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The South African Anti-Immigrant Riots: Causes and Implications for Africa By Priye S. Torulagha
There is more to the anti-immigrant riots in South Africa than meets the eye. It is indeed symptomatic of much larger socio-political and economic problems that beset the country and the region. Due to its industrialized and modernized capitalistic economy, the impression is often created that the country is an island of economic development and political stability in a continental sea of economic underdevelopment and political instability. Quite contrary to the stereotypical characterization, the reality is that South Africa suffers from a number of social, political and economic maladies that lead to perpetual political indigestion.
Postulations Two postulations are advanced here to show that there is more to the riots than meets the eye. (1).The anti-immigrant riots are the result of pent-up frustration emanating from lack of genuine structural changes in the highly Westernized, technocratic, concentrated, and bureaucratized economy that is not responsive to the needs of the masses. Another way to describe the situation is that the anger is directed at the African National Congress (ANC) for failing to institute genuine political and economic changes that would have improved the economic and social lives of the people in the post apartheid era. (2) The riots were systematically planned and executed to drive out immigrants and to warn others from coming to South Africa. Anti immigrant feelings have been building up as other black Africans poured into the country to seek fortune and or escape poverty, excessive corruption, irresponsible leadership, civil strife and a general hopelessness in their own countries. Apart from the current wave of killings and destruction, immigrants have tactically been killed for sometime.
1..The anti-immigrant riots are the result of pent-up frustration emanating from lack of genuine structural changes in the highly Westernized, technocratic, concentrated, and bureaucratized economy that is not responsive to the needs of the masses. The following provide the reasons why the riots are directed at the ANC and President Thabo Mbeki.
a. South Africa tends to suffer from socio-economic and political stomach aches in the sense that it is an African country with a Europeanized capitalistic economic system in which the strongest takes all and the weakest are left to feign for themselves. The system is technocratic, highly specialized, and bureaucratized. It is impersonal and operates like a machine that does not readily responds to peoples needs, especially during a period of drastic political change. Share holders, who are almost invisible and single-handedly focused on making uncontrollable profits, dictate the direction of the economy. Thus, the philosophical foundation of the South African economy is built upon a structure meant for Western societies and not a society which has just emerged from decades of a traumatized political experience. South Africa really needs an economic system with a human face that responds to human needs.
b. The African National Congress (ANC) leaders who took over the administration of the state after the demise of apartheid failed to introduce substantive structural changes in the economy. As a result, while the country is ruled by black political leaders, the economy is still largely controlled by the actors who predominated during the apartheid era. This means that the philosophical foundation of the country’s economy is still based upon the idea of a privileged minority controlling and dictating the direction of the economy. Consequently, while in theory, apartheid no longer exists, the economic system it left behind is the predominant mode for the exchange of goods and services both internally and internationally. This means that the people that were shut-out during apartheid are still largely being shut-out in the post-apartheid era, even though a sizable number of blacks have climbed the ladder of success..
The ANC, it appears, after the departure of former President Nelson Mandela, became too much interested in controlling and exercising political power and failed to realize that political power without economic influence is tantamount to political powerlessness on the part of the masses. In other words, the ANC concentrated largely on taking over political power in South Africa and failed to introduce major economic reforms that would have resulted in the redistribution of economic influence, thereby, ushering in a new direction for the economy and the population in general. This failure is characteristic of the general African situation.
It should be recalled that when the so-called early African nationalists took over power after gaining independence, they did not make serious effort to restructure the political, economic, educational and legal systems. They simply took over and perpetuated what the colonialists had put in place. The result is that fifty or sixty years after independence, most African countries continue to operate as if they are still colonies. The cash-crop economic system that the colonial powers put in place is still the primary economic system that is driving the economies of almost all African countries, whether it is Uganda or Kenya or Gambia or Cameroon or Ghana or Tanzania or Rwanda or Congo Brazzaville or Central African Republic or Gabon or etc. A sudden influx of oil or other mineral only seems to serve as a temporary diversion from the cash crop system. Likewise, most African countries still operate under the political system that the colonial powers put in place before they left. There are only a few exceptions to the African tendency to mimic their former overlords. For instance, Tanzania adopted an Africanized form of Socialism. Nigeria abandoned the parliamentary system and adopted a presidential system. Kenya, after going through a tumultuous political crisis is now tinkering with a new political arrangement that can accommodate the opposition. If not for the post-electoral crisis, Kenya would still be operating under an authoritarian leadership system which encourages the leader to remain in office for one or two decades. Already, Yoweri Museveni of Uganda has adopted the old Kenyan/Ugandan model that Jomo Kenyatta and Dr. Milton Obote put in place and fined-tuned by Arap Moi. Egypt and Libya have institutionalize one man dictatorships. Most African countries continue to maintain and perpetuate educational systems that the colonial powers put in place before they left. Basically, the Francophone African countries generally adopt the French model and the Anglophone countries adopt the British model. The Angolans and Mozambicans adopt the Portuguese model etc. Here again, Nigeria and a few other countries are the exception to the rule. Nigeria slightly moved away from the British model and adopted some elements of the American system. Thus, the ANC decided to maintain the economic system that the apartheid system put in place, even though political change necessitated a change in the economic system.
