Xenophobia attacks special report
Latest WEB TV: US Consul General Steve Coffman and Bishop Paul Verryn - The Message is Hope. Click here to see what they have to say - Click here for the article
WEB TV: The Salvation Army each year, embarks on a mission to keep the less fortunate ’warm’. They have already distributed more than 4000 blankets this winter. Major Alistair Venter keeps spirits up even in times of disaster.
WEB TV: Charles shares with us the woes of camping in Midrand. - Click here for the article
WEB TV and SLIDESHOW: Experience the refugee life
WEB TV: Youth leader speaks out
WEB TV: Luthuli Park residents give their take on African street names. - Click here for the article
SLIDESHOW: Celebritities and community members march against xenophobia
WEB TV: Buthelezi visits Alexandra - Click here for the article
WEB TV: Asaduma Mbuqe (18) asks the youth to stand up with her. Click here to see and hear what her motivation is - Click here for the article
PICTURES: View the latest pictures from the affected areas
More Pictures: All hell breaks loose
Audio slideshow ’The world has failed to accept us as people’.
WEB TV: Meet the people forced to flee, left with nothing - Click here for the article
View a map of the affected areas
LATEST NEWS:
South Africa announces xenophobia service - to say sorry
The government has announced plans for a remembrance service for the victims of xenophobic attacks - to be held in Tshwane on July 3.
Chief entertains refugees
Foreigners displaced by xenophobic violence in the greater Sekhukhune district have gone back to their communities, the district’s mayor said yesterday.
Rights body blasts South Africa over refugees
Human Rights Watch has called on the government to stop the deportation of Zimbabwean citizens who fled their country because of repression.
Life in the camps
Antonio Muchave, a senior Sowetan photographer, spent a day with displaced communities, documenting their lives in images.
Xenophobic attacks are on the rise and spreading throughout Gauteng. But when and where did this latest wave of violence start?.
Click on the links below to take you through the timeline of these attacks.
POSSIBLE DAY 1?
16 October 2007.
Xenophobic motive suspected in killing
Suspect in the Free State possibly linked to xenophobic killing
DAY 1
19 March 2008.
‘Xenophobic’ attack: two die
Two killed and six injured in Attridgeville, Pretoria
DAY 2
25 March 2008.
Mob kills two foreigners
Two killed by a mob in Attridgeville
DAY 3
26 March 2008.
Xenophobic attacks persist as minister steps in
Home Affairs Minister steps in to quell the violence
DAY 4
02 April 2008.
Victims get shelter
More than 200 hundred victims of recent attacks get shelter
DAY 5
03 April 2008.
25 held after deadly attacks
More than 25 have been arrested since the outbreak of xenophobia
DAY 6
25 April 2008
Arrest us or send us home
Foreigners demanded that they be sent home because they were afraid to be killed in South Africa
DAY 7
29 April 2008.
Locals’ home burnt down
A family allegedly attacked is temporarily being accommodated at a community hall in Mamelodi
DAY 8
2 May 2008.
Hellish night in Alex
One person killed and 30 injured in Alexandra
DAY 9
13 May 2008
‘Foreigners’ under siege
A Shangaan from Maputo was questioned where he was from.
Xenophobic attacks slated
ANC speaks out against xenophobia
I want to go home to Zim
A Zimbabwean woman who fought to prevent her sister from being raped during the attacks appeals to go home
Have some humanity - Madiba
Former president Nelson Mandela speaks out for other’s freedoms.
