Having fled the spiralling post-election violence in his native Zimbabwe, Given Sithole never imagined he would now be fearing for his life in what he saw as the safety of neighbouring South Africa.
With tears dripping from his swollen right eye, Sithole recounts how he came to be among several hundreds of immigrants caught in recent xenophobic attacks in Alexandra, north of Johannesburg.
The attacks have left three people dead and several dozens injured since they broke out at the start of the week.
”I do not know what has befallen me,” said 25-year-old Sithole, who nearly lost his life in March after militias attacked him in the aftermath of the Zimbabwe elections for supporting the opposition.
Looking shaken and frail, Sithole has no kind words for the South Africans who had thought would provide him a safe haven after falling foul of Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe’s hard-line supporters.
”I really thought life will be better here. These people are bad, they have no respect for fellow human beings,” he said.
Sithole is among the over 200 immigrants, temporarily sheltered at a local police station, after they were displaced in violent xenophobic attacks, which have become increasingly common in South Africa.
”We have just moved in to help these people. The situation is getting desperate,” said Mathews Ntamote, a South African Red Cross official found distributing relief food to the displaced foreigners.
A gang of South African youths, armed with machetes and guns, were making the rounds in Alexandra, looking for foreigners whom they accused of crime and taking their jobs.
”They have a list of all foreigners and they are moving from door to door …,” said Jane Mauzi, a 46 year-old Mozambican who came to do business in South Africa two years ago.
”I just want to go back home,” she said, before breaking down in tears.
The violence in Alexandra is the latest chapter in a series of attacks on foreigners in South African townships, whose residents bear the brunt of an unemployment rate touching 40% and some of the worst levels of crime anywhere in the world.
Many locals are quick to blame the newcomers.
”They should go back to their countries. They come to get our jobs here,” said taxi driver Sipho Zulu.
”Most companies in South Africa give jobs to foreigners. They believe foreigners work harder than South Africans.”
The bulk of the immigrants who have flooded South Africa in recent years are from neighbouring Zimbabwe. Three million are believed to have fled an economic meltdown under Mugabe characterised by 80% unemployment and the world’s highest rate of inflation.
Anna Moyo, spokesperson of the Zimbabwe Exiles’ Forum, said the attacks on foreigners were unfortunate, especially since black South African lived in neighbouring countries during apartheid without problems.
”They should learn to appreciate and co-exist with others. The South African government should take up this issue as a matter of urgency,” said Moyo.
Makwerekwere is a derogatory term widely used by South Africans to describe immigrants, but the government said it was doing everything possible to deal with the situation.
”It is a problem, but I would never define it as a crisis. A concern that we as government are very worried about,” said Charles Nqakula, Safety and Security Minister.
Last month, South African President Thabo Mbeki urged his countrymen to stop xenophobic attacks as foreigners continue to be killed and displaced by mobs who blame them for crime and unemployment.
”As South Africans, we should refuse to be part of the unnecessary attacks on innocent people merely because they happen to be foreigners,” the president said on the 14th anniversary of the country’s first democratic elections after the fall of the racially oppressive apartheid regime. — AFP