c. Due to the fact that the South African economy is highly technocratic, consolidated, specialized, and bureaucratized, it is invariably tied to the Western economic umbrella. This creates instability since it is not easily manipulated internally to suit the domestic and regional situations. This means that whenever there is a major economic downturn, whether in the United States or Britain or France, South Africa too is immediately affected. In a typical western society, the in-built cyclical economic instability is accepted as part of the price for adopting a capitalistic economic system. However, in Africa, where the social system is based on communalism, frequent economic instability due to the market adjusting itself, can lead to major political problems. Thus, the ANC led government has not been able to introduce measures needed to cushion the system so that a downturn in the economy does not cause political thunderstorm. Other African countries, although less developed, are able to absorb the shocks of an internationalized economy by allowing traditional economic activities that are somehow isolated from the industrialized and internationalized capitalistic economy to proliferate.
d. The means of economic production in South Africa is largely controlled by others. This means that most black South Africans are merely employees and consumers, even when they are working for large corporations. Therefore, critical business decisions are made by people who do not necessarily share the aspirations of the masses. The ANC finds it difficult to press for change, fearful that if it puts too much pressure on the corporations and big businesses, the owners could rebel by cutting down employment or move to other countries. So, the ANC is working on a tight rope as far as reengineering the economy to be more accommodating to the black population in general.
f. As in most African countries, the mineral extracting industry in South Africa is dominated by giant corporations. This means that black South Africans do not own major money generating economic enterprises out of natural resources located in their homelands. It appears that whenever minerals are found, even in black enclaves, it is often the large corporations which have no attachment to the local communities that are legally and politically allowed to explore such minerals, thereby, depriving the local inhabitants of the country the right to explore and generate sizable income for themselves. In fact, instead of gaining materially and or financially from minerals that are located in their communities, the blacks are often moved from their homelands to make way for the corporations to mine the minerals. For example, the BBC reported In the last five years, thousands of people were forced to leave their ancestral lands and move to purpose-built townships financed by Anglo Platinum, which has offered compensation and new land.
Villagers who have resisted claim they have been shot with rubber bullets by the police.
Last October, the Charity Action Aid conducted water sampling around Anglo Platinum’s mines in the Limpopo province and found sources used by schools and villages were unfit for human consumption. It said they had been contaminated with nitrates, which can cause a potentially fatal blood disorder and stomach cancer
Anglo Platinum has also been criticized over safety standards – on average, around 20 people a year are killed whilst working in its mines (2008, March 26)
Therefore, even though the apartheid system no longer exists, nevertheless, the economic system put in place during the infamous period continues to operate in a fashion that deny blacks and others land rights even in their ethnic enclaves, if minerals are found. The wealth generated from such homelands always end up somewhere. The ANC has not really instituted means to give people their natural rights to live in their homelands the way they choose. This is not surprising since in almost every part of Africa, minerals are always exploited to the disadvantage of those who really own the lands. Generally, whether it is in Nigeria or Cameroon or Algeria or Niger or Angola or the Democratic Republic of the Congo or Congo Brazzaville or Central African Republic or Gabon, or Equatorial Guinea or Guinea or Sao Tome or Liberia or Sierra Leone or Sudan etc., the political/military/leaders and the governments in power always aligned with the major international corporations to exploit the inhabitants of the regions that have minerals. Hence, in almost every country where minerals are found in Africa, the indigenes of the regions where the minerals are located always seem to be the poorest. This is why there is rebellion in the Niger Delta of Nigeria, frustration and anger in Angola, Cameroon and Equatorial Guinea, and a civil war in DRC and Algeria. In fact, Sudan is now considered to be the third largest producer of oil in Africa. This means that the Sudanese economy is growing. However, the question is: Whether ordinary Sudanese will benefit from the oil wealth, or whether it will be kept by a small elite, as in countries such as Nigeria and Angola(Winter, 2007, April 24).
