Fighting Foreigners as new weapon to Address Poor Services Delivery and Economic Challenges in South Africa

This year’s World Refugee Day commemoration was much special for and in the South Africa due to the recent xenophobic attacks on foreigners. Last year when we organized the Refugee Stand up and Speak out against Xenophobia Event; we have campaigned and raised awareness of our people and local authorities to the challenges of fighting all kind of xenophobic behaviours. The purpose was to develop a sense of peaceful ‘co-habitation’, harmony and partnership between South Africans and No-Nationals or foreigners living in the country.

In fact, many analyses and researches were/are highly claiming that South African xenophobia was/is in reality about anti-black foreign sentiments, and it is not about the fear of foreigners, but mainly about intense dislike, which is often expressed in terms of verbal and physical abuse. Additionally, in South Africa this subjective fear and absolute dislike seems to have translated itself into intense tension and violence by South Africans towards foreigners. This is to signify not only attitudes of dislike and fear, but also violent actions against foreigners in South Africa. This was effective when xenophobic attacks on No-Nationals started at Alexander location and quickly spreads throughout Gauteng Province and other provinces.

However, during the commemoration of the World Refugee Day last year, the minister of the Department of Home Affairs during her speech recognised the challenges they are facing in the department on one hand and in the country in the other hand. She has called her fellow countrymen and women to develop two core values – tolerance and acceptance - for a peaceful co-habitation with foreigners in general and asylum seekers and refugees in particular. She believed that “violence cannot be solution to our problems”. Was her address heard or not? Was it a deliberated and planned action? What were the core motivations of these attacks?

To these interrogations many and different views come from sociologist, anthropologist, politics and so on. However, it is really disturbing to experience what happened in South Africa recently. Consequently, South Africa’s government was forced to put ‘Temporary Shelters’ if not ‘refugee camps’ for the victims, despite its reputation of having an urban-based refugee population mostly based in the cities of Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban, Cape Town and Port Elizabeth. This has hampered the integration of refugees and asylum seekers into South African society. Foreigners have experienced discrimination from various service providers and the public as consequence of high levels of xenophobia.

A refugee however has the right to safe asylum, and should receive the same rights and basic services as any other foreigner who is a legal resident, including freedom of thought, of movement and freedom from torture and degrading treatment. Economic and social rights are equally applicable. Refugees should be given access to medical care, education and the right to work.
It is more than important to work towards the protection of the vulnerable communities more particularly asylum seekers and refugees. Despite civil society organisations and government authorities’ condemnation of the recent barbaric attacks on foreigners, it is still crucial and challenging for them to educate our people on Refugee’s conventions and protocols that South Africa is one of signatories. Because of its current leading role in and for the continent in pushing the African Union, New Partnership for Africa Development and Other regional organisations’ agenda. It is our responsibility to educate and remind our people to develop the spirit of ‘Ubuntu’ and of ‘Pan-African’. Since our division will not favour our strength; our unity will empower and help us to fight together the challenges of development and others in the continent.

Police Raid at a Johannesburg Methodist Church

South African NGO Coalition (SANGOCO) is much concerned about the South African Police Services (SAPS) raid last Wednesday at the Central Methodist Church in the Johannesburg CBD around 11:00pm. SANGOCO has considered this attack as an undermining way of human rights and dignity – enforced by our Constitution. In fact, the South African Police Service raid is additionally seen as a disgrace to the church and to Bishop Paul Verryn. The coalition asserts that such operation is contrary to the South African UBUNTU and African Fraternity and Unity spirit.

The police deployment into the Methodist church - without any warning notice to the church superintendent (Bishop Paul Verryn) - and conducting arbitrary arrests of hundreds of immigrants who are living in the church constitute a transgression of our human rights and security strongly protect by the South African Constitution. In fact, the Constitution emphasizes on the human rights protection.

Concordant sources attest that many of Zimbabwean asylum seekers and refugees (men, women and children as well) were arrested and detained at the Johannesburg central Police Station after being beaten and loaded into the police trucks. Their situation was critical and needed urgent and adequate solutions. In fact, the detainees were cut off any form of assistance (medical, legal, social…) by police.

According to the Bishop of the Central Methodist Church, the detainees had been denied adequate food and water on Friday. He said the people arrested were in exile in South Africa from African countries, particularly Zimbabwe, and they were allegedly assaulted and their property destroyed during the raid. Bishop Verryn said that although the police were looking for criminals in the building, “they themselves became the perpetrators of criminal action”. This shows the ambiguity of charges brought against the detainees.

Civil society and non-governmental organisations are undertaking actions against such unprofessional way of conducting raid by the SAPS. Therefore, the Legal Resource Centre was appointed as legal representation for the detainees after the church - known as a haven for Zimbabwean refugees.

SANGOCO is calling upon its members organisations to stand and plan actions that will help keep the better image of our society and country in term of sociality and fraternity to accommodate our fellow African brothers and sisters. The coalition believes that ahead of 2010 world cup event, we have the challenge of protecting and safeguarding human rights and dignity. In fact, many people who see South Africa as a Land of ‘milk and honey’ or current ‘Africa’s Paradise’ come and expect to stay in a safe and secured environment. Such attack on foreigners can be an impediment to the event to pull millions of fans Soccer lovers into South Africa.

SANGOCO recognizes the challenges that the SAPS is facing in fighting and combating crime. So far, the coalition acknowledges the wonderful job undertaken by the police in tracking down crime rate in the country. Yet, everyone is calling upon a ‘free crime’ South Africa. Consequently, there is a national responsibility to work and end crime.

Its concern however lies on the way the SAPS is conducting its raids. SANGOCO believes that the Church cannot be a sanctuary for criminals. In fact, the churches and NGOs are the mostly affected organisations which are sharing immigrants (legal or illegal) challenges and trying to help them and give them hopes. It is therefore necessary that the SAPS works closely with the department of home affairs, civil society, non governmental, faith based and community based organisations with the purpose of not only identifying legal or illegal immigrants but also knowing their problems and challenges.

Additionally, the coalition strongly regrets the crude way in which the police services are operating in and selling the country. SANGOCO thinks that what happened at the Central Methodist Church must be a learning experience for the SAPS and such attack will never continue as it undermines people’ s freedom, security, respect and dignity. But if necessary, the raid can be conducted for sake of our people and country safety and security but with respect to human rights and dignity.