Schwartzerwitz: Mob attack sparks fear of xenophobic violence

Monday, September 28, 2009

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

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Every Pogrom needs an Armband....

Welcome to Schwartzerwitz. The inevitable consequence of 4 million illegal immigrants arriving in South Africa. More desperate than our local folk they are willing to work longer harder faster for less. The immigrants are more reliable than South African unskilled labour and have outcompeted the local folk. No matter what anyone says it's not FAIR on our locals. Adding 4 million hungry mouths to the country has exacerbated the rocketing food prices felt across the globe. Adding 4 million potential electricity users to the mix has undoubtedly worsened the electricity situation. Having 4 million people send home money to their family drains the economy of money which should stay within the borders. Adding 4 million people and not registering them as taxpayers has cost the country billions. What chance does our government of ridding the country of shacks as per the Millennium Development Goal when 4 million immigrants build/rent shacks. Murambatsvina in Zimbabwe....? Just move to a shack in South Africa. On an individual basis this site condemns violent acts against individuals. However as a collective the illegal immigrants deserve no sympathy and should be deported back from whence they came. These people are economic refugees - "not real refugees" - and they are(generally speaking) in South Africa illegally.

kwerekwere.

The inside cover of my Oxford English dictionary features a word with which I have become all too familiar: the word is kwerekwere.

(It may be more familiar to you with one of its vernacular language–dependant prefixes prepended — the Sotho singular being le– and plural ma–, the Nguni singular being i– and plural ama–). This word is used to refer to black (in the morphological sense) Africans who are not South Africans — South African being defined as Sotho, Nguni, Venda and Tsonga ethnic groups (by that measure the Swazis, Batswana, etc. would be South African?). This word has a very negative sting to it and is often used with contempt. From what I gather it has undertones which speak of how black Africans are believed to be sub–human, too dark and have a pungent smell.