In the media
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21 April 2015
Bloomberg
Luc, a Congolese hairdresser, says that while he fears the wave of anti-foreigner attacks gripping South Africa, his main concern is fending off harassment from the people who are supposed to protect him: the police.
Luc, a wiry 38-year-old, said that every few weeks the police stop him on the street, ask for proof he’s in the country legally, and often demand a 50 rand ($4) bribe if he doesn’t have his paperwork with him. He asked that his surname not be published for fear of retaliation.
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13 April 2015
Talk Radio 702
Lawyer Nomagugu Mlawe on xenophobia: 'Appears there is a causal link btwn King's comments and situation'.
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21 April 2015
IRIN
Xenophobia doesn’t exist in isolation. It needs social problems and economic hardship to flourish. After an upsurge in violence in Durban and Johannesburg that has claimed seven lives and forced more than 5,000 people to flee their homes, here’s a look at South Africa’s long history of xenophobia and some of the misconceptions that have been allowed to take root.
All about the numbers
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19 April 2015
Carte Blanche
This week on the streets of Durban’s CBD, police battled to control looters as they forced their way into foreign-owned shops before setting them ablaze. Five people lost their lives - among them a 14 year old boy – and thousands more were displaced to makeshift refugee camps.
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20 April 2015
Times Live
My President confuses me.
On the 14th of April 2015, President Jacob Zuma of the Republic of South Africa said during his speech at the inaugural ceremony of the new Sefako Magatho Health Sciences University, previously the Medical University of South Africa: “If you serve the country and you are patriotic‚ you will do a lot. Patriotic South Africans will stand up and do what he or she sees is not being done‚ (rather) than to criticise what is not being done. That's patriotism.”
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17 April 2015
SABC News
You may need: Adobe Flash Player. Lawyers for Human Rights intends laying a hate speech complaint against President Jacob Zuma's son, Edward and Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini. The complaint, to be lodged with the Human Rights Commission, refers to their comments about foreigners in the country. The King reportedly said that all foreigners should go back home, while Edward Zuma made remarks that are seen as echoing inaccurate and damaging assumptions about foreigners. This comes amind the current wave of xenophobic attacks in the country.
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17 April 2015
The Citizen
Lawyers for Human Rights (LHR) has expressed grave concern about calls for the establishment of refugee camps in response to the xenophobic violence which continues to spread across the country.
Patricia Erasmus, head of LHR’s Refugee and Migrant Rights programme, said refugee camps would only serve to further alienate this already vulnerable population.
“The policy of encampment flies in the face of South Africa’s Constitution and Refugees Act that guarantee freedom of movement.
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16 April 2015
The Week
An outbreak of xenophobic violence and looting in the South African city of Durban has left at least five people dead, including a teenage boy.
The government has condemned the attacks, saying South Africans should "hang our heads in shame in the face of these misguided and misplaced assaults".
The country has a long and bloody history of xenophobia, with the recent violence reminiscent of vicious attacks on foreigners in 2008 which left more than 60 people dead.
What has happened?
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16 April 2015
Bloomberg
South African President Jacob Zuma condemned a wave of attacks against foreigners that has claimed five lives in the past week and said the government would seek to better control immigration.
“No amount of frustration or anger can ever justify attacks on foreign nationals and looting of their shops,” Zuma said Thursday in Parliament in Cape Town. “We condemn the violence in the strongest possible terms. The attacks violate all the principles South Africa embodies.”
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16 April 2015
Daily News
South Africa has one of the world’s best refugee policies but it is not being implemented and the system is tainted by “corruption”, experts say.
They were responding to claims that it was the thousands of undocumented immigrants in Durban who have ignited the xenophobic hatred.
Despite the law and policy ANC secretary-general, Gwede Mantashe, on Wednesday said South Africa should set up refugee camps - similar to those in Australia - to process people before they are let into the country.
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