The Role South African Black Males in the Anti-Foreign Africans Riots in South Africa

  • Samuel A Dseagu Retired Lecturer
Keywords: xenophobia, South Africa, foreign Africans, Black males, role

Abstract

In the post-apartheid era of South Africa there have been intermittent attacks in the townships and slums by young Black South African males on foreign Africans. The official report states that the causes are frustration by the Black South African poor over the slow pace of economic transformation, anger over the huge influx of foreigners into the country that has overwhelmed the social services meant for citizens, and resentment of foreign Africans for taking over the jobs of locals. Using statistical data for analysis, the paper demonstrates that the influx of foreigners into South Africa has remained constant during the apartheid and the post-apartheid eras.  Using another set of statistical data, the paper explains that the majority of young Black males in townships and slums are unemployed and unemployable school drop outs while in contrast statistics reveal that the majority of foreign Africans engage in self-employed informal ventures that many South Africans avoid.  The paper therefore argues that in actual fact there is marginal competition between locals and foreign Africans on the job market because the majority of Ale concludes that the real reason for the resentment by young Black South Africans of foreign Africans engage in informal activities resented by most locals.  The paper concludes that the real reason for the resentment of foreign Africans appears to be that through the informal activities by the foreign Africans the young Black males have been exposed in their communities as lacking entrepreneurship to take advantage of the resources surrounding them.

 

References

African Centre for Migration and Society. (2017). Fact Sheet on Foreign Workers in South Africa. Johannesburg: University of Witwatersrand Press in association with Friedrich Ebert Stiftung of South Africa.

Amusam, L and Mchunu, S. (2018). An Assessment of Xenophobic/Afrophobic Attacks in South Africa 2008-2015: Wither Batho Pele and Ubuntu Principles?. South Africa Review of Sociology Volume 48, No 2, 1-18.

Ashforth, A. (1998a). Reflections on Spiritual Insecurity in a Modern African City (Soweto). African Studies Review Volume 41, No 3, 36-67.

Ashforth, A. (1998b). Witchcraft, Violence, and Democracy in the New South Africa. Cahiers d’Études Africaines Volume XXXVIII, No 2, 505-532.

Ashforth, A. (2000). ‘Madumo’: A Man Bewitched. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

Ashforth, A. (2001). AIDS, Witchcraft, and the Problem of Power in Post-Apartheid South Africa. Unpublished Occasional Paper No 10, School of Social Science, University of Witwatersrand.

Ashforth, A. (2005). Witchcraft, Violence, and Democracy in South Africa. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

BBC News, 19 April 2015; www.bbc.co.uk/programmes.

BBC World Service, 9 June 2014; www.bbc.co.uk/programmes.

City Press, 16 April 2015; www.news24.com/citypress.

CNN, 21 April 2015; www.cnn.com/africa.

Crush, J and Chandran, S. (2014). Xenophobic Violence in South Africa: Denialism, Realism. University of Cape Town: Southern African Migration Programme, International Migration Research Centre.

Desai, A. (2010). After the rainbow: following the footprints of the May 2008 xenophobic violence in South Africa. Review of Political Economy Volume 37, No 123, 99-105.

Deutsche Welle (DW). (2020). South Africa: Hatred of migrants reaches new heights. Deutsche Welle (DW); dw.com, 29.09.2020.

Dumani, N. (2016). Xenophobia in South Africa. CERS Working Papers 2015; cers.leeds.ac.uk.

Gastrow, V and Amit, R. (2013). Somalinomics: A Case Study on the Economics of Somali Informal Trade in Cape Town in the Western Cape. Johannesburg: African Centre for Migration and Society.

Goldman Sachs International. (2013). 2 Decades of Freedom: What South Africa is doing with it and What Now Needs to be done. Goldman Sachs International: Johannesburg.

Guven, M and Karlen, R. (2020). Supporting Africa’s urban informal sector: Coordinated policies with social protection at the core. World Bank Blogs; www.worldbankblogs.org/africa.

Hartnack, A. (2017). Background document and review of key South African and international literature on school dropout. Imagine a South Africa where every person has the opportunity to fulfil their potential. Johannesburg: Douglas George Murray Trust (DGMT) Publishers; https://www.dgmt.co.za.

Hickel, J. (2014). Xenophobia in South Africa: Order, Chaos, and the Moral Economy of Witchcraft. Cultural Anthropology Volume 29, Issue 1, 103–127.

Human Rights Watch. (2020). Xenophobic Violence against Non-Nationals in South Africa; www.hrw.org.

Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC). (2008). Citizenship, Violence and Xenophobia in South Africa: Perceptions from South African Communities. Pretoria, South Africa: Human Sciences Research Council; http://www.hsrc.ac.za/en/research-data/ktree-doc/6253.

Kraak, A and Press, K (Eds.). (2008). Human Resources Development Review: Education, Employment and Skills in South Africa. Pretoria: Human Sciences Research Council Press; hsrcpress.co.za.