‘It was the Third Force in Alex’
Home Affairs Minister says that there could be a ’Third Force’ behind the recent escalation in violence
Police station shields Alex immigrants
DAY 10
14 May 2008
Call to ‘naturalise’ African immigrants
The SAIRR has called on the Government to ’neutralise’ African immigrants
Tears of fear
Sowetan says: Do unto refugees as you would them to you
Winnie apologises to immigrants
Leading ANC figure, Winnie Mandela apologises to foreigners in Alexandra
Vavi warns of ‘many Alexes’Cosatu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi condemns the recent xenophobic attacks at a press briefing
DAY 11
15 May 2008
Violence spreads to Diepsloot
Attacks spread to Diepsloot, where to more are killed
More seek refuge from Alex violence
Another 300 people seeks refuge at Alexandra Police Station and another 300 at Bramley Police Station
Zuma speaks against xenophobia
“Our people should avoid taking their frustrations out on immigrants.” This is the word of ANC president Jacob Zuma
‘Foreigners are God’s people too’
Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town Reverend Thabo Makgoba says the violence in Alexandra is caused by frustration over South Africa’s failure to distribute the gains of economic wealth to all
DAY 12
16 May 2008
Home affairs Minister dismisses demands by victims, attackers
The Minister of Home Affairs has declared that her department will not deport Alexandra foreigners just because they are being attacked. Arrested illegal immigrants to be sent back home
Despite the Home Affairs Ministers promise that illegal immigrants who fell victim to xenophobic attacks would not be deported, 32 refugees are now facing deportation.
Cabinet forms team to investigate unrest
The cabinet announces the establishment of an interdepartmental team to investigate all the causes of the attacks and to make recommendations on what action should be taken to prevent such attacks in future.
Humanity reigns
Two communities from Ekurhuleni informal settlements joined hands yesterday to bury a destitute immigrant from Mozambique.
5 arrested in Alex overnight
Police arrested five people in sporadic incidents of violence in Alexandra on Thursday evening, Johannesburg police said on Friday.
Cops arrest 13 in Diepsloot violence
Thirteen people were arrested in Diepsloot township on Thursday night as residents clashed with metro police, a spokesman said on Friday.
DAY 13
19 May 2008
Shacks burn out as violence flares
Fire fighters last night ran around in circles trying to extinguish sporadic shack fires in alleged xenophobic attacks in Reiger Park on the East Rand
Attacks on foreigners accelerate
Stop xenophobic monster
Sowetan says: The spread of xenophobic violence against African immigrants in Gauteng is cause for great alarm, given its potential to create anarchy in many parts of the province.
Now it’s war
Ramaphosa informal settlement in Reiger Park, Boksburg, was turned into a war zone yesterday when locals and Mozambican nationals engaged in open gun battles that left four people dead. Xenophobic attacks were also reported in Diepsloot, Thokoza and Tembisa.
Eyewitness to brutality
Sunday Times photographer Simphiwe Nkwali describes what it is like to witness one of these attacks.
2 killed in Tembisa xenophobia
Two people were killed and 26 shacks were set alight in Tembisa, Johannesburg, on Monday morning, the SABC reports.
Organisations on Xenophobia
Views of some of the organisations that have commented on the wave of xenophobic violence that has broken out across Gauteng.
Xenophobia death toll rises to 22
Twenty-two people have died and 217 people have been arrested during a wave of attacks in Gauteng.
All hell breaks loose
PHOTOS: Xenophobia attacks in Gauteng
YALO’S TAKE ON IT:
See what our award-winning cartoonist Yalo makes of it...Meet the people forced to flee, left with nothing;
WEB TV: Click here to watch our On Camera report.
SLIDESHOW: Click here to view the slideshow
DAY 13
20 May 2008
‘I was paid to kill foreigners’
A Soweto hostel resident has told police that he was paid to carry out the attacks on foreign nationals in the township.
More cops to deal with aliens attacks
Additional experienced police officers trained to deal with high-risk situations will be deployed in Gauteng to counter the wave of xenophobic attacks. Programme to deal with xenophobia
The South African Council of Churches (SACC) in Limpopo will introduce an educational programme on xenophobia to teach people about the dangers of hating foreigners.
Tutu pleads for end to violence
Nobel peace laureate and struggle icon Desmond Tutu yesterday pleaded for calm as xenophobic violence continued to ravage Gauteng.
‘We are all Africans here’
"We cannot allow outside influences to dictate to us who should stay here. Those who are here, are all Africans.”
