Xenophobia under spotlight at Africa Day debate
AS Africa Day celebrations continue this week, a debate on how to combat xenophobia and Afrophobia in South Africa took place at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) yesterday.
About 30 people attended the event, hosted by the NMMU Centre for the Advancement of Non-Racialism and Democracy (Canrad), the office of international education and the Department of Arts and Culture.
Dr Savo Heleta, from the office of international education, said the Eastern Cape had seen a remarkably low in- cidence of xenophobia compared with the rest of the country, especially KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.
Heleta is currently working on a research proposal about xenophobia and Afrophobia and said South African perpetrators should be accused of selective xenophobia.
“Those being attacked are mostly from southeast Africa and white foreigners are not targeted,” he said.
Born and raised in Bosnia, Heleta claimed the attacks were due to skewed perceptions of foreign nationals.
“Xenophobia and other social ills feed on myths and perceptions which are not always based on fact,” he said.
Debating the issue further were several panellists from NMMU’s student representative council (SRC), international student representatives and non-profit organisation the Community of African Nations in South Africa (Canisa).
Executive member of Canisa and law lecturer at NMMU Dr Leah Ndimurwimo, originally from Tanzania, believed there had been fewer xenophobic attacks in the metro because Eastern Cape residents had more humanity.
“Although the Eastern Cape is a relatively poor province as compared to the rest of South Africa, the people here have more humanity.” Ndimurwimo said.
International student representative Tafadzwa Muyaka believed xenophobia was less prevalent in the Eastern Cape because it was further away from those who had incited the violence.
“The attacks in Durban were started by the leader, King Goodwill Zwelithini, who fuelled the anger of the people,” Muyaka said, adding that the natural response to fear and “being put in a corner” was violence.
“Especially in povertystricken areas, the answer or solution is to attack others.”
NMMU SRC president Hlomela Bucwa said government leaders should take responsibility for the atrocities com- mitted against foreigners. \
“Socio-economic problems being experienced stem from promises made pre-1994 which are not coming to fruition,” Bucwa said.
Special envoy and adviser to Canisa, Mwamba Sibeko, a Zambian national, said the South African government should educate society about issues of the economy because “these are issues not fully understood and which lead to conflict.
“As much as nationals and foreign nationals have been socially integrated, more integration into the economy is needed. Those people being attacked are in business,” Sibeko said.