CAPE Town A third of South Africans in the Western Cape province habour xenophobic hatred against foreigners and would participate in attacks against immigrants, according to a recent survey by a local human rights group.
The Scalabrini Centre of Cape Town (SCCT), a non-governmental organisation that assists refugees, said that 32 percent of South African citizens in the province had admitted that they would take part in attacks against foreigners at the end of the ongoing World Cup.
SCCT advocacy rights officer Lena Opferman said sixty eight percent of their clients had reported receiving threats that they would be attacked after the World Cup.
The goal of this survey was to find out how far our clients have received any type of threats or warnings with regards to upcoming xenophobic violenceDuring the past months many clients accessing services at Scalabrini expressed they were receiving threats and warnings that new xenophobic violence will occur in the Cape Town, Opferman said.
There are mounting fears of an outbreak of xenophobic violence once the soccer tournament is over with local South Africans said to be threatening African immigrant to leave the country or face death once the games are over.
The South African government and police have said they are ready to prevent attacks against foreigners.
Mobs of South African young men armed with machetes knifes and clubs in 2008 attacked foreign immigrants in the countrys poor and often overcrowded slums accusing them of taking away their jobs and women leading to the death of over 60 people countrywide and leaving tens of thousands others displaced.
Poor immigrants leaving in slums and poor suburbs remain at risk of attack should xenophobic violence resurface in July as threatened.
Post published in: News