More cops called to help in Gauteng
Gauteng Provincial government has called for police reinforcement from other provinces to stem the raging xenophobic violence that has claimed many lives.
One killed, two critical after xenophobic attacks
One person died and two were critically injured in fresh xenophobic attacks in the Joe Slovo informal settlement in Boksburg on Tuesday, the Ekurhuleni metro police said.
DAY 14
21 May 2008
Home Affairs helps the helpless
The Department of Home Affairs said yesterday it was assisting thousands of foreign nationals to leave the country immediately
Shilowa says no to state of emergency
Gauteng Premier Mbhazima Shilowa yesterday cautioned politicians against imposing their opinions on how police should deal with xenophobic attacks.
SOWETAN SAYS: Civic leaders must act now
Are we clutching at straws because we can’t believe what’s happening with the xenophobic attacks in Gauteng – or is a third force behind the mayhem?
‘SA going the same way as Zim’
“I have this to say: the situation here is heading towards that in my country. See you in Zimbabwe my brothers and sisters.”
Oriental Plaza shut after false threats of attack
Oriental Plaza in Fordsburg came to a standstill for an hour yesterday after shoppers ran from the shops fearing “xenophobic attack”.
Bottle ends McBride bid to calm mobEkurhuleni Metro police chief Robert McBride tried in vain to calm warring factions in the Ramaphosa informal settlement yesterday.
COLUMN: Think On It
Guest columnist Tendayi Sithole offers this perspective on the wave of xenophobic violence that has shocked the country...
We know who’s behind violence
Gauteng MEC for sports and recreation Barbara Creecy says police have concrete information on who is behind the xenophobic violence.
DAY 15
22 May 2008
McBride’s brief call-up is withdrawn.
The decision to call back Ekurhuleni metro police chief Robert McBride has been withdrawn. City manager Patrick Flusk called up McBride, who is on a leave of absence, and other officers who are on leave to assist in quelling xenophobic attacks in Gauteng.
Attacks spread beyond Gauteng
The attacks on foreigners in the country continue unabated – this time with Mpumalanga joining the fray.
Aliens find refuge at methodist church
Johannesburg’s Central Methodist Church is bursting at the seams.
Man, 44, nabbed for extortion
Police in Actonville, Benoni, in Ekurhuleni, believe that a man they arrested for allegedly extorting money from foreigners and threatening to burn their shacks down if they did not pay may also be linked to other xenophobic attacks in the area.
‘State at sixes on how media works’
There seems to be no knowledge in government as to how the media works. This accusation comes from Isabel Parenthoen, Africa Bureau Chief for the international news agency Agence France Press.
Mbeki to face tough questions
President Thabo Mbeki is expected to answer serious questions today about the ongoing public violence in the country when he attends the first meeting of the Committee of Twelve African Union heads of state in Arusha, Tanzania.
‘IFP will help to root out xenophobia’
The IFP has pledged to cooperate with the authorities to help stop the xenophobic violence now threatening to engulf Durban.
Uneasy calm returns to Reiger Park
The Ramaphosa informal settlement in Reiger Park, Boksburg, appeared quiet but tense yesterday with sporadic fighting between locals and foreigners.
Business group visits victims
A group of black businesses from the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and other states will visit areas affected by xenophobic attacks today.
Fleeing mom gives birth to triplets
OPINION: A refugee policy could have prevented this mayhem
We are the scatterlings of Africa, Both you and I, We are on the road to Phelamanga, Beneath a copper sky, And we are scatterlings of Africa, ... who made us, here and why?
OPINION: End the destruction
The wanton destruction of property belonging to foreigners, the murder and rape of women have exposed the fragility of our democracy and questioned the values that underpin our society.
YALO’s latest on xenophobia
Grading moved
The xenophobic violence in Ekurhuleni has forced the Karate Organisation of South Africa (Matsushima group) to move their grading on Saturday from Leondale to Spruitview.
