In May of 2013, a YouTube video of an angry mob stoning and beating a naked man circulated around the world. The man later died in hospital from injuries sustained during the attacks. His name was Abdi Nasir Mahmoud Good, a 25 year-old Somali national who had migrated to South Africa in search of better economic prospect in Africa’s second largest economy. The gruesome way in which Abdi was killed caused the Somali diaspora community in the United States, England and South Africa to hold protests against the South African government demanding that all who were involved in his murder be held accountable for their actions. The Prime Minister of Somalia even urged the South African president, Jacob Zuma, to investigate the incident further. Although Abdi’s story is tragic, his life is one of the thousands of African migrants that have been lost due to the endemic xenophobia that exists among South African communities.

 

Xenophobia is defined as the hatred of foreigners or strangers and is derived from the Greek word xenos (foreign) and phobos (fear). In South Africa, xenophobia has a different meaning as it is not the hatred all foreigners, but of African migrants in particular. Nevertheless, despite its hostility towards African migrants, South Africa is home to largest number of asylum seekers in the world. It is estimated that since 2000, three million Zimbabweans have fled to South Africa. Similarly, there is a large presence of Mozambican, Nigerian, Somali, Ethiopian, Congolese, and Chinese nationals in the country.

 

Even though sentiments of xenophobia are present in other countries such as France, India and Indonesia, a 2006 Xenophobia Survey found that xenophobic attitudes in South Africa were especially excessive (daily maverick).

 

2008: The Year that Changed Everything

 

Although xenophobic incidents occurred as early as the 1990s, in 2008 more than sixty foreign African nationals were killed across the country.

 

In May of that year, a series of violent protests against foreign-owned businesses erupted in the township of Alexandra in northern Johannesburg. The violence quickly spread to many informal settlements and townships in other parts of the country. Over the course of two weeks, countless foreign-owned businesses were looted, hundreds of foreigners were injured, and thousands of individuals were displaced and forced to seek refuge in temporary resettlement camps.

 

Since then, there has not been wide spread violence to the the samescale. Yet every year, more African migrants continued to be killed and their businesses looted.

 

Providing Services Where Needed

 

South Africa is home luxuriant suburbs and a fast growing middle class that have benefited from the fruits of liberation from the apartheid regime that grappled the country for decades. At times, it can be easy to miss the millions of people who live in townships and informal settlements. These informal settlements are poorly serviced with hardly any running water, and infiltrated with high unemployment and extreme poverty. Despite the high crime rate in these areas, the police is often invisible. The malls and grocery stores that compete side by side in the city centres and suburbs are not present either. A resident who wishes to buy a few groceries would have to travel to the city centre or nearest mall which can sometimes be a couple of kilometres away.

 

Foreign migrants notice this problem and capitalise on the resource mismatch. Faced with the difficulties of obtaining formal employment, African migrants are forced to embark on a life of entrepreneurship or menial labour in order to survive in South Africa. Many seek to take advantage of the lack of grocery stores in informal settlements by establishing small convenience stores. Although not comparable to the large grocery stores, these small shops stock the basic necessities at favourable prices and save numerous households from long trips to the mall. If managed well, the shopkeeper may save between one and two thousand dollars each year and decide to either open another convenience store or send the money to relatives back in their native country. Besides the select few that are highly skilled and manage to find formal employment, menial labour and entrepreneurship is the only way for the majority African migrants make a living in South Africa.

 

The trouble then arises when, because of the high unemployment rate, many locals look at the success of the small convenience stores and then blame the owners of taking jobs away from them. Coupled with this is the fact that violent riots and protests are sometimes the only ways to draw the government’s attention to the grievances of lack of service delivery in these communities. Thus, in the face of government delivery protests, protesters relieve their frustrations by looting foreign shops and harassing the shopkeepers. This harassment can be anything between a few slaps and kicks to being burnt alive.

 

The May 2008 violence in one community started when people went to complain to their local councilor about electricity.

 

Being the Wrong Kind of Foreigner

 

Whereas other African migrants were be given the benefit of the doubt and questioned about their origins, Ethiopians and Somalis were not given the chance. Due to their distinct facial features, they can easily be identified as foreign and thus are the group that most prone to incidents of xenophobia.  It is estimated that since 1997, over 1000 Somalis have been killed in South Africa in various acts of xenophobia.

 

There is no telling what event leads to the outbursts of looting of foreign-owned businesses and the attacks on African migrants in these communities. While the high unemployment rate and poverty is perceived to be at the nucleus of the problem, anything could trigger the next bout of violence. When Nelson Mandela was hospitalised in June 2013, there were fears that foreigners would bear the violence that would ensue from the rush of emotions following his death. To much relief, these rumours did not manifest. More recently, following this year’s presidential elections, foreign-owned businesses were singled out and looted in the brief post-election rioting that occurred.

 

Troubling Statistics

 

Studies show that xenophobia exists in every strata and socioeconomic class in South Africa. But it is within poor communities that the violent actions are carried out. However, it is important to note that the treatment that African migrants receive in these community mirrors the government’s treatment of foreigners. African foreigners often report of harassment at police station, neglect in hospitals, and abuse at immigration offices. In fact, the week following Abdi’s death, security guards at the Department of Home Affairs turned a fire hose on hundreds of African migrants who were lined up to renew their temporary asylum seeker’s documents. Sometimes, such migrants wait outside the office for countless days before their papers can be renewed.

 

Studies by the South African Migration Programme reveal that more than half of South Africans believe that African migrants constitute the majority of the population. In reality, migrants account for just below 5 percent of the population (2.2 million). In the same survey, 63 percent of South Africans opted for an electrified fence along the nation’s border, 61 percent did not want it to be easier for foreigners to start small businesses in the country, and 68 percent were against foreigners obtaining citizenship. Furthermore, the Consortium for Refugees and Migrants in South Africa found that, in 2011, one African foreigner was killed per week on average, while 100 were seriously injured.

 

Hope for the Future

 

Realizing the benefits of having the small convenience stores, community leaders in some townships and informal settlements, have taken a stance against xenophobia. Over the past year, there has been several high profile campaigns encouraging foreigners and their businesses to return to these areas. Such is the case in the Masiphumelele township outside of Cape Town. Following xenophobic attacks, community leaders sprang to action and urged the foreigners to return. This community’s efforts attracted a congratulatory visit from the Archbishop Desmond Tutu. These steps might pave the way for the beginnings of more widespread acceptance of foreigners in South Africa.

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