A Literature Review of Xenophobic Attacks in South Africa
Brett Holberg
Xenophobic Attacks in South Africa Attacks on foreigners in South Africa have been on the rise since the transfer of power to the ANC in 1994. These violent outbursts, which have resulted in riots and dozens of murders, have been described as xenophobic in nature. After the months of summer 2008 in South Africa where there was a sudden wave of anti-immigrant violence, scholars are asking what is the driving force behind these attacks. Scholars see continuity in the ideology behind these xenophobic attacks occurring in South Africa. In his article, ‘Fortress SA’: Xenophobic Violence in South Africa, John Sharp writes about the causes of the violence and the Human Sciences Research Council’s response on the matter. He criticizes them for starting their research with the supposition that the violence is xenophobic, for 1/3 of those killed were native South Africans. He does not write his paper with the assumption that the attacks were Xenophobic in nature, he says “‘we have come to realize that these labels invariably hide at least as much as they reveal” (Sharp 2008). Sharp goes on to say that the violence was targeted at those who the violent mobs identified as “outsiders”, those who were darker than the typical South African or could not fluently speak one of the main languages of South Africa. He shows that using HRSC data collected from interviews that these people were associated with foreigners who South Africans feel they have to compete with for jobs, housing and rising food prices. His assessments are conducive with my statement, that the violence in South Africa against foreigners has an underlying ideology in society. In September 2010, Aidan Mosselson at the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg published the article: ‘There is no difference between citizens and non-citizens anymore’: Violent Xenophobia, Citizenship and the Politics of Belonging in Post-Apartheid South Africa. He postulates that the violence is symptomatic of South
Xenophobic Attacks in South Africa Attacks on foreigners in South Africa have been on the rise since the transfer of power to the ANC in 1994. These violent outbursts, which have resulted in riots and dozens of murders, have been described as xenophobic in nature. After the months of summer 2008 in South Africa where there was a sudden wave of anti-immigrant violence, scholars are asking what is the driving force behind these attacks. Scholars see continuity in the ideology behind these xenophobic attacks occurring in South Africa. In his article, ‘Fortress SA’: Xenophobic Violence in South Africa, John Sharp writes about the causes of the violence and the Human Sciences Research Council’s response on the matter. He criticizes them for starting their research with the supposition that the violence is xenophobic, for 1/3 of those killed were native South Africans. He does not write his paper with the assumption that the attacks were Xenophobic in nature, he says “‘we have come to realize that these labels invariably hide at least as much as they reveal” (Sharp 2008). Sharp goes on to say that the violence was targeted at those who the violent mobs identified as “outsiders”, those who were darker than the typical South African or could not fluently speak one of the main languages of South Africa. He shows that using HRSC data collected from interviews that these people were associated with foreigners who South Africans feel they have to compete with for jobs, housing and rising food prices. His assessments are conducive with my statement, that the violence in South Africa against foreigners has an underlying ideology in society. In September 2010, Aidan Mosselson at the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg published the article: ‘There is no difference between citizens and non-citizens anymore’: Violent Xenophobia, Citizenship and the Politics of Belonging in Post-Apartheid South Africa. He postulates that the violence is symptomatic of South
Bibliography: Abrahams, David. "A Synopsis of Ubran Violence in South Africa." Internationa Review of the Red Cross, 2010: 512. Adejunmobi, Moradewun. "Urgent Task for African Scholars in the Humanities ." Transition, 2009: 86. Mario Matsinhe, David. "Africa’s Fear of Itself: the ideology of Makwerekwere in South Africa." Third World Quarterly , 2011: 295. Mosselson, Aidan. "‘There is no difference between citizens and non-citizens anymore’: Violent Xenophobia, Citizenship and the Politics of Belonging in Post-Apartheid South Africa." Journal of South African Studies, 2010: 654. Sharp, John. " 'Fortress SA ':Xenophobic Violence in South Africa." Anthropology Today, 2008: 2.