However, the surprising thing about South Africa is that no one expected a revolutionary party such as the ANC to quickly fold its arms and allow the perpetuation of an economic system that it fought against for over five decades. Generally, people thought the party would move very quickly to introduce major changes in order to democratize the ownership of the means of production in the country. Instead, the party, especially, under President Thabo Mbeki, seems to adopt a very conservative economic approach in dealing with the country’s socioeconomic needs. The conservative approach is not fast enough to create economic mobility for a large number of people in the country.
g. It is not an exaggeration to say that the South African economy is built on a sandy soil. This means that it can crack anytime since ownership of the major businesses are owned by a few people. Moreover, the economy is consolidated, specialized, and bureaucratized in such a way that it is very difficult to accommodate needed changes. Perhaps, fearful of being stigmatized, the ANC has pursued free market policies that tend to marginalize a sizable portion of the population. This is what forced more than 70 religious and civic groups in South Africa in 2005 to form the Western Province Coalition for Jobs and Against Poverty to challenge ANC economic policies. Mike Lowe, a union member noted: Since coming to power the ANC has pursued a largely free market agenda of Privatization and policies that have reduced inflation, but it’s come at a price. Unemployment stands at least 28%, unfairly skewed against the black population, (Miles, 2005, August 22)
h. The ANC leadership, seems to be borrowing a page from other African political leaders in the sense that it tries to perpetuate the party as the ruling party in South Africa for ever. Since the apartheid system ended, the ANC has ruled continuously, thereby, creating an impression that it is attempting to institute a one party political system in the country. If the ANC does not want a major political crisis to erupt, it must recognize that South Africa is a multiracial, multiethnic, and multi-religious nation. Consequently, it must find a way to introduce a rotational political system which will enable other political stakeholders to rule the country also. In other words, other black groups, Asians, and whites must be allowed to rule the country one way or another in the nearest future. Thus, the ANC should not rely on a claim often made by other African political parties that they must rule because they won the majority of the votes during various elections. President Robert Mugabe and the Patriotic Front did so in Zimbabwe and today the country is in a total political and economic mess. The glorious victory during the war of liberation has been squandered. Paul Biya has turned Cameroon into a one man affair, thereby, chocking the country of a much needed change, Equatorial Guinea is like a private cell block run by one man, Ugandans are taken for a ride from leaders who do not know when to quit, Egyptians have been intimidated to accept a dynastic arrangement of leadership. Omar Bongo continues to serve as the monarch of Gabon.
i. Despite the image of greatness, South Africa seems to be suffering from cultural identity crisis. It is a country where the blacks in one hand believe that they are Africans and on the other hand, want to live like Europeans. Their lack of identifiable African cultural attire speaks volumes about the country. Rarely is any South African black leader seen wearing African attire to any major international conference. It is always suits and ties. Similarly, most South African blacks always seem to wear western clothes, particularly, t-shirts and jeans. After the traumatizing experience of apartheid, one would have expected the Africans to promote cultural consciousness through their clothing as part of their political, cultural and psychological healing process. This is not the case at all. On the other hand, the Europeans have no problem maintaining their cultural heritage and western clothing. Similarly, the Indus and Moslems have no problem appearing in their cultural attires. Yet, the blacks do not seem to have any identifiable African attire that can make them stand out.
Of course, the Republic of South Africa is not the only country in the Southern region of Africa where recognizable traditional attire is lacking. In Zimbabwe too, the leaders always appear in Western clothing, especially suits and ties. President Robert Mugabe, despite his antagonism toward the West, has never appeared in public or in any international gathering in African clothing. Similarly, the opposition leader, Morgan Tsvangirai, too has never appeared in any African attire. The same is true of Namibian, Zambian, and Angolan leaders. Perhaps, it could be theorized that the extensive European presence in the Southern region of Africa has a tremendous transforming cultural effect on the African people, hence, the proclivity toward western clothing. It could also be that the African people in this part of the continent do not consider their traditional clothing as an important part of their existence. Indeed, the lack of recognizable cultural attire is puzzling because it is very easy to assume that a region in which the blacks fought so hard to achieve self-rule would reinforce their cultural existence, but this is not the case at all.
