Encouraging statement

Xenophobia is an opportunistic tendency through which local politicians, or leaders attempting to garner support in their communities, direct all anger and aggression of a frustrated populace towards a politically insignificant minority. In the words of the Brede Valley Deputy Mayor, The immigrant and asylum seeking population in South Africa is a group of non-voters. The use of foreigners as a scapegoat is much like the use of minority groups in other countries. In attempts to gain political support, or to strengthen their support base, politicians in the past have incited one tribe against another (Ndebele and the Shona, for example). In Zimbabwe, we saw these same politicians blame whites and imperialists for the countrys failures, and they ultimately led people to rape, pillage and abuse in the name of patriarchy or nationalism. These methods are not new; they were used in the early twentieth century by none other than Adolf Hitler, who blamed the Jews for all Germanys problems. He proceeded to use them as an excuse to ignore human rights, start many wars and to do away with democracy. In Adolf Hitlers words, The great strength of the totalitarian state is that it forces those who fear it to imitate it.

So when the leaders of South Africa, the most powerful people in the whole country, issued a statement warning that any attempts to incite violence against foreign nationals shall be harshly dealt with, PASSOP and the immigrant community need to be encouraged. It is not that they will definitely be able to stop all xenophobic violence, just as they may not be able to stop crime, but at least it is not going to be seen as endorsed, allowed, accepted or understood by the leaders. It is also going to be harder for community level politicians to motivate and influence the communities into committing the crimes under the banner of, for arguments sake, the ANC.

It is also important to note that although rumours are rife about xenophobic violence after the World Cup, very little solid evidence has been uncovered. We encourage anyone with solid information to SMS 0832561140. We should all continue to try avoiding a large outbreak of xenophobic violence.

I believe it is important that we do not spread these rumours any further, as spreading these rumours may ultimately lead to acts of violence. It is also important for immigrants to exercise their rights: if they are told by anyonedirectlythat he or she will chase them or attack them after the World Cup, then they should lay criminal charges (of intimidation) against the culprits at the local police station.