Mbeki sends in the troops
President Thabo Mbeki has given the nod for the military to help the police curb the xenophobic violence that had claimed at least 42 lives by yesterday.
‘Masterminds’ behind the attacks arrested
Gauteng police have arrested the suspected masterminds behind the spate of xenophobic attacks at Primrose informal settlement in Germiston, in what has been hailed as a major breakthrough.
DAY 16
23 May 2008
SAHRC blames hate crimes on state
Xenophobia and other hate crimes are manifestations of all the issues and policies that the government has failed to address, the SA Human Rights Commission said yesterday.
Tsvangirai visits victims of violence
Zimbabwe’s opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai and Kenyan High Commissioner to South Africa, Thomas Amolo, yesterday visited foreigners affected by the recent violence.
State to house victims of xenophobic attacks
The government has at last heeded calls that it establish a refugee camp or camps for foreigners who have been displaced by the ongoing xenophobic violence that has swept Gauteng and other parts of the country.
R100 000 for displaced foreigners
A black-owned and managed investment holding company has come forward to help about 15000 foreigners displaced following xenophobic attacks.
Triplets’ gran worried but happy The grandmother of the three-day old triplets who were born prematurely after their mother fell on her stomach while trying to flee from a mob in Tembisa, following xenophobic violence, wishes they could stay longer in hospital “because it is bitterly cold at the temporary shelter”.
Cape Town hit by xenophobic attacks
One person was killed and six injured during overnight xenophobic clashes in Du Noon near Milnerton, Die Burger reported on Friday.
More xenophobic attacks in North West
Three foreigners were stabbed in the North West province on Thursday night as an angry mob looted shops and set vehicles alight, police said on Friday.
28 held at 3 hostels as SANDF, police team up
The police and South African National Defence Force arrested 28 people yesterday and seized firearms, ammunition and 150kg of dagga from three hostels.
14 more arrests for xenophobic attacksAnother 14 people were arrested on the East Rand early on Friday morning for their involvement in the xenophobic violence which has hit Gauteng, said police.
PHOBIA SUCKS: Sending a message- Photo by Thobeka Magcai.
Proactive steps needed to quell xenophobia: Zille
Government needs to take proactive steps to address the root cause of the xenophobic violence, DA leader Helen Zille said on Friday.
Economic impact of xenophobia
"The business community is shocked. This is a year of every danger with the electricity crisis, the high inflation, the crisis of political leadership and now the very serious social and civic crisis".
The UN speaks out on South Africa
GENEVA - The United Nations refugee agency on Friday expressed deep concern about xenophobic attacks against foreigners, many of whom are Zimbabwean refugees, in South Africa.
NUM is worried
The National Union of Mineworkers on Friday said there was a rumour that xenophobic attacks would spread to more mines in Gauteng.
Mozambique helps its citizens return The Mozambican government has activated an emergency operations centre — known by the acronym CENOE — to assist citizens feeling xenophobic violence in South Africa.
Xenophobic violence reaches Cape Town
A wave of anti-immigrant violence in South Africa spread to Cape Town on Friday, even as troops and police appeared to have quelled the unrest in the hotspot of Johannesburg.
More assaults in Durban
Another five foreigners were injured after being assaulted on Friday in Durban’s Quarry Heights area, police said.
DAY 17
26 May 2008
IFP leader visits Alex xenophobia victims
Xenophobia ‘hot spots’ in Gauteng at the weekend, apologising to the victims of the attacks that began just over two weeks ago.
Xenophobia: The view from Mozambique
MAPUTO - Odete Pinho arrived at Maputo station in tears, with a bundle of her dirty clothes wrapped in a sarong, one of more than 20,000 Mozambicans returning home to escape violence in South Africa.
Survivor Soweto
Sowetan Online meets a Zambian lady living in Soweto, who has had to overcome the death of her husband, separation from her children, difficulty with officialdom and battled to find work to feed herself. Now she fears for her life
Zuma calls for calm as tempers flare up
ANC president Jacob Zuma appealed for calm and restraint as some community members called for the deportation of all foreigners during a meeting in Springs yesterday.