Therefore, if one were to examine the entire African continent, Northern and Western African regions lead in the promotion and perpetuation of their cultural heritage through clothing. For instance, no Nigerian leader, regardless of whether he is a Christian or a Moslem, would appear in an international gathering without traditional African attire. The same goes for Senegalese, Malian, Libyan, Moroccan, Sudanese, Chadian, etc. leaders. Ghanaians do not play with their Kente, hence, it is known all over the world as one of the finest clothing in Africa. Muammar Qaddafi of Libya is the most prolific wearer of African attire in the continent. He appears in both Arabic and Sub-Saharan clothing. The one area in which most African countries continue to fail as far as attire is concerned is the wearing of highly Westernized judicial ropes by judges and lawyers. In particular, the wigs that judges wear in most courts in Anglophone Africa are a slap on the face of the African culture. It creates the impression that African judges and lawyers are aliens in the communities they dispense justice. It is difficult to understand why members of the African judiciary cannot create a costume that befits the African heritage after forty or fifty years of independence.
As can be seen, part of the identity of a people is their appearance. If one travels to India or Pakistan, the person would know immediately that he/she is in India or Pakistan. Likewise, if one were to visit any Arab country, the person would know that he/she is in the Arabic world. However, if a person visits South Africa, the picture would be totally different because there is no identifiable cultural attire that connects the African people to the country and the continent.
j. Another interesting thing about the South African region of Africa is the lack of a major regional political movement or organization intended to advance the interest of the region. As a result, each country (South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Lesotho, Zambia etc.) seems to isolate itself from the neighboring countries and presume that it is an island unto itself. Under the circumstance, it becomes quite easy for some South African blacks to go on a warpath toward other African immigrants since they do not seem to perceive any relationship between them and the other Africans. That is why a taxi driver in Rosebank, South Africa, said “How do you expect South Africans to live, work and be housed when you have five million Zimbabweans in South Africa?” (The Christian Science Monitor, 2008, June 6,). This is why there is no recognizable regional effort to persuade President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe to change his political style. There is no doubt that regional persuasion and censure would have probably made a difference in Zimbabwe, thereby, compelling President Mugabe to ease up on the opposition and allow true democracy to thrive. There is also no doubt that regional intervention would have compelled the Zimbabwean government to change its destructive ways, thereby, reducing the influx of Zimbabweans into South Africa. Similarly, even though the Republic of South Africa and Namibia share certain political experiences during the apartheid era, socio-political and economic relationships between the two countries seem to be restrained to a certain degree. The situation in the South African region is quite different from the situation in the West African region where there is constant communication and contact between regional leaders and the people. The East African region used to be the most united until Idi Admin shipwrecked the coalition. Of course, the region is gradually reestablishing the coalition.
k. In a post-apartheid South Africa ruled by blacks, the lives of the San and Khoe people have not changed much. Even though ANC is in power, the San and Khoe people continue to receive the same treatment from the government as if apartheid is still in place. It should be noted that for decades, South Africa denied that they were San people in the country. After the discovery in 1997 that they truly existed in the country, governmental attitude toward them has not changed. They are exploited and their lands are free for the taking by most powerful groups. There is a danger that their languages and cultures could die out. The language policy adopted by the ANC is similar to the language policy that existed during apartheid (Crawhall, May 1998)
l. Even though the ANC is in power, human rights abuses by the police and security forces continue, even though the scale might be less than during the apartheid era. The South African Independent Complaints Directorate (ICD) stated “A worrying trend of on-going misuse of and abuse of service issue firearms…in disputes and circumstances totally unrelated to the business of the SAPS “ (US Department of State, March 6, 2007 The ICD also noted that the police use of excessive force resulted in numerous deaths even in situation where some of the suspects were unarmed. Thus, South Africans, it appears, are subjected to two forces at play in law enforcement in the country. At one level, they are subjected to the security system that was put in place during apartheid where the police could kill without any identifiable cause. At the second level, South Africans are also subjected to the prevailing police tactics in most African and Third World countries. It is not a secret that in most African and Third World countries, the police and security forces are the greatest abusers of human rights. Thus, whether it is in Cameron or Nigeria or Algeria or DRC or Angola, Ivory Coast or Egypt, the people do not seem to trust the police.
m. Blacks in South Africa seem to be in a political, cultural, and psychological dilemma. They are Africans but must live like Europeans. They have communal and personable traditional African cultures but must exist in a very formalized, legalized and individualized Western cultural system. They are forced to embrace a high technological economy that does not provide sufficient space for a localized economy that African communal cultures demand. The economy is highly concentrated and intricately interwoven with the world economic system. This means that whenever the global economic system experiences headache, South Africans are forced to experience the pain more since there is no substantial localized economy that can absorb the international economic shockwaves as in the less economically developed African countries. Consequently, an unemployment rate hovering between 20 and 40 percent is a recipe for social and political convulsion. Kim Gurney noted: With some estimate putting unemployment rates at close to 40 percent, some Locals have become increasingly angry over perceptions that immigrants and refugees are stealing their opportunities (2008, May 30).
