Xenophobia In South Africa Research Articles

Citizen Diplomacy in Nigeria-South Africa Relation: Confronting the Paradox of Xenophobia

Africa is witnessing a recurring wave of xenophobic attacks despite being built on the foundations of humanity and oneness. Despite being situated at various sub-region in Africa, Nigeria and South Africa are both regarded as regional hegemons, and as regional hegemons, they tussle for international recognition as exemplified in occasional diplomatic confrontations. Relations between Abuja and Pretoria have been marked by several stages with their political, economic and socio-cultural interaction punctuated by rivalry, conflict, cooperation and competition. This article explores the paradox of xenophobia in South Africa and its impact on strategic relations with Nigeria through the lens of citizen diplomacy. Relying on secondary data, we assess the how Nigerians residing in South Africa can be protected through the instrumentality of citizen diplomacy. From the study, the authors argue that prevalence of xenophobic prejudice and violence on African nationals (including Nigerians) residing in South Africa arises due to limited implementation and utilization of the citizen’s diplomacy by the Nigerian government. Therefore, we propose policy prescriptions to enhance the Nigeria-South Africa strategic partnership with an emphasis on the adoption of a cultural mix policy and early warning signals, which are paramount in eliminating xenophobic conflicts in African societies.

Economic threat, new nationalism and xenophobia in South Africa: Some reflections

ABSTRACT The perceived economic threat has given rise to narrow nationalism in South Africa, which has given birth to direct, cultural and structural forms of violence, commonly referred to as xenophobia, which is actually Afrophobia. The main argument is that in as much as there is evidence of the influx of mainly African migrants in South Africa, and these have been largely accused of various crimes and contributing to rising unemployment, this perception trivialises the need for a multipronged and people-centred approach to South Africa’s and Africa’s underlying domestic challenges. Xenophobia should not be seen as only a South African but also an Africa problem, which consequently requires a national and continental response strategy. This then implies that South Africa has a role in stemming the challenges that have given impetus to a new form of narrow nationalism. On the other hand, the article attempts to explain what a continental response strategy might entail. In fact, the narratives of African migrants as pervasive criminals and job snatchers conveniently relieves the post-apartheid government which is expected to enhance service delivery and create opportunities for the locals, as well as giving dignity to the immigrants.

Being a migrant learner in a South African primary school: recognition and racialisation

ABSTRACT This article is an exploration of racialised understandings of migrant learners within the educational space of primary school and the social context of xenophobia in South Africa. These understandings draw from small-scale creative visual research that focused on migrant learners’ perspectives on their school experiences. Framed by the concepts of ‘recognition’ and ‘White privilege’, it uses the spatial encounter between two learners – one racialised as White and one as Black – and draws on elements of storytelling to present their fragmentary, mosaic-like narratives, highlighting two facets of racialisation: the prizing of White migrant identities and the erasure of Black migrant identities. This study contributes to the field of children’s geographies in terms of revealing how migrant primary school children experience the school space differently as differently racialised individuals, as well as how research approaches common in education (picturebooks) and Critical Race Theory (storytelling) can enable such stories to emerge in migration research.

Anti-immigrant Violence and Xenophobia in South Africa: Untreated Malady and Potential Snag for National Development

Xenophobia has been described as one of the most endemic life-threatening obstacles confronting foreign nationals in the contemporary South Africa. The spate of this hate crime has increased unabatedly in the Kwa Zulu-Natal province of the country in recent years, diffusing to other regions such as Johannesburg, Pretoria, Limpopo and Cape Town. The study aims at establishing xenophobia as an untreated anti-immigrant violence and potential snag for national development in South Africa. It utilised data collected from previous research inquiries to achieve the expected results. The phenomenon was discussed within a criminological framework. The study projects that until South Africans are drawn back the memory lane to realise the benefits of pan-Africanism, the terroristic culture will continue to recur and eat deep into the socio-economic fabric of the nation.