Violence was inevitable
Xenophobia alone cannot be blamed for the violent attacks on immigrants, says ANC deputy president Kgalema Motlanthe.
‘Let us fight xenophobia’
KwaZulu-Natal MEC for local government Mike Mabuyakhulu has called on mayors in the province to lead the fight against the scourge of xenophobia.
Public Protector flays officialdom
The failure by South African authorities to act decisively on the perpetrators of xenophobic attacks on foreigners leaves much to be desired, said the Public Protector, Lawrence Mushwana.
Attacks ‘an absolute disgrace’
President Thabo Mbeki yesterday called a wave of deadly attacks on migrants an “absolute disgrace” and said his government would take all measures to bring those responsible to justice.
Foreigners continue to flee SA
Foreigners this weekend continued to leave South Africa in their droves following twelve days of xenophobic attacks.
Uncertain future for displaced kids
Amid the gloom that engulfs Cleveland police station in Johannesburg, there is a room somewhere inside the building filled with the chatter and laughter of children.
DAY 18
27 May 2008
Thousands of Zimbabweans go to Zambia
An estimated 25000 Zimbabweans are heading for Zambia as they flee anti-immigrant violence in South Africa, with thousands of others leaving for Mozambique and Botswana, the Red Cross said yesterday.
Academics unpack causes of xenophobia
As xenophobia spread to other parts of the country, academics met to unpack the underlying causes of the scourge at Constitution Hill in Braamfontein yesterday.
IFP denies link to township violence
The parliamentary multiparty task team has been told that the xenophobic violence that swept through Alexandra township was a planned, politically motivated attack.
Dire warning of health, crime threat
Relief organisations have warned that humanitarian camps set up to house foreigners escaping xenophobic attacks would soon turn into breeding zones for disease and crime.
‘Attacks orchestrated’
KwaZulu-Natal MEC for social development Mishack Radebe believes that the ongoing xenophobic attacks are being instigated by individuals who make a living out of it.
Nadeco calls for calm
The National Democratic Convention (Nadeco) has called on the government and opposition parties to clarify their foreign policies to the public.
Union official killed in xenophobia attacks
A high-ranking member of the National Union of Metalworkers of SA (Numsa) has been killed in the xenophobic violence, the union said on Monday.
No incidents reported overnight in xenophobic hot spots
Police reported a quiet Monday night at xenophobic hot spots in South Africa after two weeks of violence that left 56 people dead.
DAY 19
28 May 2008
‘Third Force’ blamed for stoking violence
A parliamentary task team investigation believes there “is a third force” involved in orchestrating xenophobic attacks
Soccer games to help end hatred
The KwaZulu-Natal government is organising friendly soccer games to counter the recent incidents of xenophobia.
Limpopo also enters the fray
Xenophobic attacks have now engulfed Limpopo. The attacks left at least 81 foreign nationals displaced.
‘I can’t leave her in her hour of need’
Gida Mbebane, 24, a Mozambican national who was forced to flee her home because of the xenophobic violence, has been living with her husband and two children in a makeshift refugee camp.
SA’s new army of homeless
On a vast rubbish-strewn field in a mining area east of Johannesburg, hundreds of destitute Africans who have fled their makeshift homes in nearby slums shiver in the morning cold.
Cash flows in for victims
Several institutions, including the Development Bank of Southern Africa and national carrier SAA, yesterday offered funding of more than R20million to the victims of xenophobia.
Six nabbed for looting
Moroka police have arrested six men and recovered goods worth R30000 after a seven-hour operation in Soweto yesterday.
‘Child refugees have all rights’
Child refugees have the same rights as South African children and are entitled to assistance from the government, organisations for migrants and refugees said yesterday.
Zille may face court action
Cape Town mayor Hellen Zille could face high court action from civil society groups who have criticised her for insisting on placing displaced foreigners on remote internment camps around Cape Town.
