Abstract
AbstractThis article argues that xenophobic acts towards black foreigners remain a human rights challenge in South Africa. Foreign nationals, mostly black Africans, continue to experience physical attacks, discrimination and looting of businesses, as well as targeted crime. Prevalent xenophobic attitudes continue to trouble the conscience of all well-meaning South Africans. There is ample evidence that xenophobia has morphed into afro-phobia, the hatred of black foreigners. Xenophobia continues to evolve and attackers are increasingly linking the presence of foreign nationals to socio-economic challenges facing the country. This article argues that, even though South Africa's Constitution does not expressly identify Ubuntu as a national value, it does recognize customary law and many of its provisions are anchored in Ubuntu philosophy. This article proposes Ubuntu, or African “humanness” whose “natural home” should be located in South Africa, as a pragmatic social intervention and a morally sustainable solution to address xenophobia that would be acceptable to both South Africans and foreign nationals.
Highlights
The article is divided into two main sections
This article proposes Ubuntu, or African “humanness” whose “natural home” should be located in South Africa, as a pragmatic social intervention and a morally sustainable solution to address xenophobia that would be acceptable to both South Africans and foreign nationals
That figure, when contrasted with the 50 to 75 per cent of black respondents from the same region who want all foreigners expelled from the country,[22] seems to suggest that xenophobia is taking a racial twist and that the attacks are biased towards black African foreigners
Summary
The article is divided into two main sections. The first defines xenophobia and introduces the phenomenon as an important contemporary human rights issue in South Africa today, briefly outlining its history and assessing its current status. The article demonstrates that, whereas Ubuntu is supported both by African traditions and by South African legal, constitutional and institutional jurisprudence, South African nationals have disregarded its spirit. In South Africa, there is a consensus that the phenomenon is usually manifest in passive fear, negative attitudes and hostile perceptions among the populace, coupled with accompanying outward acts of overt individual or mob violence, hostility or discrimination against foreigners, inevitably resulting in loss of property and human life.[2] These manifestations constitute an affront to the rule of law in South Africa, a country that boasts a highly progressive human rights and legal regime but whose government has demonstrated a high level of generosity towards welcoming and hosting hundreds of thousands of refugees displaced by war and conflict from various countries in Africa.
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