South Africans have a reputation for xenophobia, for hatred towards foreigners. But, as the South African police minister, Nathi Nhleko, said, it’s actually Afro-phobia, a hatred of other Africans. However, as someone who has many good South African friends, I know that most South Africans are not haters of foreigners, let alone of fellow Africans. Yet, images over the past four weeks of hundreds of South African youths wielding machetes and other dangerous weapons, looting and burning businesses owned by foreigners, and asking other African nationals to “return to their home countries”, have done the country’s international reputation a huge damage. The brutal attacks have left six people dead, and displaced over 5000 foreign nationals, according to the UN Refugee Agency.
Sadly, xenophobic attacks are not new in South Africa. The current wave of violence is only the latest in a series of attacks that date back several years. For instance, in 2006, xenophobic riots broke out for several months in Cape Town, and two years later, in 2008, there was a wave of anti-immigration violence that left about 62 people dead, most of them foreigners. Several African immigrants in South Africa constantly live under the fear of an attack. This is deeply regrettable.
For a country that calls itself a “rainbow nation”, and claims to welcome the coming-together of people from different nations, the frequent attacks on foreigners are shameful. South Africans fought prejudices under apartheid; it beggars belief that they now practise their own prejudices in the form of anti-foreigner attacks. Furthermore, the attacks on other African nationals smack of ingratitude and an awful failure of memory. How could South Africans so easily forget that the neighbouring countries, whose citizens are the frequent targets of the xenophobic attacks, harboured thousands of South African exiles during the struggle against apartheid? How could they forget that Nigeria did not only host several prominent ANC exiles, but also made significant financial and diplomatic contributions to help accelerate the collapse of apartheid? As Jacob Zuma, the South African president, pointed out, the solidarity of other African countries “was critical to achieving the freedom and democracy we are enjoying today”.
President Zuma’s comment, however, masks his failure to show leadership in the crisis. His belated intervention probably contributed to the attacks, which started in Durban four weeks ago, spreading across the country. And, of course, it’s deeply sad that a prominent leader like the Zulu king, Goodwill Zwelithini, could even remotely be associated with inciting South Africans against other African nationals, with comments that they should “pack their bags and go”. The king has since said he was misquoted, but the incident underscores why leaders, whose words carry weight among their followers, should be more circumspect about what they say!
However, let’s not ignore the root cause of violent xenophobia in South Africa. It’s a cruel legacy of apartheid. And there are two aspects to this. First, as we know, apartheid created deep poverty and inequality that have proved stubbornly difficult to eradicate. South Africa is one of the world’s most unequal countries, with one of the world’s highest unemployment rates, currently at about 36 percent. Second, the struggle against apartheid has seared a culture of violence in most South Africans. For instance, the world looked aghast in the early 1990s as black-on-black violence between supporters of the Zulu-based Inkatha Freedom Party and the African National Congress killed over 15,000 people. This culture of violent protests is still very much alive in South Africa today. It is hard to see any major protest that does not involve violence, police brutality and ultimately loss of lives.
Now, when you have the combination of grinding poverty and inequality as well as an ingrained culture of violence, you have a tinderbox waiting to be ignited. And the existence of a large and visible immigrant community amid widespread local unemployment, poverty and inequality is a spark that could easily ignite the tinderbox. It is estimated that South Africa has about 2 million documented and undocumented immigrants, which is about 4 percent of the total population. It’s thus hardly surprising that most of the attacks erupted in poor and marginalised areas, such as the poverty-stricken townships surrounding Durban.
The truth is that unemployment, poverty and inequality breed envy and resentment of foreigners all over the world. In fact, what the xenophobic South African youths complain about are remarkably similar to what you will hear from similar people anywhere in the world. For instance, you will hear complaints that immigrants are undercutting local wages and denying the locals of jobs; that they are undermining businesses owned by locals; and that they are contributing to a high crime rate.