Waging war on xenophobia
The South Africa Sports and Education Foundation has embarked on a sports project with the aim of rooting out xenophobic attacks in our communities
Basetsana wary of backlash
Annah Monate, coach of the South African Under-20 women’s team has echoed the worry expressed by others over the violent attacks on fellow Africans by locals in recent weeks.
DAY 20
29 May 2008
One million rand to be donated to victims of xenophobic attacks
One million rand will be donated to the victims of the xenophobic violence that has gripped the nation, various organisations bearing Nelson Mandela’s name, said on Thursday.
Illegal immigrants may get documented
Home Affairs Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula on Thursday indicated that government might issue identification papers to all illegal immigrants currently in the country
Week of misery over as Gael reunited with family
A week of misery has come to an end for 11-year-old Gael Kabondo. Sowetan reported on Tuesday that Kabondo was separated from his parents nine days ago when they were forcibly removed from their home in Malvern, Johannesburg, after xenophobic violence erupted.
Union official beheaded in xenophobic attacks
When his shack was attacked by a panga-wielding mob in Ekurhuleni, Walter Ntombela resisted and fought to the end to allow his family to escape.
‘Do not hire illegal foreigners’
All South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (Satawu) members and shop stewards must desist from participating in any violent acts against foreign nationals, the union said yesterday.
‘Media has gone mad’ on attacks
Media reports that Zimbabweans affected by xenophobic violence in South Africa are heading for Zambia were hogwash, the Zimbabwean Embassy said yesterday.
Stranded foreigners get their ‘miracle’
A two-week-old baby was one of about 50 Mozambicans that got stranded owing to the ongoing xenophobic attacks engulfing certain parts of the country.
Attacks were coordinated – Ndebele
KwaZulu-Natal Premier S’bu Ndebele claims that the xenophobic attacks were well coordinated. He also says it was strange that the attacks occurred just before the 2010 Fifa World Cup.
Waging war on xenophobia
The South Africa Sports and Education Foundation has embarked on a sports project with the aim of rooting out xenophobic attacks in our communities.
DAY 21
30 May 2008
Community’s xenophobia pledge
A three-weeks-old baby twin, the youngest person to die since the start of the xenophobic attacks, was buried yesterday.
Exiles boycott ‘SA food’
Though Somali, Eritrean and Ethiopian refugees housed at one of two camps in Akasia, Pretoria North, have said they were on a hunger strike many were seen eating yesterday afternoon.
Trains fill up with refugees
Throngs of Mozambicans continue to leave South Africa for their home country. More than 1600 boarded the 6.10pm train to Maputo at Johannesburg’s Park Station yesterday.
Pledge on xenophobia
Tourism industry leaders met in Pretoria yesterday to condemn the xenophobic attacks that have occurred in certain parts of the country.
Attacks on foreigners condemned
Tourism industry leaders met in Pretoria yesterday to condemn the xenophobic attacks that have occurred in certain parts of the country.
Two million rand donation for xenophobia victims
First National Bank has donated R2 million to the SA Red Cross Society, the Salvation Army and Doctors Without Borders to assist victims of the recent xenophobic attacks, it said on Thursday.
DAY 22
02 June 2008
Foreign Nationals moved to temporary homes
Government is set to negotiate with residents unhappy with the 3,000 foreign nationals moved to temporary camps in their areas, government officials said on Monday.
Renewed fears over new home
While plans to move displaced foreigners in Gauteng unfolded yesterday, immigrants expressed deep fears for their safety.
Praised for ubuntu
Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka has praised community members of Masiphumelele in Western Cape for spreading the message of reintegration after the township was subjected to xenophobic violence.
‘Attacks make me angry’
Stalwarts of South Africa’s struggle for freedom from apartheid are angered and saddened by the xenophobic violence sweeping the country.
UN responds as state waffles on
The United Nations refugee agency has donated 2000 tents to help South Africa shelter foreigners displaced by violent attacks, while critics accuse the government of bungling its response.
