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Post by Onyango Oloo on May 14, 2008 12:31:25 GMT 3
ANTI-PRIVATISATION FORUM ALEXANDRA VUKUZENZELE CRISIS COMMITTEE
PRESS STATEMENT - TUESDAY 13 MAY 2008 STOP THE XENOPHOBIC ATTACKS IN ALEXANDRA & ELSEWHERE! DON'T BLAME THE POOR FROM OTHER COUNTRIES FOR THE POVERTY AND JOBLESSNESS IN SOUTH AFRICA - BLAME, AND ACT AGAINST, THOSE WHO ARE RESPONSIBLE!The Anti-Privatisation Forum and its affiliate, the Alexandra Vukuzenzele Crisis Committee, unreservedly condemn the recent violent, xenophobic attacks in extension 6 and extension 10. These violent attacks are aimed at people from other countries who are living and working in Alex and have been fed by baseless allegations that have fed other xenophobic attacks in poor communities across our country (e.g. Diepsloot, Atteridgeville, Mamelodi, Sebokeng, North-West, Khayelitsha etc).It is a tragedy that such attacks are happening in poor working class communities, where the poor are fighting the poor. But there is a clear reason for this. Many in our communities are made to believe that unemployment is caused by foreigners who take jobs in the country – this is simply untrue. Forty percent (40%) of all South African citizens are unemployed and this has been the case for many years. This is not the result of immigrants from other countries coming to South Africa but rather, the result of the anti-poor, profit-seeking policies of the government and the behaviour of the capitalist class. Such massive and sustained unemployment is a structural problem of a capitalist system that cares little about the poor, wherever they are from/live. In turn, this has contributed to a situation wherein poor immigrants (most especially those from other African countries) have become increasingly seen (and treated) as criminals and 'undesirables' by government authorities. This, combined with the government's failure of service delivery in those poor communities where most immigrants live, has placed poor immigrants and poor South Africans in constructed 'competition' with each other. It is out of this situation that the scourge of xenophobia has arisen. Blaming foreigners and launching violent attacks on those living in South Africa will benefit no one except those who feed off the desperation and poverty of the poor. Let us not forget that it is South African corporate capital – through the framework of NEPAD – that has, over the last decade, moved into other African countries, most often causing many local, smaller businesses to close down and thus contributing to a situation in which many poor people have lost their jobs. Likewise, the South African government's approach to the crisis in Zimbabwe has further contributed to the mass migration of Zimbabweans to South Africa. The poor, wherever they are, are being exploited and oppressed by the same capitalist class. As the APF and the AVCC, we call on all those responsible for the recent xenophobic attacks to immediately stop engaging in such senseless and reactionary acts – you are maiming and killing your own brothers and sisters. Anger and resentment at the levels of poverty and joblessness (in South Africa and elsewhere) must be directed at those who are responsible, not the victims. It is the capitalist class and the ANC government that have joined together to implement neo-liberal policies over the past 14 years that have devastated poor communities and that have now created the conditions where the poor attack the poor. In Alex for example, the housing crisis must be blamed on our corrupt and profit-hungry housing officials and those who illegally lease the houses for their own personal gain. The APF and the AVCC will continue to denounce and actively campaign against these violent xenophobic attacks in our community. In the next few days, we will distribute pamphlets and engage the larger Alex community in organised mass meetings. For more comment/information please contact: Fredah Dlamini of the AVCC on 074 352 0141 or Silumko Radebe of the APF on 072 1737 268 -- Anti Privatisation Forum 123 Pritchard Street (cnr Mooi) 6th floor Vogas House, Johannesburg Tel: (011) 333-8334 Fax: (011) 333-8365 Website: www.apf.org.za
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Post by einstein on May 22, 2008 0:10:01 GMT 3
We Africans must be surely a cursed lot. As if the problems Africans living in Whites' or Asian countries face is not enough, now Africans living in other African countries must fear for their life. Whites and Asians hunt us down like animals and now we are busy hunting down our fellow Africans!! And this is happening in a country for whose liberation literally the whole continent of Africa fought!!! What happened to the African Sisterhood and Brotherhood??? In Europe when you see a fellow African down, you give them a helping hand, but now our brothers in South Africa would rather put down all those Africans not originating from South Africa! What sort of message do our brothers in South Africa think they are sending to radical groups in Europe, America and Asia? How do I look at my white friends in Europe in the eyes and explain to them what is happening in South Africa? It is not long ago that the Skinheads (Nazis) in Germany used to hunt us down and kill us. But we were lucky to have gotten the support of many Germans who fought back the Nazis on our behalf! Now, can somebody tell me how to explain to such friends what is going on in South Africa? These white friends not only risked their lives, but also lost their friends while fighting on our behalf!!! The reasons why we were/are getting attacked in Germany are exactly the same as those being advanced by our South African brothers, viz. "You Africans are taking away our jobs"! What a shame! South Africa should be at the forefront championing the ideals of a United States of Africa instead of ranting and raving about some jobs being taken away from them!!!! Kenya herself, has her fair share of immigrants who seem to make more money than Kenyans themselves, yet our people have never attacked them or tried to force them to leave Kenya! What does that say about South Africa’s behaviour?? South Africans themselves were scattered all over Africa, Europe, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Asia and America during their struggle against apartheid and they never got victimised. Why can’t they reciprocate in the Zim situation?! Is that really asking for too much??? May God save Mama Africa from eating her own children!!!! www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgcontententry.asp?category_id=1&newsid=123721www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgcontententry.asp?category_id=1&newsid=123722www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgcontententry.asp?category_id=24&newsid=123677
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Post by jaote on May 23, 2008 6:52:49 GMT 3
I am not a fun of South Africa but I believe it is a country struggling to curve an identity for itself.
