'It is bad here'
2008-05-19 14:29
Johannesburg - At the Central Methodist Church in Johannesburg's CBD, one of the places of shelter for refugees and asylum seekers, people squeezed into the dark, badly ventilated rooms.
An undocumented Zimbabwean, who wanted to remain anonymous, said he arrived at the church on Sunday from the township Thokoza.
"I am looking for a safe place," he said.
The 23-year-old said local residents in Thokoza had threatened him and told him to go back to Zimbabwe because he was taking their jobs.
"It is bad here, (Johannesburg CBD) as well, I can't even eat because when we go out to get something, they want to beat us."
Police came under fire in the Jerusalem informal settlement outside Boksburg on Monday as they tried to stop a group of about 500 people from looting shops there.
Want foreigners to go
Speaking above the sound of barking police dogs and the bleeping of police radios, police spokesperson Sasa Lengene said the group descended on the shops saying they wanted foreigners to go.
She said the group did not want to take instructions from the police and the situation became volatile.
Live fire came from the large group while police retaliated with rubber bullets, she said.
Shortly after noon the stand-off ended, with no injuries immediately reported but Lengene described the area as "not really calm".
Earlier, a Mozambican national was found dead in Makause informal settlement in Germiston.
Another two people, also Mozambican, were severely beaten in attacks that police are linking to a wave of xenophobia that continues to draw condemnation.
Mozambicans beaten up
"They discovered another body in the informal settlement overnight and another two Mozambicans were beaten up," said Inspector William Masondo, spokesman for the nearby Primrose area.
Meanwhile, the Nelson Mandela Foundation said it was appalled at the violence directed at foreign nationals.
"We join the rest of South Africa in deploring this violence. Whatever the underlying causes they have to be addressed... but this senseless violence is not a solution," said Achmat Dangor, foundation chief executive officer.
Its sister organisation the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund would continue assessing the needs of children living amid the conflict and provide assistance, the foundation said.
It repeated comments made by former president Nelson Mandela who last week urged people not to "descend into destructive divisiveness no matter what the considerations are".
The SA Local Governments Association (Salga) called for tolerance and solidarity towards foreigners living in or visiting South Africa.
Human rights?
"Foreign nationals, like all of us, have human rights and it is not correct to view them as threats to our well-being. Salga appeals to our people to desist from acting in a manner that reverses the gains we have made in building integrated communities and promoting social cohesion," said a statement from chairperson Amos Masondo, who is also mayor of Johannesburg.
The organisation would encourage its members to work closely with a task team that will investigate the causes of the attacks.
The SA National Civics Organisation believed the situation was complex and communities needed to be calmed before issues could be identified and dealt with.
Like the Democratic Alliance, it supported the deployment of the army to control the situation.
Lawyers for Human Rights called for police from other parts of the country to be sent to Gauteng to help their colleagues and also for the Department of Social Development's Refugee Relief Board to release funds for government and non-governmental organisations assisting those affected by the violence.
Give better protection
They also urged the government and the ANC to deploy their ward councillors to work with communities to protect foreign nationals.
Methodist Church Bishop Paul Verryn said at least an extra 300 people had flooded out of the Methodist church in the Johannesburg CBD when the doors were opened early on Monday.
"It is so sad," said Verryn. They need security, blankets, food and counselling. But most of all they just need to be treated as human beings."
According to a police report late on Sunday, 13 people had died over the weekend and at least 200 had been arrested in connection with the attacks, which the United Cities and Local Governments of Africa has called "un-African".
"We call upon the government of South Africa to use all its powers in law to stop this un-African behaviour by misguided people who have lost all sense of ubuntu, which essentially says strangers are always welcomed with open arms, treated with respect and protected in an African home."
Meanwhile, the National Union of Metalworkers of SA has decided to launch a campaign to educate workers against the dangers of criminalising foreign nationals and "portraying other African immigrants as undesirable people".
The Freedom Front Plus called for a state of emergency in Gauteng to deal with the situation.
Jaco Mulder, FF Plus provincial leader in Gauteng said he had been warning government since 2004 that the handling of undocumented migrants and refugees could lead to resistance from various communities.
"This uncontrolled immigration to Gauteng has an impact on education, health and job creation that [are] already under severe pressure."
Police Director Govindsamy Mariemuthoo was due to release an update on the situation later on Monday.
- SAPA