by Julia Juchno
A short story about how those who used to be the targets of racist hatred have become the haters themselves.
2000 South Africa’s Refugee Act has been praised for its consistency with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, as well as the 1951 United Nations Refugee Convention. It has often provided an example of international solidarity by allowing refugees and asylum seekers to enter the country in search of basic rights, such as access to healthcare and education.
Recently a wave of anti-immigrant violence has spread across South Africa, forcing hundreds of foreign nationals to leave the country. Among victims there are citizens of many African countries which supported South Africa during the darkest times of the fight against the apartheid regime.
Openly xenophobic slogans, burned cars, firebombed shops – this has become an everydayness of foreigners in South Africa. Some locals argue their negative attitude towards foreigners is by no means xenophobic, but caused by the fact that “they are prepared to work for less”. However, some rather straight-forwardly express their racist views chanting “foreigners must go, they must go back.” Other reasons for the hatred include beliefs that, purportedly, immigrants are more able to access state-provided goods such as social housing and that they pose a burden to already overloaded healthcare system.
The response of the South African government has been somewhat alarming. Despite apologising for xenophobic temper, the government has not taken significant actions to change the situation and rather attempted to evade the political responsibility. Confession to the existence of such beliefs among the South African citizens would raise questions about the actual ability of the government to meet its obligations under international law and provide basic rights for all nationals. Moreover, it should not be forgotten that South Africa remains Africa’s biggest magnet for migrants due to its high economic development – there are an estimated 3.6 million migrants in South Africa, out of an overall population of well over 50 million.
The fact is that the country’s economy is not growing fast enough to meet the needs of its citizens and tackle growing unemployment. Another fact is, the government does not want to lose its popularity and people’s support. However, what the country’s history has already shown, violence is not an answer – and history likes to repeat itself.