It appears as the saying goes: the Oppressed have become the oppressors has become true in South Africa. One has to realize that many South Africans living in the Slums wanted a crushing defeat against the Whites in South Africa, but that did not happen because Mandela intervened. These millions of slum dwelling South Africans appear to have gained nothing much from the 14 years of independence of South Africa. And now their unconscious rage is descending on their fellow african brothers and sisters.
The Identity crisis of South Africa is emerging in its attempt to assert its pre-eminence among the other African nations. The thinking is that South African are not really Africans but are comparable to whites due to their yellowness. In this class mentality thinking, the South Africans usually attempt to assert a superiority over the rest of the countries South of the Sahara. They may believe or believe that they are a much more sophisticated society than their neighbors, not only in terms of economy but also in terms of human endowment.
What is happening is actually an attempt of South Africa to isolate itself from Africa and associate itself with Europe and America, thus use similar concepts and thinking as Europe and America. This includes the use of the term immigrant and the blaming of other Africans for the failure of the government's social and economic policies.
The government of South Africa has yet to meet the needs of the 40% unemployed and Identify itself as an African country, which it is. These anti-African sentiments are misplaced and spring from the old apertheid policies that may be seemingly changing the psychic of these Africans from the South. We see a similar attitude among Blacks in America towards Africans in general. It appears among these human beings the idea that proximity to westernization means superiority. However, the South Africans will remember that we gave them repose while they were fighting in exile. We welcomed them in Mozambique, in Zambia, Tanzania, Zimbabwe and all over the continent of Black Africa so to speak.
Finally this South African identity crisis complex is making them so proud they will not talk with any Black Man, I mean Black African, I mean the Yellow man of South Africa believes he is closer to white and therefore superior than the Original Black African Man. It is a pity as we watch South Africans living a delusion.
Brothers and Sisters it is time to go back home and rebuild our home land.
The time of wandering in the planet is over. Courage Black African brothers and sisters living in the yellow mans land, go home and rebuild your countries and reconcile with your brothers and sisters. It is better to die home than in an alien Land.
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Post by toddo on May 23, 2008 8:02:40 GMT 3
I may be wrong but I find the situation in South Africa has been cooking and that was waiting to be served. Part of the blame narrative has to be on Comrade Mbeki's lap. His persistent silence and support on Robert Mugabe's rule has played a big part in this current mayhem and it is now coming home to bite him. When will truth be always upheld by our African leaders no matter the cost? In his case, the cost was purely pride and it is unfortunate that it has turned out this way. As for rebuilding our countries from purely their geographical locations, I think that we are past that. Take the example of Israel, Lebanon or (Iraq pre- September 2001) They were built by a good majority of citizens abroad. Africa has to open it's borders as we all know some of the geographical borders were a figment of colonial masters' imaginations.
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Post by toddo on May 23, 2008 8:07:01 GMT 3
check out : news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/3499695.stmAs for this man Mbeki, "Perhaps his biggest policy success has been South Africa's rapid economic growth since the end of apartheid and the rise of a black middle class - but to the anger of many, wealth is more unevenly distributed than ever before. He has failed to convince the trade unions and the poorest South Africans that the government has acted in their interest since the end of apartheid. And it was this that provided the space for Mr Zuma to mobilise a powerful constituency and end Mr Mbeki's leadership of the party in which he has spent so much of his life. "
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Post by einstein on May 23, 2008 10:11:25 GMT 3
South Africans have gone bonkers!! What they are doing is not acceptable anywhere in the world and should be condemned in the strongest terms possible!! These are not the same people who used to cry under the york of apartheid!!!! God, how I wish we never fought for them, God, how I wish you brought back that york of apartheid around their necks again, God ,these people are not real and are thankless, God, pay them back right here on earth!!!! www.eastandard.net/news/?id=1143987106
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Post by Onyango Oloo on May 23, 2008 10:43:01 GMT 3
From Anti Privatisation Forum Social Movements Indaba action against hate 21 May 2008The Social Movements Indaba (SMI) – a co-ordinating national body of social movements, civil society and activist organizations – is organizing with its affiliated organizations and immigrant communities to roll back the groundswell of xenophobia. In the years since its formation in 2002, the SMI has linked organizations of the poor in struggle for basic services, international solidarity and against police repression. At its last national meeting in December in Cape Town, the SMI identified xenophobia as a pervasive problem in communities and undertook to campaign against hatred of foreigners. Now that the crisis of hate crime is no longer foreboding and is terrifyingly HERE, there is no time to stall and wish we were better prepared. We are without hesitation committed to the struggles for social justice, internationalism and solidarity with all repressed people. While the police have been deployed to try keep a lid on the pressure that has boiled over, this is no solution to the safety and security of all. As a xenophobic force in Johannesburg pre-existing the outbreak of violence, the police cannot be trusted to be more than the brute barrier between perpetrators and their targeted victims. The South African Police Services and Johannesburg Metro Police harass immigrants to solicit bribes as a matter of practice. Calling on the police to 'do their work' as president Thabo Mbeki and his