What Is Xenophobia?
Xenophobia is the fear or hatred of anything which is perceived as being foreign or strange.It is an expression of perceived conflict between an ingroup and an outgroup and may manifest in suspicion by the one of the other’s activities, a desire to eliminate their presence, and fear of losing national, ethnic, or racial identity.
African Immigrants In South Africa
It remains very difficult to identify the number of international migrants in South Africa. The census of 2001 indicated that there were 350,000 immigrants, but the last census, in 2011, did not try to count them, to our great surprise. The authorities and newspapers often mention 2 or even 5 million foreigners on African soil. This great uncertainty allows the authorities to easily make scapegoats out of them.
For our part, we know that the largest community comes from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), with 30,000 people. It seems there would be about the same number of Nigerians. Next come, in descending order for the French-speaking Africans, are Rwandans, Senegalese, Malians, and Ivorians, with the latter not numbering more than 1,000 in South Africa.
The African immigrants are accused of taking work away from South Africans, who are faced with an official unemployment rate of 27% of the working population, affecting 37% of Blacks and only 7% of Whites. However, this figure remains largely underestimated, as it does not take into account the 2 million persons who declare having given up looking for a job. According to the Centre for Migration, only 4% of workers are foreigners.
How Can We Stop Xenophobia In South Africa
Those most exposed to xenophobic violence are the foreigners living in the slums and townships alongside black South Africans. These are especially Somalians and Ethiopians who run ‘spaza shops’, which are small convenience stores housed in containers. Zimbabweans and Mozambicans are also identified as foreigners in these environments that can become hostile, as we saw in 2008 along with an explosion of violence that had not been seen since apartheid.
Some victims are burned alive when subject to ‘necklacing’ (when a tire drenched in gasoline is put over the victim’s head and set on fire), a form of torture that used to be inflicted on people suspected of being spies for the racist regime. People are paralyzed for life today, and hundreds have been voluntarily repatriated following these events.
When we started out, we gathered funds to repatriate 500 people: 200 to Mozambique and 300 to Zimbabwe. African Diaspora Forum now has 7,000 members from 35 different countries. They are individuals or associations that are more or less structured depending on the communities. The Nigerian community, for example, is not very organized.
The Economic Contribution Of Immigrants
With regard to the economic aspect of the presence of migrants, we want to show how their currency transfers to their country of origin are important. To do so, we want to conduct a serious study, for which we are seeking funding. We carry out advocacy so that small-scale shop owners can have a space in cities to sell, even if it means that local authorities arrange for them to pay taxes and make their contribution.
South African government policy is marked by a very strong attitude of denial of the violence that migrants can suffer, as well as of the issue of their positive contribution to the South African economy. One study conducted by the Gauteng City-Region Observatory has shown that the many small shops opened by foreigners also create jobs for South Africans.
This research has not been taken seriously by the authorities, who continue to accuse migrants of taking away work from South Africans, even though the labor law is very strict. A South African employer who wants to hire a foreigner, whoever he may be, must first of all prove that no South African has the skills to do that job.
