Written by Elisabeth P   

An “unrepresentative” for the country’s history phenomenon has emerged in South Africa.
A wave of xenophobic attacks in the country of historic fighter against apartheid and leader Nelson Mandela has spread fear among migrant workers and foreigners who keep business.

The violent attacks are attributed to Zulu nationalists but “South Africa’s Zulu king, Goodwill Zwelithini, insisted he was not behind a wave of violence against migrant workers he had compared a month before to head lice”, notes Reuters and continues: “His words had been twisted by the media, he said. If he had really given the order for his legions of followers to attack, ‘this country would be ashes’. [!]

Remarks like those, with the direct threat of violence, have alarmed politicians and activists in South Africa, who say they amount to an open challenge to the post-apartheid order and its elected leadership, from the traditional head of its biggest ethnic group, the 10 million strong Zulu nation”.

Ironically, President Zuma’s eldest son, Edward, last week also came out in full support of King Zwelithini’s controversial statement.

President Jacob Zuma, whose party ANC won by 62,2% of votes in May 2014 elections, said addressing to the parliament that the police are working round the clock to protect both foreign nationals and citizens and to arrest looters and those committing acts of violence.
Since the provocative remarks of Zwelithini on March 20, the results of the attacks are at least seven killed people, destructions of shops, open attacks to foreigners and the international community’s outcry.

“The Philippines on Wednesday, April 22, denounced the wave of anti-immigrant violence in South Africa as the Southeast Asian country advised its estimated 3,000 nationals there to keep themselves safe”, reports Rappler.
The Philippines’ Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said in a statement: “The Philippines condemns the wave of violence aimed at foreign workers, and joins the South African government and the international community in denouncing the aggression directed against foreigners during these 3 weeks of unrest”.

NSNBC reports that neighbouring’s Mozambique Deputy Health Minister Mouzinho Saide, “informed the press on April 21st, that the recent violence against migrant workers and other foreigners in South Africa caused some 1,500 Mozambican migrant workers to flee. Saide added that 107 of the Mozambicans returned from Durban in buses which had been made available to them by the government”.
Nsnbc also notes: “Most South African, Mozambican and international media as well as politicians would tout the violence as ‘xenophobic’” and adds that: “The underlying causes are, however, by some analysts considered to be closely related to the South African ANC government’s failure to negotiate appropriate wages for both South African and for migrant workers with South African trade unions”.
The website concludes: “Arguably, decent wages rather than neo-liberalism, lethal violence against striking workers and a race to the bottom under BRICS cover would be a better remedy for the situation than Jacob Zuma’s call for a day of prayers against the violence”.

Violence against foreigners and xenophobia are against the mentality of Rainbow Nation’s hardly acquired liberties.
And as Democratic Alliance leader Mmusi Maimane said in parliament according to spyghana.com: “In 1994, (late) President Mandela made a commitment that never and never again shall it be that this beautiful land will again experience oppression of one by another”.

Elisabeth Petridou
https://theworldthepeople.wordpress.com/