CONSTITUTION’S PROMISE THAT SOUTH AFRICA BELONGS TO ALL WHO LIVE IN IT NEEDS TO BE MORE THAN JUST WORDS

Response to “Seeking Shelter from the

Storm” our sparring post perspectives on the recent xenophobic marches

DM 168 had an alarming page of articles on the recent spate of xenophobic protests which were being stoked for dubious political motives.

We remember May 2008 when after a weekend of violence, nearly 20,000 foreign nationals in Cape Town were displaced from their homes. We must change the discourse before prejudice against foreign nationals changes from words to violence. We have seen it happen in Nazi Europe, in Rwanda, in Cape Town in 2008 and earlier this year when frightened foreigners camped outside the UN Refugee Office as they felt unsafe. We do not want such xenophobic violence to happen in Cape Town again.

Recently a march was organised in Tshwane by a group yelling profanities about foreign nationals, who they blamed for human trafficking, drug abuse, violence against women and service delivery failures. It does not matter that studies have shown there is no qualitative link between immigrants, crime and South Africa’s economic challenges.

The Cape SA Jewish Board of Deputies has adopted a No Place for Hate campaign. We appeal to the media to spread this message among their readers.

Our Constitution’s promise that South Africa belongs to all who live in it, united in our diversity, needs to be more than just words.