government have done does not, therefore, address the issues of safety and security amongst immigrant communities. The refugee communities do not trust the police as impartial arbiters of the conflict. The police conducted a brutal raid on the Central Methodist Church on the 31st of January 2008 under the pretext of crime prevention. Criminalisation of immigrants is a smokescreen for deportation and bribery that the police has not cleared. Long-lasting safety and security for all does not include deportation of foreign nationals, whether voluntary or not. Xenophobia's origins lie within the conditions of poverty in which the majority of south Africans live. Immigrants have been targeted for their ethnic difference and for their very similarity with their persecutors. Seen as competitors for scarce jobs and housing, south Africans have misdirected their anger at conditions of poverty that are unchanging. Their fellow brothers and sisters who are enduring the same cannot be responsible for what the economic and political system has created. While we struggle for a change to the neoliberal capitalist system that has created this reality, rearguard struggles for safety and security of immigrants in the country must continue. The SMI gives thanks for those humanitarian organizations, emergency services and churches that are trying to stem the tide of bloodletting and forced removals. We will organize against the creation of refugee camps and work towards the reintegration of immigrants in our communities. In working to recover our common humanity and restore calm, delegations from the SMI are meeting with community-based organizations in Alex and the inner city, and as the programme of action to roll-back the hate unfolds, the SMI will be going further afield to speak to affected communities. The SMI is mobilizing social movements, immigrant communities, NGOs and concerned residents from poor areas around the province for a march this Saturday, the 24th of May. The march will gather at Marks Park (Empire and Hospital Road) from 9a.m., proceed through Hillbrow and stop at the Departments of Home Affairs and Housing before ending at the Library Gardens. The message marchers will be conveying is that our struggle is common and knows no borders. — No one is illegal —The SMI will be convening a press conference about the wave of xenophobic violence tearing through Gauteng and what civil society organizations and social movements are doing to combat it. The press conference will be taking place: tomorrow, Wednesday 21 May 2008 on the 7th floor of Vogas House, 123 Pritchard Street (cnr Mooi) Johannesburg at 11a.m. For directions or other enquiries, please contact the Anti Privatisation Forum on 011 333 8334. For comment, please contact Mhlobo Gunguluzi (Khanya College) 0843773013 Brian Burayai (Refugee Fellowship) 0732865667 Silumko Radebe (Anti Privatisation Forum) 0731737268 The Social Movements Indaba includes amongst other organizations: the Anti Privatisation Forum, Jubilee South Africa, Imbawula Trust, Sounds of Edutainment, Umzabalazo we Jubilee, Lesbian and Gay Equality Project, Inner City Resource Centre, Kliptown Concerned Residents, Khanya College, Earthlife Africa (Johannesburg), Palestinian Solidarity Committee, Golden Triangle Crisis Committee, Samancor Retrenched Workers Crisis Committee, African Renaissance Civic Movement, Group of Refugees Without Voice
-- Anti Privatisation Forum 123 Pritchard Street (cnr Mooi) 6th floor Vogas House, Johannesburg Tel: (011) 333-8334 Fax: (011) 333-8365 Website: www.apf.org.za
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Post by Onyango Oloo on May 23, 2008 10:46:19 GMT 3
Media and Communication Rights Committee (MCRC)
22 May 2008 Pouring petrol on to the fire won't help the situation The xenophobic attacks on immigrants are a very serious problem in a democratic country like South Africa. The history of life and the world people has been of peoples' migration from one place to another and South Africa is not unique. Media must at all times make sure that it educates and informs in such a way that it is not biased and misleading. The way newspapers like the Daily Sun has been reporting and labeling immigrants as aliens fuels racist prejudices and misdirects latent tensions in society. This tabloid newspaper reports on foreign immigrants in often derogatory terms that verge on hateful representations. People buy newspapers to access news and developments but with the Daily Sun's kind of poor, sensationalist and unprofessional reporting the news has become particularly distorted. The MCRC is calling on the Daily Sun to be responsible for the attitudes and affects it conveys. Life is more important than the number of copies sold. Good and professional reporting is one of the key contributing factors in trying to solve the xenophobic attacks. For more information please contact: Sello Tladi @ 083 859 1654 or Patra @ 073 052 7005
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Post by Onyango Oloo on May 23, 2008 10:48:12 GMT 3
Coalition Against Xenophobia 23 May 2007 Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) Johannesburg, Black Sash, Amnesty International (South Africa), Action Aid International, Social Movements Indaba, Anti-Privatisation Forum, Jubilee South Africa, Imbawula Trust, Sounds of Edutainment, Umzabalazo we Jubilee, Lesbian and Gay Equality Project, Inner City Resource Centre, Kliptown Concerned Residents, Khanya College, Earthlife Africa (Johannesburg), Palestinian Solidarity Committee, Golden Triangle Crisis Committee, Samancor Retrenched Workers Crisis Committee, African Renaissance Civic Movement, Group of Refugees Without Voice, Pacifique Sukisa Foundation, Somali Association of South Africa (SASA), NEHAWU Johannesburg, Keep Left, Yeoville Stakeholders Forum, Ethiopian Community of South Africa (ECSA), Alternative Media Productions, Masibambane Unemployment Project, General Industrial Workers Union of SA (GIWUSA), Landless Peoples Movement (Rustenburg)Since planning for a march against xenophobia was announced by the Social Movements Indaba (SMI) last week, a number of other concerned organisations and individuals have joined the initiative to help demonstrate a united force in the city of Johannesburg, organised in struggle against the terror and fear that have been sown amongst all of us – South African and non-South African – over the last few weeks. A loose coalition - of organisations affiliated to the SMI; refugee and immigrant communities and organisations from the inner city, Hillbrow and Yeoville; trade unions; groups