Mokaba remembered
ANC president Jacob Zuma said yesterday he believed the late Peter Mokaba, former president of the ANC Youth League, would have condemned the xenophobic attacks in South Africa.
OPINION: One man’s vision
If there’s any one person who should be the face of the Not In My Name campaign, it is Paul Verryn.
DAY 23
03 June 2008
Chiefs in bid for crisis talks
A group of chiefs plan to hold an urgent meeting with President Thabo Mbeki and ANC president Jacob Zuma to discuss the effect of the recent spate of xenophobic attacks.
Interdict ends Gauteng’s plan
The Johannesburg high court yesterday granted an interim interdict preventing the Gauteng government from moving thousands of foreign nationals from Jeppe and Cleveland police stations to Vickers Road camp in Benrose.
Help flows in for homeless
Donations are pouring in for homeless victims of xenophobic attacks as cold weather hits Gauteng.
Displaced families smile at new home
Life at the new home for displaced foreign nationals, near Rand Airport in Ekurhuleni, is better than the conditions at Primrose police station, from where they were moved.
Government defends camps for foreigners
The Gauteng government has defended its decision to move displaced foreign nationals into affluent suburbs around Johannesburg.
Corruption fans the anger
Gauteng housing MEC Nomvula Mokonyane claimed that RDP houses were not allocated to foreigners, but a departmental report submitted to the legislature portfolio committee indicated that nine subsidised houses were in fact given to Mozambicans and Zimbabweans in Alexandra.
Camp site for foreigners dismantled
Gauteng Premier Mbhazima Shilowa says the government will go ahead with the resettling of foreigners in temporary shelters despite a court order stopping this.
Yar’ Adua lauds SA government
Nigeria’s president praised South Africa yesterday for ending attacks on African migrants.
Lack of transport denies refugee kids schooling
Selle Sithole, 12, put on her school uniform yesterday and prepared for school.
DAY 24
05 June 2008
People of KZN ‘open hearts’ to help foreigners
Civil society bodies yesterday applauded the KwaZulu-Natal people who helped with relief efforts for the more than 4000 displaced foreign nationals in the region.
Big move set to pick up pace
The Gauteng department of local government yesterday continued to relocate displaced foreigners.
10 victims of xenophobia buried in Zimbabwe
Twelve Zimbabweans were among the 62 people killed in xenophobic violence in South Africa, Zimbabwe’s state-controlled Herald reported yesterday.
OPINION: Hypocrisy of ‘not in my back yard’ black Africans
Alexandra exploded in such a xenophobic frenzy that our paralysed government needed an electronic chip inserted in its brain to induce action, albeit of the robotic kind that we see three weeks on.
DAY 25
06 June 2008
About 1 400 up on charges of violence
About 140 cases involving more than 1433 perpetrators arrested during the outbreak of xenophobic attacks three weeks ago have been heard at various courts across the country.
Help pours in for those in need
Help is still pouring in for thousands of displaced foreign nationals after the outbreak of xenophobic attacks three weeks ago that have claimed the lives of more than 60 people.
More move to shelters
The Gauteng department of local government says it has successfully relocated 13000 displaced foreigners to temporary shelters, while 600 Malawians have returned to their country.
‘Immigration here to stay’
The emphasis in South Africa’s immigration policy should be management rather than combating or control, Home Affairs Deputy Minister Malusi Gigaba said yesterday.
KwaZulu-Natal wants foreigners to stay
The KwaZulu-Natal government yesterday said it would not force any displaced foreign nationals to go back to their countries of origin.
DAY 26
09 June 2008
Refugees ‘driving customers away’
The owner of a flourishing nursery in Haddon, south of Johannesburg, laments the losses he has suffered since a shelter for displaced immigrants was erected last week in Gillview, across from his business.
Marchers in Maputo decry SA violence
Thousands of people marched through Mozambique’s capital Maputo on Saturday to urge that their government demand neighbouring South Africa pay compensation to Mozambican victims of the recent spate of xenophobic attacks.
