Xenophobic Violence

Dear Family and Friends,

As many of you may have heard over the news, there have been xenophobic attacks here in South Africa. This email is to assure you that a) I am safe b) that you needn’t worry about me and c) to explain what exactly is happening.

Firstly: Safety, Peace Corps is extremely concerned about the safety of their volunteers, often mandating certain safety precautions that seem at times, superfluous. Volunteers have been pulled from their sites if Peace Corps hears the slightest whisper that the volunteer would be in danger by staying longer in that area, often against the volunteer’s wishes. All of the areas that experienced violence, volunteers have been banned from going to for quite some time (ever since before I arrived in South Africa). The areas are in the Townships or Locations, which in the Apartheid era were places that the black South Africans were forced to live. Per Apartheid design, they are outside the major cities. I was actually in Pretoria (one of the capital cities) at the time, and everyone around me was as disgusted as I was at the attacks.

The safety and security officer for Peace Corps alerted us promptly and told us that he was meeting with officials from the South African Police Service to monitor the situation even more closely. He urged us to be vigilant in our own communities, as he always does.

And lastly, what exactly is going on? The attacks that have left dozens of people dead, and hundreds if not thousands more homeless took place in the Townships, which some people have referred to as the South African version of ghettos. These, by design of Apartheid, are removed from the cities, and not places I can accidentally go; I have to want to go there. Poverty is a factor there, as is ignorance. The attacks were on fellow Africans and people of Indian or Asian descent- immigrants that had established businesses, albeit small ones. South Africa has become an immigrant destination as millions of people from all over Africa move here in search of opportunities that were much harder to get or denied to them in their countries of origin (think Zimbabwe). Those that committed the crimes felt that they were taking jobs away from South Africans and threatened them, when in fact it stems more from jealousy that someone who immigrated could have the opportunity and ability to have a successful business when South Africans had not taken advantage of the very same opportunity. .

As far as I know, the violence was only in the Townships and though there were a handful of individual Townships involved, the problem is being dealt with by the South African Authorities. The president has come out to condemn the attacks and the feeling of South Africans is one of shame.