Factors Underlying Return Migration Decisions among Nigerian Victims of 2019 Xenophobic Violence in South Africa

Abstract Studies on xenophobic violence have mainly focused on their causes and effects, but have yet to probe how victimisation experiences of xenophobia trigger migration intentions and actual practices. In a balance of tales, I examine how families contributed to staying put/return decisions by Nigerian migrants in South Africa following the September 2019 xenophobic violence. The study asks: to what extent do family facilitate and/or contribute to the decision to return? And how do return strategies unveil the centrality of family in taking migration decisions? Data emerged through online interviews with Nigerian immigrants in South Africa who stayed put, and six family members in Nigeria were reached through snowball sampling. This was supplemented with secondary interviews conducted with Nigerian returnees in three National newspapers (The Punch, Vanguard, Nigerian Tribune and The Nation newspapers). Findings show the centrality of family in both migration intentions, staying-put, and the actual practices of Nigerian victims of xenophobia in South Africa.

Reconceptualising Afrophobia in post-apartheid South Africa: a conflict transformational perspective

Xenophobic violence has assumed a regular appearance in the body politic of South Africa. Such xenophobia/racism is mainly targeted at migrants from elsewhere in Africa. The phenomenon flies in the face of expectations, given the history of the struggle against apartheid, and the supportive role of the frontline states in support of that struggle. It runs counter to the inclusive ethos of the ANC government, the Rainbow Nation and South Africa’s progressive constitution. This contribution, in the spirit of conflict transformation, focuses on the occurrence of xenophobia in South Africa. Given the complexity of the context, it seeks to explain the phenomenon, using a selection of commonly used theoretical approaches, mediated through the lenses of the Just World theory, and the notion of state crimes. It challenges any notion of South Africa as a post-conflict society, finds significant government culpability for the episodes, and attempts to provide corrective policy advice, using a dynamic systems theoretical approach.

An Empirical-Causative Analysis of the Politics of Xenophobia in South Africa

Several scholarly and scientific attentions have indeed been geared towards the studies on xenophobia in South Africa, but little and very limited interrogation have been devoted to its precipitating politics. Extant works and studies on xenophobia in South Africa, in addition to their differing perspectives, have focused more on how to address the xenophobic reality rather than trying to understand why the politics of xenophobia has persisted unabatedly despite several remedial interventions from government and key stakeholders. This study bridges the gap by attempting to, very importantly, understand and advance reasons as to why the politics has continued against all efforts geared towards addressing it. While Brown Harry’s scapegoating thesis, Pillay’s relative deprivation of South African blacks and Crush’s cultural explanation amongst many others have attempted to offer empirical views on the manifestation of xenophobia in South Africa, that which is central to the understanding of the xenophobic phenomenon was innocently overlooked. The study therefore sees “politics” has been central to any attempt to understanding the manifestation of xenophobia in South Africa. The overwhelming scientific discourses and perspectives offered by this study on the politics of xenophobia would therefore help in bridging the gap in the extant literature and the body of knowledge.

12 - Xenophobia in South Africa: The Personal Account of a Sweet-footed African

12 - Xenophobia in South Africa: The Personal Account of a Sweet-footed African

A poetics of sensuality: Xenophobia and same-sex intimacy in cane/cain

This article offers a reading of the ways in which the short film, cane/cain (directed by Jordache Ellapen, adopts a poetics of sensuality to both unsettle and undergird its themes of South Asian migration, sexual intimacy and xenophobia in South Africa. While both homosexuality and xenophobia are not uncommon sites of public discourses in South Africa, cane/cain unearths the less visible faces of both by centring Brown bodies in corporeal collisions of sexual intimacy and of xenophobic violence to disrupt normative and binary categories of sex, race and citizenship in post-apartheid South Africa. Utilizing the symbolic currency of sugarcane as an aesthetic and narrative pivot, cane/cain constructs a tension between the cinematic pleasure elicited by its poetics of sensuality and its discomfiting themes of homosexual intimacy and xenophobic intolerance to insert the South Asian subject into the discourses of race, sexuality and nationality in South Africa.

