Decency and exclusion: a symbolic interpretation of post-displacement discriminatory discourse in De Doorns, South Africa

Abstract

From 14–17 November 2009 an estimated 3000 Zimbabweans were violently and forcefully displaced from their dwellings in a rural farming area, De Doorns, in the Western Cape, South Africa. This study looks into a discourse of decency to contribute, through symbolic interpretation, to an understanding of discriminatory motives behind the aggressive expulsion of Zimbabweans from Stofland, a shack settlement in De Doorns. An analysis of one of the prominent discourses used by residents after displacement reveals the logic behind discrimination and also illustrates the ways in which discrimination manifests and is perpetuated through language and action. This discourse of decency is also discussed in relation to findings that suggest that, far from being the result of a common identity, displacement motives are based on perceived difference and constructed entitlement identities. Constructed entitlement identities need to be understood in relation to desires for material emancipation in Post-Apartheid South Africa.