of artists; and so on - has emerged to reclaim the spaces of our city and townships from the hatred, anger, and violence that have come to occupy them. On Saturday, the 24th of May, this coalition will be marching, at 9am, from the Pieter Roos Park in Hillbrow (cnr Queens & Empire rds) through Hillbrow and the inner city, past the Gauteng legislature, to the library gardens. We will deliver a memorandum to government to demand that it takes responsibility for the xenophobia that has resulted in the current state of emergency in Gauteng, and we will hand over a message of solidarity and support to our fellow African brothers and sisters, represented by various organisations and groups. Hillbrow and the inner city are places in which a large number of immigrants reside. They have also been the sites of much of the violent xenophobia experienced over the last few weeks. We believe that by marching through these areas we will be reclaiming them as spaces in which all of us are able to live free from the threat of xenophobic harassment, and that we will be showing our solidarity and support for those who have been hurt and humiliated in this period. When a minority of people has sown fear and terror amongst all of us in such a manner that division and hatred are easily encouraged and entrenched, we believe that this is even more important. A cultural programme will follow the march on Saturday, at the library gardens. A programme of events beyond Saturday is also unfolding, and the coalition seems set to continue for some time to come. We believe that it is important to build such a coalition to ensure that the struggle against xenophobia continues, and, that we understand that xenophobia is a manifestation of the legitimate frustrations of the poor and working class in a capitalist society designed to pit one oppressed and exploited group against another. Through the coalition, we hope to bring our different struggles together as we understand their common source in the capitalist system, and direct our anger at this source. For further information &/or interviews about the march or the coalition, contact: Silumko Radebe 0731737268 or Makoma Lekalakala 082 682 9177 -- Anti Privatisation Forum 123 Pritchard Street (cnr Mooi) 6th floor Vogas House, Johannesburg Tel: (011) 333-8334 Fax: (011) 333-8365 Website: www.apf.org.za
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Post by mzee on May 23, 2008 23:23:21 GMT 3
And the madness continues while the police stand by and enjoy. Victims of Xenophobia in SA Them warriors doing their thing. SAD REALLY SAD
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Post by toddo on May 24, 2008 0:55:21 GMT 3
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Post by einstein on May 24, 2008 15:45:02 GMT 3
ANC call to 'retake the streets' The secretary general of South Africa's governing ANC has called on party members to form local committees to combat violence against foreigners. Gwede Mantashe says that they should work to "take the streets back from criminals", whilst giving support to the police and help to the victims. The unrest has now spread to Cape Town, with people assaulted and shops looted. More than 40 people have died and some 15,000 people have sought shelter since the violence began two weeks ago. On Thursday, troops were deployed to quell attacks - the first time soldiers have been used to stamp out unrest in South Africa since the 1994 end of apartheid. In a statement on the African National Congress (ANC) website, Mr Mantashe described the violence as "a shameful pogrom". "Ill informed and angry with people whom they perceive to be robbing them of their right to services," he said. "Is this the truth? The same mob that accused people of being criminals acted in the most obscene of criminal ways." "There is no room for this behaviour in our country ever. There is no reason that compels us to behave in the atrocious manner." Mr Mantashe reminded South Africans of their link to the rest of the continent ahead of Africa Day celebrations on Sunday. "On Sunday we will wake up in this country and celebrate the victories our forebears have had over colonialism and apartheid," Mr Mantashe wrote in the party's weekly newsletter. "Many of us... will think of the kindness we received in the poorest communities of Angola, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Tanzania, Nigeria and many other African states." Anti-apartheid fighters in the ANC were given shelter in other African countries, some of which suffered collective punishment as a result, he recalled. Youth action Meanwhile ANC Youth League President Julius Malema condemned the fact that youngsters appeared to be some of the ringleaders of the attacks, often using the name of the party and singing revolutionary songs whilst carrying out attacks. "They (the youth) must rise against this thuggery and hooliganism and claim back their communities," he said. Mr Malema said the government had not done enough to stop what it called "anarchy" and said swift and decisive action was needed from the country's law enforcement agencies. The leader of South Africa's official opposition, Helen Zille, says the events of the past two weeks have shocked and shamed the nation. Ms Zille, head of the Democratic Alliance, says in her weekly newsletter that President Thabo Mbeki has been conspicuous by his absence, not even visiting the affected areas to see for himself what is driving the violence. She said the president should be actively campaigning in the country's trouble spots and preaching a message of tolerance. Meanwhile, the authorities in Malawi says they have begun evacuating hundreds of Malawians from South Africa. Officials said a task force had been set up to return up to 850 Malawians, who had been affected by the violence in South Africa. The attacks in Cape Town, the hub of South Africa's tourism industry, broke out during a meeting called to prevent anti-foreigner violence in the Dunoon township, 25km from the city centre. John, a Malawian at the Dunoon meeting, said it disintegrated and foreigners started fleeing as groups began to loot Somali-owned shops. <<The screams of the burning Mozambican still haunt me... I have never seen such barbarism, says a Zimbabwean woman>> news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7417590.stm
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Post by Titchaz on May 24, 2008 15:53:29 GMT 3
These folks are supposed to host the soccer World Cup? ?...Oh My God! FIFA might rethink the move maana they (S.A.) have stooped too low!!!