Xenophobia in the labour market: A South African legal and human rights perspective

This article focuses on xenophobia in the South African labour market and the effect it can and does have on foreign employees. In contrast to current scholarship that portrays xenophobia in South Africa as a consequence of anti-immigrant sentiments and stereotypes that stem from social, political, economic and cultural misconceptions, this paper argues that the causes of xenophobia are much more complex than that. In addition to those misconceptions, it is argued, xenophobia in South Africa may well have its genesis in the pre-1994 apartheid and colonialism era which sought to impose segregation and instill hatred between and among black people. The main argument in the paper, however, is that the South African legal framework and its implementation do not go far enough in addressing the problem of xenophobia in the workplace. As a result, the rights of foreign employees are negatively impacted and not sufficiently protected. To underscore this point, the paper undertakes a discussion on the legal framework and the pertinent human rights implications of xenophobia in the South African labour market before making some recommendations on what can be done to protect the rights of foreign employees better and reduce or prevent xenophobic attacks against them.

Xenophobia in South Africa: An Insight into the Media Representation andTextual Analysis

This paper examines print media coverage of xenophobicrelated behaviours and its possibility to incite xenophobic violence in South Africa considering the fact that the press has had accusations of publishing unbalanced and inconsistent stories about xenophobic-related violence. The method adopted was textual analysis of the selected South African newspapers’ headlines. Thus, this paper has made use of headlines from the Daily Dispatch, The Citizen, Sunday Times, Business Daily, and Independent Online news (IOL), between the period of May 2008 to August 2018. Interestingly, most of the selected newspapers in this paper have published vastly during this period, and they have been accused of misrepresentation, biasness, unbalanced reportage mostly on xenophobic-related violence. The findings of this paper revealed that these headlines are capable to putting readers on the edge and thus incite xenophobic violence across the country. In an attempt to discourage xenophobic behaviours, this paper has therefore recommended peace journalism and Ubuntu journalism as alternative models for reporting xenophobic violence and conflict.

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

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. …

New South African Policy in Combating Xenophobia

The research is motivated by the extensive literature on the elevated levels of xenophobia in South Africa. The main contribution of the research to the academic field of ethnic conflict studies is that the author comprehensively approaches the determination of the level of xenophobia in South African society, whereas the majority of the literature on the issue has focused on the analysis of individual manifestations of xenophobic violence. This research was guided through three research questions: (1) what are the causes of xenophobia in South Africa? (2) What is the legal framework of South African policy addressing anti-migrant attacks? (3) What measures does the government of South Africa take to combat xenophobia? The principal purpose of the research is to help modernize South Africa’s policies, legislation and practices against xenophobia and related intolerance on the basis of the analysis proposed. Research methods included the study and analysis of literature and social surveys, the collection and analysis of factual materials, the study of documents, methods of quantitative and qualitative data processing. The article describes in detail the political, cultural, economic and socio-historical reasons of xenophobia and analyzes current policies of South Africa against anti-migrant attacks. As a result, the research illustrates what factors contribute to the spread of xenophobic violence and why the government’s actions to combat this social issue have so far been ineffective. The findings of the paper support the prediction that if the government pays attention to the roots of the problem, xenophobia in South African can be significantly reduced.

Fake news, social media and xenophobia in South Africa

ABSTRACT This manuscript seeks to underscore the influence of fake news on South Africa’s xenophobia discourse. It argues that fake news disseminated by social media platforms is gradually becoming a key aspect of South Africa’s contemporary xenophobia challenge despite scholarly oversight. The paper further argues that fake news in South Africa has largely been driven by the proliferation of social media platforms which have recently become substitute news platforms for a growing number of South Africans despite their glaring imperfections. The paper concludes by stating that the influence of fake news has bred socio-economic and political tensions within and outside South Africa.

Reframing Xenophobia in South Africa as Colour-Blind: The Limits of the Afro Phobia Thesis

Many scholars and South African politicians characterize the widespread anti-foreigner sentiment and violence in South Africa as dislike against migrants and refugees of African origin which they named ‘Afro-phobia’. Drawing on online newspaper reports and academic sources, this paper rejects the Afro-phobia thesis and argues that other non-African migrants such as Asians (Pakistanis, Indians, Bangladeshis and Chinese) are also on the receiving end of xenophobia in post-apartheid South Africa. I contend that any ‘outsider’ (White, Asian or Black African) who lives and trades in South African townships and informal settlements is scapegoated and attacked. I term this phenomenon ‘colour-blind xenophobia’. By proposing this analytical framework and integrating two theoretical perspectives — proximity-based ‘Realistic Conflict Theory (RCT)’ and Neocosmos’ exclusivist citizenship model — I contend that xenophobia in South Africa targets those who are in close proximity to disadvantaged Black South Africans and who are deemed outsiders (e.g., Asian, African even White residents and traders) and reject arguments that describe xenophobia in South Africa as targeting Black African refugees and migrants.

