Some royally fucked up shit is happening in South Africa and I'm sadly not entirely surprised by it. For years now, immigrants from Malawi and Zimbabwe have been absorbed by South Africa and have taken jobs for less pay. Now, black, poor South Africans have been taking out their rage against the immigrants they feel are taking away their jobs. They've burned homes and beaten immigrants to death. At least 22 people have been killed so far.
The xenophobia against immigrants is very intense. One of the principals I met with in Port Elizabeth told me he doesn't like to talk to Nigerians; he thinks they're all criminals. Other people told me to steer clear of any immigrant neighborhoods downtown because that's where most crime happens.
Police were slow to respond to the attacks. This also makes sense, since very few South African cops actually patrol townships. Much much more money gets pumped into protecting the rich from the poor. Many of the people I met in the townships wished there was more of a police presence to protect them. I met a lot of kids who told me they wanted to grow up to be policemen and policewomen so they could help ensure the safety of their neighborhood. It was crazy to think; their parents likely spent much of their lives running away from the cops during the Apartheid regime. I wonder how they felt about their children's career aspirations.
With little police to patrol the violence, I'm concerned what will happen next. There's so much hatred against immigrants boiling under the surface of black South African culture, especially among poorer blacks who've received little from the government since the end of Apartheid, and I can see this hatred spilling into townships outside of Jo'berg. Until Mbeki's government starts to provide more jobs and build more houses for poor South Africans, they will continue to resent immigrants who move into their townships.
No comments:
Post a Comment