Feeding migrants proves difficult
2008-05-22 08:56
Germiston - Aid groups are struggling to feed and shelter thousands of immigrants forced out of their homes by attacks on foreigners, amid accusations that the government must shoulder at least some of the blame.
There was more fighting and unconfirmed reports of new deaths on Tuesday, but the violence did not appear as widespread as in recent days. The death toll remained at 22.
Many of the attacks were launched by gangs of South Africans armed with rocks, knives and guns. A tire set on fire with gasoline was put around the neck of one victim.
Abel Massingue, a Mozambican who had lived in SA for 25 years, was robbed and beaten with hammers on Saturday night as he tried to help a friend escape an angry mob in Germiston, a city east of Johannesburg.
Afraid, and in too much pain to work, he spent Tuesday in a crowded, littered field next to the local police station. He said: "It's terrible here. We have young children here. Some people in here they have guns, they have weapons."
Economic hub
Zimbabweans, Malawians, Mozambicans and others had been the main targets of the wave of xenophobia after coming to the region's economic hub looking for work, and ending up sharing squatter camps with poor - and increasingly frustrated - South Africans.
Although South Africa was more prosperous than its neighbours, it suffered high unemployment and widespread housing problems, especially among the black majority.
Senior ministers and politicians visited some of the worst affected areas on Tuesday as the government scrambled to salvage its battered international reputation.
Security Minister Charles Nqakula vowed to increase the number of police patrols to ward off xenophobic attacks, deploy specialised police units and provide alternative accommodation for the displaced.
"We are going hard on the situation," he said during a visit to Germiston, where a large group of mostly Mozambicans had gathered seeking protection.
Foreigners 'helped us'
Home Affairs Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula promised not to deport illegal foreigners.
"South Africa belongs to all who live in it; foreigners have helped to develop the economy of the country - we cannot be seen as attacking people," she said.
The respected Institute for Race Relations put the blame firmly on the government, saying that poor and ineffective policies had "created a tinderbox of unmet expectations which exploded".
The institute cited a long list of factors: the country's failure to clamp down on violent crime - the murder rate exceeds 50 per day; corruption, lack of staff and low morale among the police; the lack of real job-creating policies to dent unemployment; poor service delivery; and porous border controls.
It said that that heavy-handed police action against immigrants, as evidenced by a raid earlier this year on a Johannesburg church housing hundreds of Zimbabweans, simply led to the impression that foreigners were "fair game".
- AP