From the news desk

‘SA must stand together on xenophobia’

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A host of political parties have come out strongly against xenophobia in South Africa as the nation celebrates 21 years of democracy. They are encouraging peaceful debates about issues pertaining to xenophobia. On Friday, politicians shared their views on what has fuelled the xenophobic attacks and possible action that should be taken by government and community to embrace foreign nationals.

“We condemn the acts of violence targeted against foreigners in the strongest sense as we soon celebrate 21 years of democracy. We want police to stop these acts of attacks that are disguised as xenophobic attacks. They are not the reason for our joblessness in this country,” says African National Congress (ANC) national spokesperson Khusela Sangoni.

The Democratic Alliance (DA) visited shelter camps in Chatsworth, Durban where foreign nationals were safe guarded. They found that at least seven people had been killed, 5,000 left homeless and many foreign-owned shops looted since the xenophobic attacks started about a month ago.

Subsequent to attacks on foreign nationals and looting of shops in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng provinces, that led to the army being deployed in volatile areas.

The party condemned xenophobia urging members of the public to unite against intolerance and violence by recognising the ideals of diversity and democracy in South Africa.

“This cannot be the South Africa of today. We are meant to be a nation grounded in human rights, and compassion for others. We cannot allow a descent into violence and the murdering of our neighbours on the streets of this land. South Africa must collectively condemn and fight against xenophobia. We must unite against violence and hatred,” says DA national spokesperson Phumzile Van Damme.

The Congress of South African Trade Union (COSATU) said the behaviour of the perpetrators is unacceptable, adding that people are reacting this way due to rising unemployment rates and poverty plaguing the vast majority of the South African population.

“South Africa has an official unemployment rate of around 25%. Many unemployed South Africans accuse foreigners of taking their jobs,” says COSAUTU communications officer Norman Mampane.

The federation explained that most organizations underemploy migrant workers to increase their profits, however, they are working to resolve this issue by forming an alliance with government to investigate such organizations in order to expose such operations. Labour relations are not adhered to and workers are underpaid.

“We will further engage with employers particularly those who under employ migrant workers of other African countries to maximize their profits. Labour standards are undermined by these organization and we will expose any organizations who continue to participate in such operations,” says Mampane.

COSATU has united with the alliance, SANCU, SACP and ANC to meet with people in the affected communities to take action against xenophobia.

“We are calling on all people to unite against xenophobia as South Africa was not based on these ideals of cooperation and unity,” says Mampane.

Congress of the People (COPE) added that xenophobic attacks were unnecessary. They believe that the socio-economic conditions of the people of South Africa should not be ignored by government to assist in addressing xenophobia.

“High unemployment rates and poverty are issues which are causing xenophobia,” says COPE national spokesperson Dennis Bloem.

He added that foreign nationals should not be blamed for these problems and South Africans should accept foreigners.

“We should not take out our frustrations on foreign nationals as they are not the reason for our struggle rather we should open up our hearts to them as our brothers and sisters,” says Bloem.

The ANC is working closely with civil society to prohibit these attacks and to regulate and monitor illegal migrants by discouraging acts of xenophobia.

“But immigration officials as well as the police is responsible for regulating illegal acts not ordinary people,” says Sangoni.

COSATU said it supports all anti-xenophobic protests.

“We encourage people to engage in peace marches to stop these attacks,” says Mampane. VOC (Nailah Cornelissen)


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