokesperson Captain Elliot Sinyangana said four men entered the shop, then pulled out guns and demanded money. The shopowner was shot in the upper body and the men escaped with cash, cigarettes and airtime.
Sinyangana said that at a meeting called by the police in the area on Tuesday, local shopowners distanced themselves from the incident, saying it was a straight criminal case.
- Cape Argus
Sebastian Santana, 29, was stabbed to death by unidentified men on Monday morning at the bridge near the centre.
Angolan refugee leader Joao Nascineto told the Cape Argus last night that Santana was on his way to the centre to renew his papers when he was approached by men who told him to go back to his country.
"They then tried to rob him and when he resisted, they stabbed him three times," Nascineto said.
He said refugees were concerned about xenophobic attacks in the area, and had asked that the centre be moved.
"If the location is not changed, more bodies are going to be seen there. My friend, colleague and my countryman has died, how many have to die until something is done about the centre?" Nascineto asked.
Braam Hanekom, chairperson of Passop (People against Suppression, Suffering, Oppression and Poverty), said it was not only the refugees but also the neighbouring businesses who wanted the centre moved.
Bishop Lavis police spokesperson Captain Marie Louw said police found Santana's body at about 10.20am in the field alongside Borcherd's Quarry Road.
"According the clerk at the Nyanga Home Affairs office, (Santana) had an appointment for 7am to renew his work permit," she said. Santana had apparently not been robbed, since he still had his cellphone, as well as R2 400 in his pocket.
"Police are investigating a murder case," Louw said.
A Somali shopowner was shot and killed in Guguletu on Monday night.
Police spokesperson Captain Elliot Sinyangana said four men entered the shop, then pulled out guns and demanded money. The shopowner was shot in the upper body and the men escaped with cash, cigarettes and airtime.
Sinyangana said that at a meeting called by the police in the area on Tuesday, local shopowners distanced themselves from the incident, saying it was a straight criminal case.
- Cape Argus
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Foreign traders threatened once again.....
Gugulethu traders have delivered warning letters to Somali shopkeepers telling them they have seven days to leave the area. (from IOL)
Identical acts of intimidation preceded last year's outbreak of xenophobic violence, and foreign traders living and working in informal settlements fear they may again be violently ejected from their homes. An urgent meeting between Gugulethu police and foreign and local business owners has been set up for Monday to try to quell the tensions and avert another outbreak of violence.
A study released a few days ago by the City of Cape Town found there were tensions between local and foreign spaza shop traders in Khayelitsha because foreigners were professionally "more efficient" and that this upset local traders, who felt business was being snatched from them.
The recent letters come as the City of Cape Town is offering programmes to develop local and foreign traders' skills.
On Sunday, Mncedisi Twalo, spokesperson for the Anti-Eviction Campaign, which has joined forces with local and foreign traders to try to ease tensions between the two groups, said "business rivalry" was again causing problems.
He said despite a number of meetings aimed at getting locals and foreigners in Gugulethu to work together, Somali traders in the area had received letters on Saturday from local business owners "telling them they have seven days to vacate the area".
Twalo said a group of Somalis who felt threatened had gone immediately to the Gugulethu police station.
Elliot Sinyangana, the station's spokesperson, said officers had received "a surprise visit" from the Somalis.
"The letter (they showed) us was very informal," he said.
"In it locals said they wanted the Somalis out of the area in seven days. There was no name on it, there was no letter head and it didn't say who it was from.
"It's the same old story. According to (the locals) the Somalis are taking over business in the area."
Sinyangana did not know how many warning letters had been distributed. Although the Somalis had not lodged a formal complaint, he said police were investigating.
He said residents had seen someone in a white bakkie dropping off the letters and some of the Somali shopkeepers had managed to take down its registration number.
"We traced the (number plate) to a bakkie, but this was outside a business nothing like that run by the Somali or local traders."
Sinyangana said after investigations it appeared a duplicate number plate had been used on the bakkie that delivered the letters.
Police had therefore not yet been able to trace the distributor, but Sinyangana said officers had spoken to local traders and warned them that if they distributed such letters it would be viewed as intimidation and they would face legal action.
He said an urgent meeting between police, local and foreign traders had been set up for today.
"We want to kill this problem and see that everyone is bound by a decision by the end of the meeting," he said.
The Somali Association of South Africa's deputy chairman, Abdi Adan, said he had heard about the letters.
"We got some papers telling us to leave our shacks in seven days. (The shopkeepers) do feel threatened. This is not the first time this is happening. We've had similar kinds of intimidation. It's hectic.
"The main problem coming from the local business owners is jealousy."
The city's executive director for economic, social development and tourism, Mansoor Mohamed, said it was found that "the root cause of trader tension was mainly the lack of entrepreneurial ability among local shopowners and not necessarily xenophobia".
Xenophobic violence hit the city in May last year and about 20 000 foreigners fled informal settlements. In the months leading up to the violence, warning letters telling foreigners to leave were distributed in the informal settlements.
Identical acts of intimidation preceded last year's outbreak of xenophobic violence, and foreign traders living and working in informal settlements fear they may again be violently ejected from their homes. An urgent meeting between Gugulethu police and foreign and local business owners has been set up for Monday to try to quell the tensions and avert another outbreak of violence.
