Schwartzerwitz: February 2013

Friday, February 1, 2013

Police on high alert in E Cape after xenophobic attacks

Police remain on high alert at Kwa-Nobuhle in Uitenhage in the Eastern Cape where public violence has broken out, leading to a string of looting incidents.

This after two days of unrest where Somali traders had to flee from their shops as angry residents began looting them.

At least 10 shops were looted on Wednesday night with one being set alight. Last night police had to escort various other Somalians as tensions peaked.

Uitenhage police are investigating a case of murder and public violence following a string of looting incidents also at Khayelitsha townships over the past two days.

Thirteen people were arrested, with four allegedly found in possession of stolen property. Tensions escalated last night following the death of a teenager who was shot dead and police are investigating a case of murder.

Somali Association deputy chairperson, Ahmed Genaye says: “Today they looted everywhere, all the shops. When I investigated the matter they say that the community is okay."

- SABC

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.