Attacks on foreigners spread in S. Africa

African immigrants may soon be forced to fight back against attacks by South African mobs.

from the May 22, 2008 edition

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South Africa's working-poor population appears to be in downward spiral of economic woe.

High food prices – a global phenomenon – have combined with persistent unemployment – officially estimated at 24 percent, but thought to be as high as 40 percent – to create an angry atmosphere where local South Africans tend to blame the foreigners in their midst.

Foreigners scapegoated for woes

The South African government, intentionally or not, often gives citizens a scapegoat, blaming everything from high crime to the stress on state services such as electricity, healthcare, and education on the continued influx of Zimbabweans and Mozambicans.

Many experts say that the government, therefore, shares some of the blame for sparking the current crisis.

"Essentially, [the government's] failures contributed to create a perfect storm of lawlessness, poverty, and unfulfilled expectations, which has now erupted into violence," the SAIRR said in a statement this past weekend. "In failing to maintain the rule of law, the state had conditioned many poor communities to violent behavior."

"The government has made terrible misstatements," says Kronje at the SAIRR. "While there is truth that Zimbabweans do take jobs, the problem is not the Zimbabweans. The problem is that there are not enough jobs for everybody."

In the Johannesburg township of Soweto, police said they now know who the ringleaders of recent violence were and would soon move in to make arrests. Captain Mpande Khoza told the Sowetan newspaper that shops belonging to foreign nationals were specifically targeted, and the prime attraction seemed to be the money, property, and other goods taken.

Mathias – a Malawi native and gardener who would not give his last name for fear of retribution – says he has no idea what sparked the violence against foreigners. But in the current environment, he now trusts no one and says he has only a 25 percent chance of coming out of the current crisis without significant loss of property.

"My building is next to a township," Mathias says. "And when I have a friend over for tea, he looks around the room and sees a TV, a stereo, and he keeps that image in his head. So when a time like this comes along, and the police are doing nothing, he might say, 'Now's the time. Let's take what we can.' "

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