A study released a few days ago by the City of Cape Town found there were tensions between local and foreign spaza shop traders in Khayelitsha because foreigners were professionally "more efficient" and that this upset local traders, who felt business was being snatched from them.
The recent letters come as the City of Cape Town is offering programmes to develop local and foreign traders' skills.
On Sunday, Mncedisi Twalo, spokesperson for the Anti-Eviction Campaign, which has joined forces with local and foreign traders to try to ease tensions between the two groups, said "business rivalry" was again causing problems.
He said despite a number of meetings aimed at getting locals and foreigners in Gugulethu to work together, Somali traders in the area had received letters on Saturday from local business owners "telling them they have seven days to vacate the area".
Twalo said a group of Somalis who felt threatened had gone immediately to the Gugulethu police station.
Elliot Sinyangana, the station's spokesperson, said officers had received "a surprise visit" from the Somalis.
"The letter (they showed) us was very informal," he said.
"In it locals said they wanted the Somalis out of the area in seven days. There was no name on it, there was no letter head and it didn't say who it was from.
"It's the same old story. According to (the locals) the Somalis are taking over business in the area."
Sinyangana did not know how many warning letters had been distributed. Although the Somalis had not lodged a formal complaint, he said police were investigating.
He said residents had seen someone in a white bakkie dropping off the letters and some of the Somali shopkeepers had managed to take down its registration number.
"We traced the (number plate) to a bakkie, but this was outside a business nothing like that run by the Somali or local traders."
Sinyangana said after investigations it appeared a duplicate number plate had been used on the bakkie that delivered the letters.
Police had therefore not yet been able to trace the distributor, but Sinyangana said officers had spoken to local traders and warned them that if they distributed such letters it would be viewed as intimidation and they would face legal action.
He said an urgent meeting between police, local and foreign traders had been set up for today.
"We want to kill this problem and see that everyone is bound by a decision by the end of the meeting," he said.
The Somali Association of South Africa's deputy chairman, Abdi Adan, said he had heard about the letters.
"We got some papers telling us to leave our shacks in seven days. (The shopkeepers) do feel threatened. This is not the first time this is happening. We've had similar kinds of intimidation. It's hectic.
"The main problem coming from the local business owners is jealousy."
The city's executive director for economic, social development and tourism, Mansoor Mohamed, said it was found that "the root cause of trader tension was mainly the lack of entrepreneurial ability among local shopowners and not necessarily xenophobia".
Xenophobic violence hit the city in May last year and about 20 000 foreigners fled informal settlements. In the months leading up to the violence, warning letters telling foreigners to leave were distributed in the informal settlements.
Foreigners 'used' to distribute drugs
Drug lords in Durban are exploiting foreign workers by paying them as little as R30 a day to get their drugs ready for distribution. (from IOL)
"Foreigners coming into this country are desperate and are easily abused for criminal purposes. They are prepared to do just about anything to make sure that they have their day's meal and money to get them through."
"Foreigners coming into this country are desperate and are easily abused for criminal purposes. They are prepared to do just about anything to make sure that they have their day's meal and money to get them through."
When He opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come and see.” So I looked, and behold, a black horse, and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand.
And I heard a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not harm the oil and the wine.”
Revelation 6:5-6
Friday, June 5, 2009
Fear remains a year after xenophobic violence
Sreaming and the sound of shots flare up in the background while scores of petrified foreigners, fear evident in their eyes, run out of the dark informal settlement as police helicopters hover above.
A year later: it's daytime, all is calm in Du Noon and children can be heard playing.
But a Somali man stands alone in his shop with the fearful look still in his eyes, and he flinches as a group of locals walk by, talking loudly.
| 'No, they don't belong here. They should go' |
On May 22 last year xenophobic violence spread to the Western Cape and erupted in the Du Noon informal settlement, with locals forcing foreign nationals to flee.
By the next day the violence had spread to a number of settlements and three days later at least 20 000 foreigners had been forced from their homes. Currently, although the situation has stabilised and the majority of foreigners have returned to the settlements, many fear that simmering tensions may lead to similar violence.
A meeting was held in Gugulethu this week to discuss these fears and last week two Somali men burnt to death in their shop in Darling in what locals believe was a xenophobic attack.
Speaking from his Du Noon shop, which was trashed during last year's violence, Mohamed said he still felt uneasy about being back in the settlement. "Sometimes the people around here tell me to get out. Right now it's okay but I'm scared the same like last year will happen," he said.
Mohamed stayed at the Blue Waters safety camp for three months but then returned to Du Noon as he "had nowhere else to go".
Further down the road, a Somali shopkeeper, standing behind a thick wire grid barring people from entering his shop, shook his head when asked about the violence. "I don't want to think about that. Ever," was all he would say.
In Gugulethu, shop owner Hassan Abdi said although locals bought items from him, they sometimes told him to "get out" of the area.
Mncedisi Twalo, an Anti-Eviction Campaign spokesperson, said yesterday locals had been complaining that they were losing business to foreigners. "Some say they are prepared to act violently to get back their business," he said.
Police spokesperson Elliot Sinyangana said more police officers were being deployed in case violence broke out. Meanwhile, in Nyanga a local woman selling aprons said she felt foreigners in the area should "just be left alone".
As she said this, though, a friend shook her head and said: "No, they don't belong here. They should go." Three others nodded in agreement.
- Cape Times
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