OPINION & ANALYSIS
Placing xenophobia
in perspective
T
here is a small, yet highly
vocal minority in South Africa
with extreme anti-foreigner
sentiments. This is according to research
conducted by Citizen Surveys.
Reza Omar, the strategic research director
at Citizen Surveys, says that between
March 2017 and February 2018, xenophobic
sentiments were shared by between 3%
and 6% of the adult population, influenced
by the high level of unemployment and
anti-immigrant political agitation.
Omar adds that according to the
South African Citizens Survey data,
xenophobia was one of the least important
problems facing South Africa in the
second quarter of 2019. At number 13,
only 6% of South Africans (2,3 million
people) viewed it as a priority issue.
The South African Human
Rights Commission has meanwhile
condemned the recent looting of
shops owned by foreign nationals.
“The commission calls on everyone
to respect and uphold the rule of law,
and refrain from criminal actions,
particularly when such acts are directed
against vulnerable groups,” it said.The commission called on the state
to address concerns by communities
about the entry into South Africa of
undocumented migrants, who then
compete for limited resources, such as
business opportunities and employment.
Over the past two weeks, government has
taken drastic action against immigrants in
the name of safety and sovereignty. This
includes a large-scale raid on counterfeit
goods sold informally on Johannesburg
streets. When the largely immigrant
street traders resisted, chaos ensued,
leaving police and security scurrying
for safety in their armoured vehicles.
A few days later, the police regrouped
and arrested close to 600 people.Many were undocumented, others had
documents, while a few were South
African citizens. Later, the residents of
Soweto decided to take ‘revenge’ by looting
foreign-run spaza shops in what appears
to have been a locally coordinated attack.
Minister of International Relations
and Co-operation Dr Naledi Pandor has
argued that xenophobia is “not a nice
trait to have”. However, people across the
political and socio-economic spectrum
are celebrating moves by the state to
rid South Africa of foreigners and keep
others away, and it seems that the DA and
the ANC are fiercely contesting which
organisation is tougher on immigration.FIERCE COMPETITION FOR
LIMITED RESOURCES
First of all, the ANC government must be
largely blamed for South Africa’s porous
borders. The problem of immigration
cannot be solved in the CBDs of Pretoria,
Johannesburg or Soweto; the situation
must be defused through a comprehensive
foreign policy and adequately patrolled
and controlled borders. These are largely
lacking in South Africa. Unfortunately,
xenophobia and criminality often result
from competition on the one hand, and
relative deprivation on the other.
Let’s deal with competition first. Despite
all South Africa’s detractions, it is a highly
attractive place to immigrate to for people
from other African countries. These
people then compete in a contracting
economy for a limited number of resources
(anything from jobs to food and living
space). Some of the outsiders are more
successful, or simply just more willing to
endure hardship in pursuit of success.
This leads to the second element: relative
deprivation. This is the perception (or fact)
that others have more than I have, or need
and want, and especially more than they
deserve. So, in the case of xenophobia, I may
believe that, simply by virtue of being a
South African, I deserve more economic
benefit than an outsider or stranger. This
leads to resentment and anger which,
in our society, with its limited economic
possibilities, ultimately result in the conflict
we have seen over the past weeks.THE ANC GOVERNMENT
MUST BE LARGELY
BLAMED FOR THE
POROUS BORDERSPOLITICAL PERSPECTIVE
BY DR JAN VENTER
Dr Jan Venter is a political analyst
at Aginfo. Email him at
[email protected].
12 farmer’sweekly 30 AUGUST 2019