Lamb, G. (2021). Why have South Africans been on a looting rampage? Safer spaces: working together for a safer South Africa; saferspaces.org.za.

Landau, LB (Ed.). (2013). Exorcising the demons within: xenophobia, violence and statecraft in contemporary South Africa. Johannesburg: Wits University Press.

Los Angeles Times, 17 April 2015; www.latimes.com.

Marichen, VW. (2015).The struggle against poverty, unemployment and social injustice in present-day South Africa: Exploring the involvement of the Dutch Reformed Church at congregational level. Stellenbosch Theological Journal Volume 1, No 2, 731–759.

Masitsa, G. (2006). Drop-out in township secondary schools: educators’ perspectives. Acta Academica Volume 38, No 3; http://scholar.ufs.ac.za, 165-191.

Mohammed, M and Sacolo, T. (2019). Explaining the shadow economy in Eswatini. Eswatini Economic Policy Analysis and Research Centre (ESEPARC). Mbabane, Eswatini; separc.co.za.

Morei, N. (2014). Domestic Violence in South Africa: Women and Children under Siege? Mediterranean Journal of Social Sciences Volume 5, No 20, 928-940; https://www.richmann.org/journal/index.php/mjss/article/view/3818.

Mulaudzi G, Lancaster L and Hertis G. (2021). Busting South Africa’s xenophobic myths starts at grassroots: A concerted effort is needed to prevent attacks on foreign-born migrants ahead of this year’s local elections. Institute for Security Studies (ISS); issaafrica.org.

Neocosmos, M. (2006). From ‘Foreign Natives’ to ‘Native Foreigners’: Explaining Xenophobia in Post-Apartheid South Africa – Citizenship and Nationalism, Identity and Politics. Dakar, Senegal: Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRA); www.codesria.org

News24, 03 September 2019; www.news24.co.za.

Nyarr, A. (2009). What Happened?: A Narrative of the May 2008 Xenophobic Violence. The Atlantic Philanthropies; atlanticphilanthries.org.

O’Halloran, P. (2015). Where poverty meets xenophobia: Grahamstown, a city in crisis. Daily Maverick 27 October 2015.

Osei-Boateng, C. and Ampratwum, E. (2011). The Informal Sector in Ghana. Accra, Ghana: Friedrich Ebert Stiftung; ghana.fes.de.

Pillay, P. (2000). South Africa in the 21 Century: Some Key Socio-Economic Challenges. Johannesburg, South Africa: Friedrich Ebert Stiftung.

Project Spotlight. (2001). Alexandra Township, Johannesburg, South Africa: Abstracted from Report on the Interactive Planning Workshop for Johannesburg, Greater Johannesburg Metropolitan Council, September 27-30, 2000: Upgrading Urban Communities - A World Bank Project; http://web.mit.edu/urbanupgrading/alexandratownship.

Overseas Development Institute. (1986). Briefing Paper. London: Overseas Development Institute.

Republic of South Africa. (1996). South African Schools Act. Cape Town: Government Gazette Volume 377, No 17579; https://www.gov.za.

Segatti, A and Landau, LB. (Eds.). (2011). Contemporary Migration to South Africa: A Regional Development Issue. The World Bank: Washington DC, USA; https://documents.worldbank.org,

Statistics South Africa. (2013). Population Estimates. Pretoria, South Africa: Statistics South Africa; https://www.stat.ssa.gov.za, P00322013).

Statistics South Africa. (2016). Education Series Volume III: Educational Enrolment and Achievement. Pretoria: Statistics South Africa; https://www.statssa.gov.za.

Statistics South Africa. (2016). General Household Survey. Pretoria: Statistics South Africa; http://www.stassa.gov.za.

Statistics South Africa. (2017). Educational Enrolment and Achievement: Education Series Volume III. Pretoria: Statistics South Africa; https://www.stat.ssa.gov.za.

Statistics South Africa. (2018). General Household Survey. Pretoria: Statistics South Africa; http://www.stassa.gov.za.

Steinberg, J. (2005). Mozambican and Congolese Refugees in South Africa-A Mixed Reception Pretoria, South Africa: Institute of Security Studies (ISS) Monograph Series No 117; issafrica.org.

Sunday Times, 19 April 2015; www.timeslive.co.za.

Tela, O. (2016). Understanding Xenophobia in South Africa: The Individual, the State and the International System. Insight on Africa Volume 8, No 2, 142-158.

United States Library of Congress. (2004). Structure of the Economy - South Africa. Washington DC: United States Library of Congress; http://countrystudies.us/south-africa.

Vahed, G and Desai, A. (2013). The May 2008 Xenophobic Violence in South Africa: Antecedents and Aftermath. Alternation Volume 7, 145-175.
Published
2023-04-12
Section
Articles