DAY 27
10 June 2008
Residents say ‘no’ to foreign nationals
Residents of Ramaphosa informal settlement near Boksburg have vowed not to allow foreign nationals back into their community, saying they are afraid of being killed.
New court to try attackers
The KwaZulu-Natal government is to establish a special court to oversee the prosecution of the South Africans involved in the recent xenophobic violence that has displaced thousands of foreign nationals.
Sad immigrant laments loss of a good life ...
“Since I was born I have never had to queue for food. Two slices of bread, mama. I feel sad for being in this situation – having to fight for a slice of bread,” says David Shabani.
Buthelezi lauds Mbeki for apology to Nigeria
IFP leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi yesterday praised President Thabo Mbeki for apologising to Nigerian President Umaru Yar’Adua for the xenophobic attacks.
Medical students lend a hand in camp
An outbreak of flu and diarrhoea among children has gripped foreign nationals being sheltered in churches and police stations in KwaZuluNatal.
DAY 28
11 June 2008
Speed up service delivery – Zuma
ANC president Jacob Zuma has called for South Africa’s immigration laws to be fine-tuned to be able to work effectively – and for service delivery to be speeded up to avoid xenophobic violence.
Going back to school
The Gauteng education department will from today transport the children of displaced foreign nationals to their different schools.
DAY 29
12 June 2008
Foreigners leave Gauteng in droves
About 35000 foreign nationals have left Gauteng for their home countries because of xenophobic violence, the government said yesterday.
Making best of a bad situation
“Welcome to Burundi” says the sign on several tents at a temporary shelter for displaced immigrants in Gillview, south of Johannesburg.
Durban plans fight against xenophobia
While many displaced foreign refugees, mainly from Zimbabwe and Malawi, begin the journey back home, Durban’s refugee relief service is pressing ahead with a massive anti-xenophobia campaign.
DAY 30
13 June 2008
Council thanks Samaritans
eThekwini Municipality officials yesterday heaped praise and thanked all faith-based organisations, non-governmental organisations and all citizens who have contributed to the welfare of refugees in the city.
Refugees display their ingenuity in disused bus
The Gauteng education department has failed to honour its promise to transport children of displaced foreign nationals to schools.
‘We’re glad to go’
The Zimbabwean government yesterday dispatched six buses and trucks to refugee camps around Gauteng to ferry its displaced nationals back home.
DAY 31
16 June 2008
‘State is dragging its feet’
The intended reintegration of foreign nationals into the communities – which was supposed to be concluded within a month – might not happen soon.
Rainbow Nation is not dead
South Africans are extraordinarily warm people, united in the face of adversity across racial, religious and class lines by a spirit of ubuntu, says a Zimbabwean who a month ago fled his home under police guard as a mob bayed for his blood.
Somali refugees vow not to move
Somali leaders said yesterday they still could not find the bodies of three of their own who were allegedly shot dead during a stand-off with police at one of the two refugee camps in Pretoria North on Saturday.
‘We don’t want them’
The community of the Ramaphosa informal settlement in Boksburg, Ekurhuleni, has formed a street committee to work against the reintegration of displaced foreigners into the area.
DAY 32
19 June 2008
Slow delivery blamed for xeno violence
Violence against foreigners was caused by the slow pace of service delivery, especially relating to housing.
Action against Xenophobia
The Mopani municipality has established “a working committee” to mobilise communities against xenophobic attacks.
DAY 33
20 June 2008
Chief entertains refugees
Foreigners displaced by xenophobic violence in the greater Sekhukhune district have gone back to their communities, the district’s mayor said yesterday.
Rights body blasts South Africa over refugees
Human Rights Watch has called on the government to stop the deportation of Zimbabwean citizens who fled their country because of repression.
Life in the camps
Antonio Muchave, a senior Sowetan photographer, spent a day with displaced communities, documenting their lives in images.
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