XENOPHOBIA AND CITIZENSHIP IN MEG VANDERMERWE’S ZEBRA CROSSING

Purpose of the study: In the past two decades several researchers have explored the concern of xenophobia in South African fiction. Studies sought to determine the reasons behind the prevalence of xenophobic violence in South Africa. Previous research on xenophobia claims that xenophobic violence is prevalent in the state is, in fact, due to economic and social reasons only. Yet, this article aims to correct the misconception of the Rainbow Nation that South Africa was supposed to have been achieved after 1994. 
 Methodology: The text Zebra Crossing (2013) by the South African novelist Meg Vandermerwe is under the focus. The concept of Michael Neocosmos of Citizenship from the postcolonial theory is applied to the selected text. A close reading of the text and qualitative research is the method of my analysis. The article will focus on the acts of violence reflected in the text in an attempt to find the reasons behind such acts. Neocosmos' valid conceptualization about the outbreaks of xenophobia in South Africa in the post-apartheid is applied to the selected text.
 Main Findings: the article will conclude that the notion of the rainbow nation in South Africa is no more than a dream due to the outbreaks of xenophobia and the ongoing violence against foreigners. It will also prove that the continuous xenophobic violence in South Africa is not because of social or economic reasons only yet, there is a political discourse that engenders and triggers the natives to be more xenophobic. Thus, the state politics of exclusion, indigeneity, and citizenship are the stimuli for citizens to be more aggressive and violent against foreigners.
 Applications of this study: the study will add new insight to the domain of English literature generally and the South African literature specifically. The study will be valuable in immigration literature as it deals with the plights of migrants in South Africa and their suffering from xenophobic violence. The study is located in the postcolonial approach.
 Novelty/Originality of this study: the study offers new insight towards xenophobia in South Africa. The concept applied in the study has not been explored so far in the selected text. Previous research claimed that xenophobia in South Africa is due to economic and social reasons but did not focus on the legacies of postcolonialism nor the new political system. The study is original and new as it discusses an ongoing and worldwide phenomenon utilizing a new concept.

(Re) examining the need for Ubuntu as an antidote to xenophobia in South Africa through a glimpse into Mpe’s Welcome to Our Hillbrow

(Re) examining the need for Ubuntu as an antidote to xenophobia in South Africa through a glimpse into Mpe’s Welcome to Our Hillbrow

Dynamics informing xenophobia and leadership response in South Africa

Orientation: The research addressed the issue of leadership response to xenophobia in South Africa that has a unique characteristic of being ‘black on black’.Research purpose: The research purpose was to assess the dynamics informing xenophobia in South Africa, leadership responses and systemic lessons thereon.Motivation for the study: The first black president, the late Nelson Mandela, put in place a Constitution that has an intent to protect all stakeholders in a non-racist, non-sexist and without discrimination based on colour or creed. This pleasantness and warm welcome attracted a large influx of immigrants from across the continent and South Asia who come as international students, skilled professionals and economic refugees. This migratory pattern has led to protracted conflict between immigrants from Africa and indigenous black South Africans.Research design, approach and method: A qualitative, exploratory research that drew data from the semi-structured interviews was carried out. Seven participants were purposefully sampled based on their involvement with the xenophobic affairs in their line of work. Content analysis augmented the primary data.Main findings: The findings of this research showed that xenophobia is a consequence of the socio-economic environment in South Africa and that the leadership response shaped the public opinion on the phenomenon.Practical/managerial implications: The research informed all South Africans, policy-makers and leadership in government on the consequences of xenophobia on the growth and image of the country.Contribution/value-add: This article contributed to the current efforts by leadership in both government and civil society towards addressing the socio-economic issues that fuel xenophobia.

Counteracting Xenophobia in South Africa Through Popular Education

AbstractThis article makes a contribution to understanding human rights peer education in the South African context and the extent to which such provision could enable participants to develop a critical understanding of human rights and xenophobia.

What Orders Xenophobia in South Africa?

What Orders Xenophobia in South Africa?