When the African continent commemorates the annual Africa Day on May 25, one cannot help it but to be reminded of the heinous acts of hatred and criminality which saw our beloved country turn into mayhem due to xenophobic attacks suffered by our fellow brothers and sisters from the continent.
Although these acts were perpetuated by a handful of criminals in the name of xenophobia, unemployment, inequality, lack of business opportunities, potentially this has tinted the image of South Africa as a country that lacks tolerance. One may even ask a question, if tolerance is one of the key fundamental principles our democracy is built upon, then why allow certain individuals to tarnish this hard earned democracy?
If one goes through memory lane before the dawn of democracy, flash backs continue to haunt us of the devastating infrastructural damages endured by these countries at the hands of South African security forces who aimed to destroy and destabilises the freedom fighters who found refuge in the African soil, in the likes of Angola, Mozambique, Zambia, Tanzania, Rhodesia, Ethiopia, etc. The spirit of brotherhood in arms ruined over any challenges of whether South Africans were foreign or otherwise.
Comforting was seeing respective communities, organisations and individuals, who demonstrated patronage and solidarity with foreign nationals, something that is welcomed and need to be cemented going forward. Civil society mobilised communities to denounce the violence, inter-ministerial committee on migration continued to do its work to ensure that the underlying socio-economic issues that has the potential to give rise to tensions between South Africans and foreign nationals are being dealt with. Through the Department of Social Development, trauma counselling was provided to over 1 000 immigrants. This is indicative enough that these few individuals do not have the power nor influence over the majority.
Let us embrace one another and learn to be tolerant of each other.
Busi Kheswa, Gauteng Community Safety
