Xenophobia In South Africa
Prior to 1994, immigrants from elsewhere faced discrimination and even violence in South Africa. After majority rule in 1994, contrary to expectations, the incidence of xenophobia increased.Between 2000 and March 2008, at least 67 people died in what were identified as xenophobic attacks. In May 2008, a series of attacks left 62 people dead; although 21 of those killed were South African citizens. The attacks were motivated by xenophobia.In 2015, another nationwide spike in xenophobic attacks against immigrants in general prompted a number of foreign governments to begin repatriating their citizens.A Pew Research poll conducted in 2018 showed that 62% of South Africans viewed immigrants as a burden on society by taking jobs and social benefits and that 61% of South Africans thought that immigrants were more responsible for crime than other groups.
Increase In The Immigrant Community Of South Africa
Between 2010 and 2017 the immigrant community in South Africa increased from 2 million people to 4 million people.The proportion of South Africa’s total population that is foreign born increased from 2.8% in 2005 to 7% in 2019, according to the United Nations International Organization for Migration,in spite of widespread xenophobia in the country.This made South Africa the largest recipient of immigrants on the African continent in 2019.
Xenophobia In South Africa Before 1994
Between 1984 and the end of hostilities in that country, an estimated 50,000 to 350,000 Mozambicans fled to South Africa. While never granted refugee status they were technically allowed to settle in the bantustans or black homelands created during the apartheid system. The reality was more varied, with the homeland of Lebowa banning Mozambican settlers outright while Gazankulu welcomed the refugees with support in the form of land and equipment. Those in Gazankulu, however, found themselves confined to the homeland and liable for deportation should they officially enter South Africa, and evidence exists that their hosts denied them access to economic resources.
Unrest and civil war likewise saw large numbers of Congolese people emigrate to South Africa, many illegally, in 1993 and 1997. Subsequent studies found indications of xenophobic attitudes towards these refugees, typified by them being denied access to the primary healthcare to which they were technically entitled.
Xenophobia in South Africa after 1994
Despite a lack of directly comparable data, xenophobia in South Africa is perceived to have significantly increased after the election of a Black majority government in 1994.According to a 2004 study published by the Southern African Migration Project(SAMP):
The ANC government – in its attempts to overcome the divides of the past and build new forms of social cohesion … embarked on an aggressive and inclusive nation-building project. One unanticipated by-product of this project has been a growth in intolerance towards outsiders … Violence against foreign citizens and African refugees has become increasingly common and communities are divided by hostility and suspicion.
The study was based on a citizen survey across member states of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and found South Africans expressing the harshest anti-immigrant sentiment, with 21% of South Africans in favour of a complete ban on foreign entry and 64% in favour of strict limitations on the numbers permitted. By contrast, the next-highest proportion of respondents in favour of a complete ban on immigration were in neighbouring Namibia, and Botswana, at 10%.
What Is Xenophobia In South Africa?
Xenophobia is an extreme, intense fear and dislike of customs, cultures, and people considered strange, unusual, or unknown. The term itself comes from Greek, where “phobos” means fear and “xenos” can mean stranger, foreigner, or outsider. Yet in Greek, xenos carries some ambiguity. It can also mean guest or wanderer.The experts noted that xenophobia, especially against low-income, African and Southeast Asian migrants and refugees, had been a feature of South African politics for many years. In 2008, for example, xenophobic violence resulted in the death of over 60 people and contributed to the displacement of at least 100,000.