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Post by politicalmaniac on May 24, 2008 18:16:54 GMT 3
These folks are supposed to host the soccer World Cup? ?...Oh My God! FIFA might rethink the move maana they (S.A.) have stooped too low!!! I hope FIFA decides to go elsewhere for real!
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Post by einstein on May 24, 2008 21:38:01 GMT 3
More Kenyans under attack in SA Published on May 24, 2008, 12:00 am By Beauttah Omanga THE Government has officially sought protection for its citizens in South Africa following reports that some were targets of attacks on immigrants. Foreign Affairs Minister Moses Wetangula said the Government had instructed its Ambassador in Pretoria to make an official appeal, on the concerns that Kenyans were being harassed. "I have asked our envoy to seek audience with the minister concerned and make a case on behalf of Kenyans in that country and seek protection," said Wetangula. Wetangula spoke as Kenyans calling from South Africa said many of them were selling off their property before returning home. "I am selling off everything. It is very dangerous because now the violence has spread wide even to where it had not reached," said Joe Kanyari, a Kenyan tour operator in Cape Town. Other Kenyans said the attackers were looting businesses and burning properties of foreigners. Wetangula disclosed that his office had received reports that more Kenyans had been attacked. "We have received reports which we are yet to confirm that more Kenyans have been attacked in the last two days," he said. Addressing a press conference in his office, the Minister said despite the insecurity in South Africa, only one Kenyan and her two family members had requested to be evacuated. Wetangula said he had issued instructions that the woman whose shop was raided three days ago be assisted. He said however Kenyans threatened with attacks were those in informal and remote parts of the country. The minister said he had been assured that institutions where over 10,000 Kenyan students were learning had not been targeted.He described the attacks as an embarrassment to Africa. But he said the Kenyan Government supported a decision by President Thabo Mbeki to deploy the military to quell the violence. www.eastandard.net/news/?id=1143987154
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Mukwhasi
Full Member
Justice will live on ..
Posts: 180
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Post by Mukwhasi on May 24, 2008 23:14:45 GMT 3
These are the same people who only months ago refused to off load weapons destined to Zim only to turn around and kill the poor folk , the white man really messed up our brains all this shows is how deeply the african man hates himself, democracy , western concept of economy is not for us , we should conceptulaize sysytems that can work based on traditional african culture.Adopting this western ideals is equal to downloading the wrongsoftware in your computer and expecting it to perform the tasks you were wishing.we can not crossbreed cultures and remain sane , it is either we purge all western culture and totaly embrace our roots or purge our african culture and embreace the western one , the african man is too confused about who he is .On onehand you want an i phone and on the other you just long for uji in a calabash or some exotic bitter leaves.
