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Peacebuilding

Understanding current xenophobic attacks and how South Africa can move forward

Xenophobic violence in South Africa: causes and solutions



Authors:
Publisher: Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation, South Africa, 2008

Full text of document

This article is a record of a presentation made by the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR) to the South African Parliament. In the aftermath of the xenophobic violence of 2008 CSVR was mandated by the South African Human RIghts Commission to coordinate the CSO humanitarian response to the displaced victims.

In its reporting of the crisis CSVR conducted research and interventions into  a number of key areas,  including -

  • Understanding the causes of violence against foreigners: the xenophobic attitude within SA communities and institutional violence and hostility towards foreigners; South Africans use violence to deal with both personal and societal challenges; and poor SA communities have been frustrated by post-apartheid South Africa
  • Response to the violence: had it not been for ordinary SA’s and civil society this crisis would have been far worse; Government's response has been slow, uncoordinated, and done without sufficient consultation; and the need to learn from experiences where community structures were strong, and the violence was averted

CSVR also made a number of suggestion to take the process forward including:

  • Working with the displaced communities to ensure that the humanitarian needs of the displaced population are adequately met and respond effectively to their needs in a way that is empowering
  • Integration is a complex process that if not managed correctly could have serious consequences. We need to be aware that we are talking about integrating people back into communities where they have experienced extreme violence and loss
  • While we need to ensure that we support the victims regarding their trauma, most of the work needs to be done with SA communities
  • There is a need to keep an eye on the fault lines to democracy which are often highlighted by CSOs,  but, are unfortunately often ignored.