Obviously, the rioters thought that the immigrants were largely responsible for the economic difficulties, hence, decided to drive them away. They also thought that the immigrants were the source of most of the crimes in the country, as a result, decided to act by forcing the immigrants to flee. Of course, there is no doubt that some immigrants in South Africa are principally there to engage in criminal activities due to the opportunities provided by an industrialized economy. However, most immigrants are in the country because of opportunities the economy provides so that they can improve their lives by working legitimately. Some of them are also there as refugees due to unbearable political crises in their countries.
Without necessarily laying blame, the ANC led government of South Africa should realize that the anti-immigrant riots are a precursor of what could happen in the country if the political party does not move very quickly to introduce serious reforms in the way the economy is administered. Now that the immigrants have been put in their place, if the economy does not provide immediate opportunities as anticipated with the departure of the immigrants and if crime continues to escalate, then many blacks could turn their frustrations and anger toward fellow citizens. If South African blacks turn against other South African blacks, the ANC/Inkatha violent confrontations in the past could take place again.
o. Indeed, although it has an advanced economy, South Africa could actually be a more frustrating place to live for the average citizen than other African countries due to the fact that its economy is not a true reflection of the citizens economic potential. Most of the economy is controlled by a fraction of the population and the system does not allow for the germination of localized economic ventures that can generate substantial wealth and employment. On the other hand, in the less capitalized and industrialized economies of Africa, a vast majority of the citizens are able to generate localized economic ventures that allow people to survive with dignity even when the national economies are in shambles. In South Africa, as soon as the national economy experiences headache, the entire country is forced to experienced economic migraines due to the highly concentrated nature of its industrialized economy. It is a fact that Africans in other less developed African countries have been able to tolerate refugees fleeing their countries for decades without turning against them violently while South African blacks have not been able to tolerate other Africans barely a decade after apartheid. Something must be really going wrong somewhere in the country. Why is it possible for citizens from poor African countries to tolerate refuges from other African countries while citizens from a much wealthier South Africa find it difficult t tolerate refugees from other African countries, hence, resorted to killing them?
Moreover, since the economy is based on free enterprise, which is another term for capitalism, immigrants provide cheap labor, thereby undercutting the market value of wages. In a typical capitalistic style, it is very likely that the employers go after the immigrants who generally provide a cheaper labor force than the South African citizens. By so doing, actual market value for labor is drastically reduced against the general interest of the citizens. This adds fuel to the frustration and anger, thereby, igniting the riots.
p. Corruption is increasing in South Africa, just like in other African countries. Nigeria would have developed to a level comparable to Brazil and South Korea but the military and political leaders made sure that it does not go anywhere. They do so by openly looting the oil wealth while impoverishing the populace. The Democratic Republic of the Congo would have been the most developed country in Africa due to the availability of vast natural resources, especially minerals in its territory. However, the leaders have been very corrupt and inept, hence, incapable of utilizing the resources to develop the country. So, the DRC is perpetually embroiled in conflict to allow others to loot the minerals in the country. South Africa could gradually slide into a mere shadow of itself if political and business leaders are allowed to loot the wealth of the country through corruption.
q. The ANC government relied extensively on the free enterprise system. Generally, it is the most effective and successful means to develop an economy. However, in communalized Africa, an unrestrained free enterprise can lead to social and political problems. For instance, in South Africa, landlords, in making decisions based on the free enterprise system, tended to discriminate against South Africans by favoring the immigrant population in their housing policies. The government failed to intervene to persuade the landlords from engaging in such discriminatory practices. The result was that immigrants were able to get houses for rent and the Southern Africans were finding it very difficult to do so. The South Africans got angry that they could not get houses in their own country while foreigners were able to do so.