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Post by einstein on May 25, 2008 21:17:29 GMT 3
And finally Mbeki finds his voice after weeks of violence that has left at least 50 immigrants dead and properties destroyed or looted! SA's Mbeki says riots a disgrace South African President Thabo Mbeki has condemned a wave of attacks on foreigners as an "absolute disgrace" that has blemished the country's name. In a national radio and television address, he said the attacks were the worst acts of inhumanity South Africa had seen since the end of Apartheid. At least 50 people died and 25,000 fled their homes during the violence. Jacob Zuma, leader of the governing party, urged an end to attacks, on a visit to a Johannesburg township. The African National Council (ANC) leader told a crowd of thousands in Springs township that violence would not solve problems of crime, poverty and unemployment, but make them worse. President Mbeki has been criticised for his handling of the crisis. 'Failed policies' Mr Mbeki said the country risked being taken back to a past of violent conflict which no-one could afford. "This criminal violence has besmirched the image of South Africa," he said. Earlier, Mr Mbeki promised to create an investigating committee to look into the problem. One government critic, Moeletsi Mbeki - the president's own brother - has said the government is unwilling to admit that the violence is the result of the failure of its own foreign and immigration policies. The troubles flared with a wave of attacks on foreigners in the township of Alexandra, within sight of some of Johannesburg's most expensive suburbs. They have since spread to seven of South Africa's nine provinces. On Sunday police said 50 people were now believed to have been killed since the troubles began. Meanwhile, a Cape Town spokesman said at least 10,000 immigrants had fled to makeshift camps outside the south-western city alone. In Johannesburg, the ANC said delegations from the party's national executive committee were fanning out to community halls and stadia across the city in what it called a "programme of engagement" to stem the tide of violence. news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7419217.stm
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Post by einstein on May 26, 2008 1:52:03 GMT 3
I'm not ready to buy into this argument of "policy failure" as the explanation of the mayhem in South Africa. We are talking about a people who were themselves scattered allover Africa to escape apartheid and the poor countries that hosted them like Tanzania, Mozambique, Zambia etc. never ganged up against them in spite of the level of poverty prevailing in these very countries at that time!! The bottom line is South Africans have disgraced the whole continent. Africans are again being depicted as savage and sub-human!!! www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgcontententry.asp?category_id=25&newsid=124051
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Post by einstein on May 27, 2008 0:48:21 GMT 3
Africans, I find it hard to say, that everything is alright, don’t look at me that way, like everything is alright, cause my own eyes can see, through all your false pretences, but what you fail to see, is all the consequences. Please wake up and rebel against xenophobia. And while the people sleep, too comfortable to face it, your life is so incomplete and nothing and no one can replace it. Cause like the Bible/Koran says, his/her blood is on your hands and what I gotta say and what I gotta say, and what I gotta say, and what I gotta say is rebel, rebel, rebel, rebel, rebel, rebel, rebel BUT DO NOT DESTROY. Wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up, wake up Africa and rebel. It can’t go down this way and please repent, please choose well, cause it cannot go down this way, choose well, choose well and choose well. And while the people sleep, too comfortable to face it, your life is so incomplete and nothing and no one can replace it, oh no, no, no, no, no, no and what I gotta say, and what I gotta say, is rebel, rebel, rebel, rebel, rebel, rebel BUT DO NOT DESTROY! Wake up, wake up, wake up Africa and rebel!! We Africans must NOT destroy in order to rebuild, it will be just too painful, wake up! Are you satisfied, are you satisfied? Please rebel BUT DO NOT DESTROY! Why don’t you rebel, why don’t you rebel against xenophobia, why don’t you rebel, why don’t you rebel? A paraphrase of Lauryn Hill's Unplugged.
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Post by einstein on May 29, 2008 18:15:30 GMT 3
Xenophobia: Is South Africa the exception? Published on May 24, 2008, 12:00 am By Khamati Shilabukha www.eastandard.net/commentaries/?id=1143987133&cid=15I responded to some of his positions as below:It is argued that xenophobia is a result of poor intercultural communication. Members of one culture do not understand, appreciate and accommodate those from another culture. They lack adequate information to deal with such people with the least stress and threat. I do not agree with this position. Xenophobia cannot be a result of poor intercultural communication. Let us take Hitler and his Nazi followers for example. In the beginning they directed their wrath only against the Jews. At that stage, one could talk about poor intercultural communication. But how does one explain what happened to fellow Germans after the Jews were done with? It is known that after the Jews, the Nazis turned their attention to the less privileged members of the German society. These were the physically handicapped (the lame, the blind etc). Shortly thereafter, the German homeless became the victims, they were followed by Germans belonging to religious groups the Nazis did not approve of and as if that was not enough, all Germans were required to be blond! Woe unto you, if you were a German with dark hair!!! Xenophobia cannot hence be a result of poor intercultural communication alone!!!But acquiring such information does not come easy and the poor management of communication often leads to strife. This could be the case in South Africa. One major source of information that allows us a wide world view and a more holistic perception and appreciation of others is the mass media. But the mass media, as inanimate objects, cannot do anything. It is those who use and manipulate them that can make the difference. I agree that the mass media in any society plays an important role in either reducing such tensions or heightening them.Xenophobia is a global problem. Although the phenomenon is ubiquitous in contemporary societies, its targets vary across countries and nations. It is such that even those who have been a subject of hate also develop hatred for others. But how does this hatred come about? Anthropologists and other social scientists posit that a population composed mainly of foreigners is an environment in which xenophobia can easily