UKZN STUDENTS SPEAK OUT
Xenophobia in South Africa
The musings of a Zimbabwean postgraduate student at UKZN
    by Eslidha Chimedza

 
The past two weeks, and God knows until when, have been hell for any African who is not of this particular land; the so called ''foreigner''. The attacks on foreign African nationals has left many of us turning our heads, looking over our shoulders  every few meters, switching off our cell phones in public, in fear of being heard conversing in an unrecognized language. My own language has become taboo in fear of being victimized for not being South African, except when I am in the company of fellow country mates.

 
The attacks that have marred Pretoria, Johannesburg, Durban, Cape Town and many other cities that we may not know of, pose a number of questions and doubts on the leadership style and role of the police as agents of civil protection in this so-called ''Paradise of Africa''. I liken these xenophobic attacks to the witch-hunt in modern Europe between 1450 and 1750 that saw a lot of men and women accused, prosecuted and executed for witchcraft. The society did not see the social tensions and religious changes that were characteristic of the times, and instead they found a scapegoat - ''witchcraft'' - that created rampant panic and hysteria. The economic and social chaos of that era and the political and religious instability, caused anxiety that led to witches becoming a scapegoat for the general ills of society during their rapid time of change. So many innocents died and others lived with the horrendous experiences imprinted in their minds.

Foreigners in South Africa are living the ''witchcraft era'' once again, accused of grabbing jobs, benefiting from housing projects meant for locals and the most unforgivable sin as highlighted by e-news, is ''taking our women''. I wonder if 'apartheid' is turning in its grave, happy witness to the current chaos. How on earth is burning another man alive, beating people to death, raping women and torturing people with pangas, knobkerries, knives, stones, guns and any object liable to be a weapon, the best way to deal with problems. I will live to retell the fear that I felt and saw, written on the faces of fellow foreign students, as we took all of this in each and everyday from the television, newspapers and internet. Each night, we huddle together in the TV room to see this happening to people like us, wondering when it will be our turn.

We offer each other comfort, and share the pain and terror; the situation is so emotional, with tears shed to release some of the anxiety. We fear even to venture out of the university gates; we fear for our friends who do not stay on campus and cannot wait for the day to break and only feel some relief when we know they are fine. What is to become of education investment, business investment and even social investment between South Africa and other countries when its people have blundered by killing and butchering foreign nationals? I urge the South African community to do something before the country loses more in image and respect than it can afford to.

The slow reaction of the South African government baffles me. The time they took to deploy the army whilst fellow brothers and sisters faced barbaric mobs, is just a painful reminder that even in all quiet diplomacy, we foreigners will never belong here, and that we should always bear in mind that we are here only for a while. This may even authenticate the rumor that these attacks were not merely done by angry citizens, but there may be a third political force behind them. Despite the fact that the country has good tertiary education systems, state of the art technology and more than enough learning resources, I wonder how many other foreigners would gamble and risk their lives in coming here to study. It is a pity how all these attacks have changed the perceptions and dreams of a number of people.

The major question still remains for my fellow country mates and foreign comrades, even with the army on standby for any more attacks, i.e. are we still safe here in South Africa? Can we feel at home? Or is the rampant horror a thing of the past and can we be convinced from these attacks that it will never happen again? Is the political, economic and educational anguish back home that has forced us to come here, better than being burnt alive? Can we really live with our children in South Africa, and let them see all this anguish? Can we as students take the risk and hang on in fear and uncertainty until we are homeward bound? The terror has us flooded with these questions. And with much food for thought!  

 
Eslidha Chimedza is an Honours student with the Department of Sociology at UKZN. She arrived from Zimbabwe after great efforts at visa applications in February 2008.

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