The housing problem is not unique to South Africa. In almost all urban areas of Africa, landlords put unbearable conditions that make it very difficult for a large segment of the urban populations to get places for rent. For instance in Nigeria, landlords in the urban areas demand one or two year advance payments before leasing their properties to potential tenants.. A large segment of the Nigerian population cannot afford to pay one or two year advance payments. Neither the Federal Government of Nigeria nor the state governments have intervened to stop landlords from demanding one or two year advance payments. The failure of the government to intervene puts tremendous pressure on middle and lower income Nigerians. In other countries, many citizens are forced to put shacks. The high cost of housing has forced the underprivileged citizens to live in unhealthy and crowded shantytowns.
(2) The riots are systematically planned and executed to drive out immigrants and to warn others from coming to South Africa.
A Indeed, it is not unusual for citizens to express their frustration and anger when too many immigrants pour into their countries. Many Africans were compelled by the rosy economic picture painted of the industrialized economy of South Africa to pour into the country in search of greener pastures. Others were compelled by the political crises in their own countries to head to South Africa. The number of immigrants increased very rapidly as soon as the apartheid system collapsed. Thus, it appears that the sudden arrival of the immigrants did not allow South African blacks enough time to digest the sudden political change.. Therefore, even before the South African blacks knew what to do, they were faced with economic competition for jobs and other business activities from the immigrant population. This led to frustration and the anger started to build up against the immigrants. The citizens, it appears, expected the government to restrict immigration so that they can find their way around the economic system. They waited for governmental action but the action did not materialized as President Thabo Mbeki was busy trying to solve other African problems since he is a major African leader due to the strategic importance of South Africa to the continent.
b. It is also not unusual for citizens to express frustration and anger when immigrants devalue or deflate the cost of labor by accepting low wages, thereby, undercutting the market value of the citizens. There is no doubt that a large proportion of the immigrants were willing to receive wages deemed below the market value in an effort to gain employment. This is very common throughout the world. American citizens too complain regularly about illegal immigrants coming into the United States to depress the market value of wages. It is also a major political issue in the US that businesses prefer cheap labor in order to reduce their cost of doing business. In South Africa, the situation heated up because the blacks had only begun to find their way around the system before the immigrants started arriving in large numbers.
c. It is not unusual for citizens to express anger at immigrants for committing crimes, thereby, jeopardizing the lives of the citizens. There is no doubt that a large proportion of the immigrants in South Africa are law abiding and only came to South Africa to improve their economic lives or escape instability in their own countries, nonetheless, it appears that some immigrants got there for the purpose of engaging in criminal activities. Generally, throughout the world, criminals are attracted to any economic environment which provides opportunity for exploitation. The US, Australia, Italy, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Nigeria etc. have one time or another express concerns about immigrant criminal activities. In the US, for example, many illegal aliens have been arrested and prosecuted for committing crimes. Americans sometimes express concerns about 419 activities carried out by legal and illegal aliens. In this regard, as the rate of crime catapulted, an increasing number of South Africans started blaming immigrants for the escalation. Like the police anywhere in the world, the South African Police could not cope well in dealing with the crime situation. This added to citizens frustration and anger toward the government and the immigrants. Kim Gurney reported that a spokesman for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Yusuf Hassan, estimated that “over the last two years472 Somalis have been killed and 1,200 injured in what he sees as xenophobic attacks” (Ibid.). The recent killings claimed more than fifty lives.
d. Frustrated by lack of genuine structural changes, poor social welfare system, high cost of living in an industrialized economy, high crime rate, and the devaluation of wages due to foreign competition for jobs and cheap labor, some South Africans decided to take action. They declared war on immigrants by beating and killing some of them and destroying their properties in a sort of a final solution to get rid of them and warn potential immigrants to stop coming to South Africa.
It is very easy and tempting to attribute the riots to a sudden burst of psychological combustion, however, it appears that the riots were planned and executed in a calculated manner. The likely actors who planned and executed the riots included the following: 1) labor unions which feel that they are being devalued by the cheap labor provided by the immigrants; 2) political elements that are fed up with the ANC led government and want an immediate change; 3) those who believe that President Mbeki and the ANC spend too much time on African issues and ignore the internal affairs of South Africa; 4).pro-apartheid elements who are not happy with the political situation and are using desperate blacks to cause mayhem; 5) some elements in the government who want foreigners to leave but cannot do so openly, hence, encouraged some black groups in the communities to carry out their intention; 6) political elements in the white establishment which feel that the ANC regime is too pro-African and less pro-western; and 7) there is the possibility that desperate members of the black community carried out the operation to drive away foreigners.