So, let’s be honest, xenophobia or, to use a milder phrase, anti-immigration sentiment, is not a unique South African problem. It is an African and, indeed, a world problem! What is unique about the South African brand of xenophobia is the violent twist, which stemmed from their past and which is deeply unfortunate. Countries all over the world respond to challenges posed by immigration in different ways. It is a shame that South Africans have allowed their own fear of mass immigration to have a violent streak. But I must say that I find the widespread condemnation of South Africa by other African leaders a little hypocritical given that many of them have, in recent past, encouraged state-sponsored xenophobia or Afro-phobia, albeit without the South African violent element.
Take, for instance, West Africa, where the love-hate relationship between Nigeria and Ghana over the years can hardly be described as anything but xenophobic. In 1969 Ghana deported thousands of Nigerians and other immigrants for flimsy reasons. Then, in 1983, under the then military regime of the now president-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari, it was Nigeria’s turn to be xenophobic: it deported up to 1 million Ghanaian and other African migrants, at a time that Ghana was facing severe economic problems. Two years later, in 1985, another 300,000 Ghanaians were asked to leave Nigeria at short notice. As recently as 2012, Ghana threatened to deport hundreds of Nigerian businessmen for failing to pay a discriminatory levy of $300,000 before operating in local markets. All over Africa, such xenophobic or Afro-phobic behaviour is common.
But this is not confined to Africa. Paranoia about immigration runs even deeper in Europe. For instance, few would have missed the tragic news about the 900 Africans who died in the Mediterranean last week. They had attempted to cross the Mediterranean into Europe in search of a better life. But as they tried to duck and dive to avoid the Italian coastguards who wanted to stop them from entering Europe through Italy, their boats capsized, causing significant loss of lives. Just as South Africa has been attacked for violent xenophobic attacks, Europe has been widely condemned for showing “a monumental failure of compassion”. Yet the truth is that Europe is deeply concerned about economic migration from Africa. Even in the UK, which is by no means a xenophobic country, immigration is one of the top issues in the May 7 general election.
To be sure, xenophobia or anti-immigration paranoia is a global problem, but it has a root cause in Africa. Widespread unemployment and poverty in Africa is driving low-skilled economic migration that is stroking resentments and anger not only in South Africa but across the world. For instance, over 1 million Africans are said to be ready to jump into boats, exploited by human traffickers, in order to go to Europe, which is facing its own economic and social crises. Similarly, South Africa’s relatively sophisticated economy attracts both legal and illegal African immigrants, but massive inequalities and high unemployment among locals breed resentment against them. South Africa is surrounded by poor countries, yet, despite its relative wealth, anyone who has been to the country knows that the levels of poverty and inequality there are unimaginable.
Of course, it is a human nature to seek a better life abroad, but it’s also a human nature, especially among the poor and unemployed, to feel threatened by foreigners who they believe, rightly or wrongly, are taking scarce local jobs. While there may be no plausible economic reason to restrict immigration, since businesses benefit from the cheap labour and skills that immigration often brings, it is difficult to ignore the social effects of uncontrolled low-skill immigration, especially on local jobs, public services and community cohesion. Furthermore, I believe it is the responsibility of each African country to ensure the economic prosperity of its own people. No African country should export unemployment and poverty to other African countries or to Europe.
The African Union, ECOWAS and several African countries have condemned the xenophobic attacks in South Africa, and rightly so. There is no justification for the brutal attacks. But we must not ignore the underlying causes: widespread unemployment, poverty and inequalities in Africa, which are driving economic migration into relatively more prosperous African countries and into Europe. This is creating tensions across Africa and around the world. The only solution is in more prosperous African countries that can create jobs for their own people so that they don’t see the need to risk their lives and dignity to go to Europe or other African countries as economic migrants.
Of course, as the Times of London editorialised, Europe must help to tackle the problem “at its source” through increased trade and foreign direct investment with sub-Saharan Africa. But, ultimately, it’s Africa’s responsibility to ensure its own economic development and improve the social and economic wellbeing of its people. Africa must not be a problem to itself or to the world!
Olu Fasan
