The attacks on immigrant-owned shops
and homes in Durban’s impoverished
townships come
three months after a
similar spate of attacks on foreign-owned
shops in Soweto, near Johannesburg.
Attacks against foreigners continued in the
South African port city of Durban Tuesday
as the Ethiopian community prepared to
repatriate the bodies of three of its
nationals killed over the last two weeks.
Last month, Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini,
traditional leader of the biggest ethnic
group in KwaZulu-Natal province,
reportedly said they needed to “pack their
bags and leave”. It was a call supported by
Edward Zuma, who told local news agency
News24 that South Africa was “sitting on a
ticking time bomb of them (foreigners)
taking over the country”.
Ephraim Meskele, a leader of the Ethiopian
community in Durban, said it was holding
a prayer service Tuesday for the three
victims, including a man killed when his
shop was petrol-bombed on Friday. About
50 people have been arrested over the
violence, in which at least four people
have been killed. The police have not
confirmed the nationalities of the victims.
Over 1,000 foreigners in Durban have fled
their homes and are now living in
makeshift camps, under police guard.
Tensions were still running high on
Tuesday, with local media reporting that
about 2,000 armed migrants were engaged
in a tense stand-off with police in the city
centre, and looting continuing in
townships on the outskirts of the city.
Violence against African immigrants in
South Africa is common, with
impoverished locals accusing foreigners of
taking their jobs and business. The latest
outbreak comes after several high-profile
figures — including a son of President
Jacob Zuma — made polarising statements
against foreigners.
The government has, however, condemned
the violence, with several ministers
speaking out. Police Minister Nathi Nhleko
called the attacks a form of African “self-
hate”, according to News24. “Some of us
find it difficult to think that this is just
xenophobic. I think it also represents a
particular political problem. You don’t see
Australians being chased on the street, you
don’t see Britons being chased on the
streets,” he said.
Defence Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula
said South Africans “should refuse to be
part of the attacks on innocents just
because they are foreigners”.