thrive. They distinguish three theoretical approaches to the rise and diffusion of hatred. The first relates to socio-economic status of individuals, the second pertains to their cultural identity and the third the general attributes of society. Source of hatred The first approach derives from the "power theory" – a paradigm that views the relationship between groups as a function of their competitive positions. This concept suggests that a threat of one particular group to another is a source of hatred. When people feel insecure in the face of threat, they portray resentment and hate. But here, the intensity of hate need not necessarily depend on real competition on the job market but on the perception of threat. This is sufficient ground to induce animosity. Much of this is absent in the South African situation. The cultural symbolic approach holds that animosity towards the other is not a consequence of economic competition between rival groups. It is a product of early political and value socialisation. The main issue here is the fear of loss of social status and identity. Thus, cultural differences among people could be responsible for conflicts and hatred. In this approach, it can be explained that people would prefer to be surrounded by their own kind rather than be exposed to "strangers". Defining a group of people as "un-belonging" to the national "we" deprives them of the right to belong. Much of this is also absent in South Africa. The third approach, termed phenomenology, attributes xenophobia not to economic strains or cultural divergence but to general attributes of society. When society experiences deep crises, which occur intermittently, anomic tensions encroach upon social postures. This leads to a crisis of collective identity "so that the calm self-certainty which might enable unproblematic relations with the minorities gets lost". Under this approach, xenophobia is interpreted as a way of reassuring the national self and its boundaries, as an attempt at making sense of the world in times of crisis. This could be happening to indigenous South Africans. I beg to disagree with phenomenology as an explanation to the xenophobic behaviour of South Africans. After the end of apartheid in South Africa, the country has NOT experienced any deep crises which occurred intermittently! On the contrary, South Africa has enjoyed relative peace with the demise of apartheid. Nelson Mandela did a terrific job as president. Thabo Mbeki has been implementing a programme aimed at the empowerment of the black South Africans with the aim of bringing them somewhere at par with their fellow white South Africans!! Hence I fail to understand how the black South Africans who are currently being favoured over everybody else can afford to attack their fellow black Africans in the name of some perceived crisis of collective identity!! Hell, why did the white South Africans not join them in the mayhem? Are the white South Africans somehow not suffering from this so called crisis of collective identity??? The last time I checked, both the white and black South Africans reside in the same country!!!To start with, the impeding fallout between President Thabo Mbeki and Africa National Congress (ANC) leader Jacob Zuma could be disillusioning to many ordinary citizens of African descent. Many of them subscribe to ANC with a passion yet they find themselves on the sidelines when major party decisions are being made. At the same time, they have not benefited from the economic prosperity of their country. Many South Africans still live in squalid conditions and the dream of land reform has turned into a pipe dream. These issues run so deep in their collective psyche that they need reassurance of economic and social survival. But they are directing their anger at the wrong enemy. This is a contradiction of what was said above, viz. << The first approach derives from the "power theory" – a paradigm that views the relationship between groups as a function of their competitive positions. This concept suggests that a threat of one particular group to another is a source of hatred. When people feel insecure in the face of threat, they portray resentment and hate. But here, the intensity of hate need not necessarily depend on real competition on the job market but on the perception of threat. This is sufficient ground to induce animosity. Much of this is absent in the South African situation.>>
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Post by einstein on May 29, 2008 18:22:07 GMT 3
And now, even Kenyan students who are not even competing for any jobs in South Africa have to be evacuated!!! Where is Mama Africa headed by the way?? It is so shameful, I ain't got no words anymore!!
State to evacuate Kenyans in SA
Published on May 29, 2008, 12:00 am
By Beauttah Omanga And Abiya Ocholla
The Government will from today start evacuating Kenyans from South Africa, which has been rocked by xenophobic mayhem.
The first batch of 64 Kenyans, mainly university students, are expected to arrive Thursday morning aboard a Kenya Airways flight. Air tickets have been sent for the evacuees through the Kenyan Embassy.
A ministerial source said the Government had by Wednesday sent Sh5 million worth of air tickets to South Africa. The evacuation of Kenyans from the troubled country follows an escalation of attacks targeting them and other Africans.
The Kenyan High Commissioner to South Africa Tom Amolo, said on phone last night that he had been called to Cleveland Police Station, near Johannesburg, where ten Kenyans whose businesses had been attacked were camping.
"I am heading to Cleveland Police station near Johannesburg where Eric Mogaka and nine other Kenyans are. Their property was looted from their shops," said Amolo.
Foreign Affairs Assistant minister Richard Onyonka, announced in his office that the first batch of Kenyans to be evacuated are those who requested for assistance.
Onyonka said by last evening about 100 Kenyans had requested to be evacuated immediately. By mid-day Wednesday, 64 had confirmed their desire to be assisted to come home, while another 100 were still to come to the Embassy for travel arrangements.
"Priority should be given to students, the (violence) victims and those who can’t raise air fare," said Onyonka, adding that vetting was being done at the Embassy. More Kenyans attacked
He at the same time disclosed that more Kenyans had been attacked, with the latest victims being in Cleveland town. He asked Kenyans in South Africa to remain vigilant as arrangements were being made to assist them leave the country.
At the same time, the minister termed as personal sentiments demands by some MPs that the South African Embassy in Nairobi be closed down in protest to the attacks on Kenyans.
Onyonka said the Government had no problem with the South African government and any official communication would be made by the Foreign Affairs Ministry.