Implications
a The attack on the immigrants is indicative of a serious internal problem in the country. Generally, when a country feels that immigrants are becoming too disruptive and burdensome, the country would force many of them to leave without inflicting violence. The country would also tighten its immigration regulations. There was a time Ghana expelled Nigerians and Nigeria also expelled Ghanaians. However, on many occasions, refugees from Niger and Chad have ended up in Nigeria without violently being forced to leave. During the Idi Amin era, many Ugandans ended up in Tanzania and Kenya. Similarly, Ugandans and Somalis continue to remain as refugees in Kenya and Tanzania. During the Sierra Leonean and Liberian conflicts, thousands of refugees from those countries ended up in Guinea, Ivory Coast and other countries. Sudanese refugees have crossed over into Chad and other African countries in thousands. Rwandan refugees continue to remain in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Tanzania, Nigeria, Ghana, and many other African countries sacrificed considerably during the anti-apartheid struggle. Some would even say that Samora Machel of Mozambique was assassinated by South African agents who thought that he was sympathetic to the anti-apartheid struggle. Angolans sacrificed their lands, economy and lives as the anti-apartheid war was extended into the country when South African forces invaded it many times. Many South Africans lived in other countries during the long-drawn out struggle. Even though the economies of the African countries were very fragile during the1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, the citizens in those countries did not use violence to drive away refugees in their countries. Therefore, it is indeed puzzling that some South African blacks would justify their actions, as explained by Prince Mashele of the Institute of Security Studies: If you listen to the reasons given by the people who have participated in the violence, you hear about how foreigners have taken their jobs, foreigners have taken their houses, foreigners are committing crimes, so you see there are socioeconomic concerns in the communities where the Violence is taking place (Christian Science Monitor ).
b. Although, very unfortunate, the anti-immigrant riots are a testament to the failure of political leadership in South Africa and throughout Sub-Saharan Africa. Those immigrants who got killed and those whose properties have been destroyed would not have left their countries to seek greener pastures in South Africa if the leaders of their countries devoted genuine effort in instituting means to enhance the standard of living in their countries. Countries like the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, Angola, Sudan, Algeria etc. really do not know how to invest the vast riches of their territories. In particular, the Congo Basin is one of the richest parts of the world, yet, the Congolese live in wretched conditions because of leaders who do not care. Most African leaders, it appears, only care about how they can remain in power regardless of the degree of suffering that their leadership is causing their citizens.
c. The anti-immigrant riots could serve as a battery charger to invigorate serious political discussion in the continent about the negative effects of corrupt and incompetent leadership. It could even help to jump start the necessity of forcing some African leaders to leave office If most African leaders were patriotic, selfless and devoted to their countries, they would have improved the general wellbeing of their citizens, build schools, health care facilities, and create sustainable economic development. This would have prevented a sizable number of African from roaming all over the world, like perpetual refugees, looking for a better place to live.
It is hoped that the anti-immigrant violence will send a clear message to other African leaders. The message is that it is time they should put their own political and economic houses in order. This means that they should be more democratic, transparent, responsible and become intelligent managers of their countries’ economies. It also means that they should follow the rule of law, adhere to the tenets of their countries constitutions and not try to put themselves in power in perpetuity. It means that they should work hard to develop their countries so that their citizens do not have to travel all over the place in search of greener pastures, thereby, subjecting themselves to the possibility of violent attacks. In short, the violence in South Africa puts Africa to shame for the inability of its leaders to truly develop the continent.
d. African leaders should stop adopting foreign political, legal, and economic ways that are not compatible with the communalized traditional cultures of the African people. Concepts and ideas such as winner takes all, free enterprise without constrain, privatization, party politics, etc. are very compatible with Western cultures but they do not seem to fit well with African cultures. Therefore, African leaders should be more original in their thought process and apply values that are compatible with the cultural environment in which their countries exist. For instance, in traditional African cultures, consensus and compromise are very important elements in making political decisions. On the other hand, the insistent on winner takes all kind of politics and majority votes do not necessarily lead to political stability. The reason is that majority votes’ and “winner takes all’ force politicians in Africa to rig elections and intimidate opponents. Zimbabwe is a typical example, where President Robert Mugabe and the Patriotic Front make sure the opposition does not have a chance to win. In Nigeria, individuals who are answerable to corrupted godfathers and godmothers are imposed as elected officials at every level of government under the guise of democracy. If the ANC insists on being in power based on majority votes and winner takes all, it will lay a foundation for an insurrection in South Africa in the nearest future.
