Wave of attacks on Somalis could be ‘politically motivated’

LAST Thursday a group of looters broke into a store run by Abdullahi Mohammed Ahmed and Awil Noor Ali on the outskirts of Polokwane, and shot them dead.

That same night, another group broke into Adbullahi Mohammed’s Limpopo store. They dragged him for over a kilometre, hacking and clubbing him to death.

The two were among six Somalis who have been killed so far this month.

The Somali Community Board of South Africa said attacks on Somali asylum seekers and refugees were increasing.

“These traders provide accessible, convenient access to goods, including essential everyday food items… to the most marginalised citizens of this country in the informal settlements and townships,” the board said.

Sicel’mphilo ShangeButhane, who runs the Consortium for Refugees and Migrants in South Africa, said: “A lot of the foreign nationals come to South Africa and already have business skills. They are able to market themselves, work together, sustain their businesses.

“Often they come from countries where they had to develop those strong business skills to survive.

“They put money together and have buying power, and are able to negotiate with big supermarkets to buy in bulk, and then they divide the stock among themselves.”

But in townships and informal settlements, social and economic exclusion is common, she said.

“This week’s violence in Soweto didn’t start out as a xenophobic attack.

“Still, for us it is always worrying when people target foreign nationals… we’re seeing more and more foreign nationals arming themselves because they feel unsafe.

“Often, these things are politically motivated. You have unofficial leadership mobilising community people.”

Promoting social cohesion shouldn’t just be about “I love my neighbour, he loves me back”. “If people feel their livelihoods are threatened, what measures are being put in place to ensure there is security for their livelihoods without violating the rights of new arrivals in our communities?”

KNIFE-EDGE: An officer holds a panga confiscated from a Pakistani spaza owner.