Attacks on Foreigners on the Rise in South Africa

There seems to have been an alarming increase in the number of attacks on foreigners during the past few months in South Africa. Although foreign immigrants were initially welcomed by the government of South Africa following the demise of apartheid in 1994, the mood is turning alarmingly hostile - attributed to the perception that foreigners are to blame for the spiraling crime rate and growing unemployment.

No official figures exist, but various estimates allege that there are between three and 6.5 million foreigners, residing illegally in South Africa, a situation that has lately worsened by the collapse of Zimbabwe’s economy.

There have been several brutal and apparently escalating attacks on immigrants from other African countries in cape Town, KwaZulu Natal, the Eastern Cape and Gauteng provinces. Of late, attacks have tended to target Zimbabweans and Somalis, Human Rights Commission (HRC) head Jody Kollapen said recently.

A Western Cape Province police spokesman was unwilling to say whether the attacks were xenophobic. He said there was, however, a general perception in many communities that foreigners were heavily involved in criminal activities.

Kollapen said the situation was exacerbated by South Africa’s high jobless rate - officially 25%, but as high as 42% by some estimates.

“The common myth is that Nigerians are into drugs and prostitution, the Zimbabweans are responsible for cash heists and the Mozambicans stage housebreaking,” said Kollapen.

He said there was no official proof of this, and that only 3% of the prison population were non-nationals. The HRC spokesman Joyce Tloh said the commission was deeply concerned about the situation, as there were several recorded incidents of violence attributable to xenophobia, and a number of complaints had been made. She said although socio-economic disparities may be a factor, “the HRC considers this a human rights issue”.

Source African Press Agency

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