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Post by politicalmaniac on May 29, 2008 18:54:55 GMT 3
This is such a big blow to Pan Africanism. The culprits of the economic disparity are well known, chomping cigars in high rise towers in Jo'burg. I just need to reign in my instincts of retaliation against the brothers down under
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Post by einstein on May 29, 2008 19:18:01 GMT 3
This is such a big blow to Pan Africanism. The culprits of the economic disparity are well known, chomping cigars in high rise towers in Jo'burg. I just need to reign in my instincts of retaliation against the brothers down under PM, I know for sure that we have South African students in Nairobi. What will happen if people started to retaliate? How will all this madness help Africa in the long run?? There are somethings, my thick brain cannot just comprehend!!!
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Post by einstein on May 30, 2008 20:58:53 GMT 3
Varsity opposed to xenophobic frenzies Publication Date: 5/30/2008 On behalf of the Wits community, I express deep dismay and concern at the xenophobic violence that has been taking place in our country. You may be aware that the senior leadership of our university led an academic protest against this scourge on the afternoon of May 21, along Jan Smuts Avenue outside our campus. Our protest was also an appeal to our community in Johannesburg and in South Africa to speak out against this violence. Within our university community, our concern is for the safety and security of our international students and staff. This letter is, therefore, to assure you that we have put in place a series of initiatives to minimise the exposure of our staff and students to the possibility of attack as well as to deal with physical and psychological trauma as these occur. We have identified a small group of international students who felt that they were unduly exposed to possible attack in their off-campus residences. These students have been accommodated in makeshift facilities on our campus and we are monitoring the situation continuously. We will also be hosting a series of academic events aimed at helping all of us to better understand what is clearly a complex issue. Wits University takes pride in the race, class, gender and national diversity of its internal community. We celebrate this because it enriches us. It is our diversity that allows us to provide the kind of cosmopolitan and globally networked environment necessary for an excellent institution of higher learning. We are, therefore, pleased that nationals from other countries choose to work or study at Wits — and we will do all we can to ensure their safety. Please feel free to call or write to me should you wish to discuss this matter further. Prof YUNUS BALLIM Acting vice-chancellor and principal Wits University, South Africa. www.nationmedia.com/dailynation/nmgcontententry.asp?category_id=23&newsid=124303
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Post by einstein on May 30, 2008 21:58:55 GMT 3
Apartheid 'not root of SA riots' South Africa's former President FW De Klerk has told the BBC that the heritage of apartheid cannot be blamed for this month's xenophobic attacks. "It would be a great over simplification to blame everything which is wrong... on the heritage of the past," he said. The last apartheid-era leader said unemployment and the high crime rate were the main reasons for the violence. More than 70,000 people have fled the attacks and more than 50 died. Mr De Klerk became president in 1989 and started to dismantle the apartheid regime, which ended five years later. Aid workers in South Africa have been pushing for disaster zones to be declared in the areas worst hit by recent xenophobic attacks. Correspondents say there is growing concern about the conditions in which tens of thousands of displaced people are living. Most are still sheltering in community halls, churches and police stations and some are sleeping out in the open. The government says it is working urgently to provide more suitable accommodation for them. 'Loses credibility' In an interview on the BBC's Today programme, Mr De Klerk said that the attacks against foreigners were "unacceptable" and high unemployment amongst black South Africans and crime were to blame. He said that immigrants were "prepared to work at lower wages". "Therefore many black South Africans feel that these people are robbing them of their jobs and of their food and of their livelihoods so I think that's the main root cause," he said. He said that crime could not be solely blamed on foreigners. "But there's no doubt that a substantial percentage of the illegal immigrants are involved in the high crime rates which we have." He rejected that claim that the legacy of apartheid was to blame for many of the country's current social problems. Under apartheid, people were deprived of their full political rights, but not on a "socio-economic basis", he said. "It was quite developmental if you look at what has happened in the educational field, in the field of housing - I'm now talking from the 1960s to the 1990s, the establishment of new universities, the creation of opportunities, small business development," he said. Critics of apartheid have argued that black South Africans at the time received an inferior education - many young people boycotted school to fight apartheid - and black ownership of commercial business was prohibited or highly regulated. Apartheid is often blamed as a means of "political expediency", Mr De Klerk said. "But there's no doubt that we've now had a new full open democracy since 1994 - it's almost 15 years - and month by month the claim that everything which is wrong is to be blamed on the past loses its appeal and its credibility." In a statement on Thursday, the government acknowledged "the urgent need to accelerate its programmes for alleviating poverty, unemployment and other forms of socio-economic deprivation". It also appealed to communities "to reject any agitation from those who wish to reduce this country into a lawless country". 'Up the garden path' With regard to the political crisis in Zimbabwe, Mr De Klerk said that South Africa's reputation had been "damaged". Efforts by Thabo Mbeki, South Africa's current leader, to get a unity government between President Robert Mugabe's party and that of opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai were "outdated", he said. "At certain stages President Mugabe made promises to President Mbeki which he didn't keep - and in that sense I'm a bit sorry for President Mbeki because I think at times Mugabe led him up the garden path." He also had praise for Mr Tsvangirai and his "statesmanlike qualities" in agreeing to an election re-run. "I think Zimbabwe's lot is now in the hand of Zimbabweans," he said. news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/7427209.stm
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