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YOUR STORY
We caused this problem
19/05/2008 14:52 - (SA)
Pitso Tsibolane, News24 User
In times of severe trouble people need assurances from their leaders; they need some source of hope that things will be fine sooner than later.
Jacob Zuma, the leader of the ruling party, has stepped up to the challenge, condemning and giving practical solutions to the xenophobic attacks that have recently exposed the real truth behind how grass-root South Africa understand the Zimbabwean crisis. Our head of state is shouting from Mozambique, through his spokespeople, that he condemns the attacks!
It has become a norm for us normal South Africans to attribute the recent township uprising against mainly Zimbabwean foreigners to the catastrophic failures of quite diplomacy, SA government's lack sympathy to our neighbours; Mugabe's evil tyranny; SADC's ineptness; AU's lack of leadership etc.
I'll be the first one to admit, probably, each of these many factors have contributed directly and indirectly to the current crisis. However, I believe it is time that South African's take a step back and admit that perhaps these attacks are to be blamed on us, South Africans.
What gives us the right?
One of the attackers interviewed on radio from Diepsloot said this: "We are tired of these people, they must go home and vote Mugabe out". It took South Africans about 50 years to overthrow the National Party apartheid government. It took South Africa over 300 years to finally lay claim to its soil. What makes us think that Zimbabweans can do it quicker than that?
What gives South Africans the right to violently force Zimbabweans back to their country? What would have happened if Oliver Tambo, Thabo Mbeki, Jacob Zuma, Chris Hani etc were violently forced back into the hands of the Apartheid regime to "sort out" their issues back in their countries? Oh what selective amnesia?
It is us the middle class South Africa, not quite diplomacy that hires illegal migrants in our homes, security estates, building projects, restaurants etc in order to increase profitability, save costs instead of paying what we would pay the "lazy" locals.
We have broken the law, we have given the "threatened local" a reason to run amok and "protect his stolen territory". It is us, the civil servants of South Africa, the border patrol, the policeman? not the SADC, who have issued illegal passports and identity documents for a little bribe that have created this situation today.
Us, not them
It is us, the South African poor, not the AU, who have sold our RDP houses to foreigners and illegal immigrants in order to have a little more in our pockets. Look no further than that same panga wielding thug to find out who has rented their RDP house and chose to stay in a squatter camp.
Today that same foreigner who is simply trying to survive and raising some foreign currency to support his loved one back in Zimbabwe is being looked at as the problem; this is simply passing the buck.
Let us all hang our heads in shame, we have failed our neighbours, we have failed the region and ourselves. Our collective morality is dead, and that talk about ubuntu was just cheap talk all this time.
Today many of us quietly go to work, not raising a finger to help, not "marching" for change against our criminal countrymen. No police helicopter is in sight to prevent further attacks?
Perhaps we need a few more dead bodies to constitute a crisis. Or perhaps the same locals need to invade the suburbs first, where many of us nonchalantly go about as if nothing is wrong, after all, we caused this problem too!
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