Recommendations a. The ANC should boldly initiate political reforms by devising a system that encourages rotation of leadership among the political parties. If it insists on ruling continuously, it will turn the country into a one party state. If that were to happen, members of other political parties would carry out activities intended to destabilize the stranglehold of the party. As stated earlier, the country is multiracial, multiethnic, and multi-religious, therefore, a political system must be devised that reflects and accommodates the diversity. It should be noted that De Clerk voluntarily surrendered power to Nelson Mandela and the ANC in order to stabilize the country, evidently, at some point, the ANC too must voluntarily surrender power to another political group in order to stabilize the country. It should not insist being in power by arguing that it won majority of the votes, therefore, it is entitled to rule. That kind of argument would definitely push the country toward the Omar Bongo/Muammar Qaddafi/Robert Mugabe/ Paul Biya/Hosni Mubarak/Yoweri Museveni/Peoples Democratic Party of Nigeria/Kibaki brands of democracy where the ruling parties do everything possible to win “majority’ votes and insist on ruling.
b. In addition, the ANC government should make efforts to re-Africanize African communities in the ethnic homelands. This entails the development of permanent villages and towns within the ethnic enclaves so that various ethnic groups can generate social systems that do not rely extensively on the capitalistic economic system. To do so, the party should stop the practice of moving communities from their lands to make way for giant corporations to extract minerals from those lands. Instead of moving entire communities, empower the communities by compelling the corporations to negotiate directly with those who own the lands. By encouraging the corporations to negotiate with groups that own the lands in which minerals are found, the communities would eventually be able to accumulate needed capital to further develop their communities and economies. It should be noted that during apartheid, blacks were denied rights to their lands, hence, were constantly moved to make way for corporations, wealthy investors and farmers to invest on the lands. The same practice cannot be allowed to continue in post-apartheid South Africa. The village is a socioeconomic and political safety net in most parts of Africa. As a result, when the national economy is down, people move closer to their homelands to survive the crunch. Moreover, local communities in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East have a way of generating economic activities that stand on their own without relying extensively on the globalized system. In South Africa, there is insufficient localized safety net in terms of Africanized economic activities, therefore, everyone tends to depend entirely on the impersonal, technocratic, and industrialized economic system that does not respond very well to local needs effectively and efficiently.
The riots are really unfortunate because other Africans would hold South African blacks accountable for the violent attacks against African immigrants in their country. The rioters have helped to set a very dangerous precedent that others could imitate in the continent in the foreseeable future. In particular, if Africans use violence against African immigrants, then what stops Europeans from using violence to drive away African immigrants in their countries? It should be noted that Africans have been trying to get to Europe in large numbers through Gibralter and Spain. Although the situation in Zimbabwe is bleak right now, what happens if the country were to improve and the situation in South Africa were to deteriorate, may be five or ten years from now. If the situation in South Africa were to deteriorate badly five or ten years from now, where would the South African blacks run to?
C. It is hoped that the anti-immigrant violence will send a clear message to other African leaders. The message is that it is time they should put their own political and economic houses in order. This means that they should be more democratic, transparent, responsible and become intelligent managers of their countries’ economies. It also means that they should follow the rule of law, adhere to the tenets of their countries constitutions and not try to put themselves in power in perpetuity. It means that they should work hard to develop their countries economic and social welfare systems so that their citizens do not have to travel all over the place in search of greener pastures, thereby, subjecting themselves to the possibility of violent attacks. In short, the violence in South Africa puts Africa to shame for the inability of its leaders to truly develop the continent. Due to the failure, Africans are increasingly becoming professional refugees.
References
BBC News. (2008, March 26). Mining forces out thousands in SA. http://news.bbc.cco.uk/mpapps/pagetools/print/news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/Africa/7312018. 8/26/2008. Christian Science Monitor (2008, June 9). South Africa’s anti-immigrant violence spreads to Cape Town. http://www.csmonitor.com/2008/0523/p99s01-duts.html. 6/9/2008.
Crawhall, N. Still Invisible: San and Khe in the new South Africa. Southern Africa Report, SAR, Vol 13 no 3, May 1998, p26.
Gurney, K. (2008, May 39). Collpased Hopes: can Thabo Mbeki find a way to stop the killing of foreigners in South Africa. Newsweek. http”//www.,newsweek.com/id/139344/output/print. 6/1/2008.
Miles, N. (2005, August 22). South Africa’s poor to tackle ANC. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/4173284.stm. 8/23/2005
Winter, J. (2007, April 24). Khartoum booms as Darfur burns. BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6573527.stm. 4/24/2007.
US Department of State. Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. March 6, 2007.
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