XENOPHOBIC ATTACKS IN SOUTH AFRICA: THE CASE OF DE DOORNS 2009

Abstract

1. Introduction On 14 and 17 November 2009 approximately 3 000 foreigners (mostly Zimbabweans) were chased from their homes in town of De Doorns in Western Cape, South Africa. Their homes were looted and burned. Up until further outbreak of xenophobia in April 2015, those xenophobic attacks of 2009 had been most extensive of their kind since May 2008, when 62 people were reportedly killed and over 100 000 people displaced throughout South Africa (Monson and Arian 2011: 26). In light of April 2015 attacks on foreigners in cities of Durban and Johannesburg, which left at least seven dead, closer scrutiny of underlying causes and instigators of De Doorns case provides some understanding of persistence of xenophobia in South Africa. This article looks into explanations for xenophobic events in De Doorns. The research includes reviewing reports of case as well as key informant interviews. Particular focus has been given to report of Jean Pierre Misago (2009) from Forced Migration Studies Programme, namely Violence, labour and displacement of Zimbabweans in De Doorns. Interviews were conducted with a local farmers' organisation, namely, Hex River Valley Table Grape Association (HTA); (1)) a provincial farmers' organisation, namely Agri Western Cape; (2)) and a human rights organisation, People Against Suffering Oppression and Poverty (PASSOP). (3)) The research was guided by theory of ethnic violence as presented by Donald Horowitz (2001) and Jean Pierre Misago's (2011) explanation based on the micro-politics of violence, which focuses on role of local politicians in cases of xenophobia. 2. Explanations for xenophobia Horowitz (2001: 8), a leading academic in ethnic conflicts, developed a theory of ethnic violence; such violence termed ethnic in that it is not directed against a regime but against members of other groups. The outbreak of an ethnic riot thus provides clues to nature of group relations; it acting out of ethnic-group sentiments (Horowitz 2001: 14). Although such riots are concentrated in time and space, and tend to be episodic, event still characterised as being a purposive and organised activity. The aim of violence to do physical harm to members of a specific group and their property. There therefore a combination of rational-purposive behaviour with irrational brutal behaviour; a fusion of coherence and frenzy (Horowitz 2001: 13-14). In case of De Doorns, target group was clearly Zimbabwean migrants who had moved into area in search of employment on local farms. Although no Zimbabweans were killed during events of 14 and 17 November 2009, they were threatened with violence and their homes were looted and destroyed by local communities. Horowitz (2001: 71-123) argues that external contextual causes in addition to immediate locality-bound causes need to be considered when looking at such violent outbursts. Locality-bound causes imply that local and short-term issues are involved and therefore also explain spontaneity and deep-seated emotions associated with outbreaks of violence. According to this theory, violence against foreigners would emerge under very specific structural conditions. It likely to flare up where there little fear that police will protect victims; in other words, police ineffectiveness or bias works in favour of perpetrators of violence. In this context of impunity, authorities implicitly condone actions of perpetrators, police do not act against them, and perpetrators do not fear reprisals from targets of violence. Horowitz (2001: 17-23; 72-73) also explains who likely to conduct a riot and how this will develop. A lethal ethnic riot, which how some have described similar May 2008 xenophobic attacks (Bekker 2010), entails assaults by one ethnic group on another. …