<
https://theconversation.com/5-xenophobic-myths-about-immigrants-in-south-africa-debunked-by-researchers-191194>
"In South Africa, immigrants are often scapegoated as the root of
socio-economic problems. In the post-apartheid landscape, Black African
immigrants, mainly, from other African countries have been negatively
stereotyped as “illegal” and “job stealers” who are “criminal” as well as
“diseased”.
This attitudinal orientation of hostility against non-nationals in a given
population is xenophobia.
Since 1994, more than 900 violent xenophobic incidents have been recorded in
South Africa, resulting in at least 630 deaths, displacement of 123,700 people,
and looting of about 4,850 shops. The eruption of xenophobic violence
undermines social stability and cohesion, tolerance, the constitution of South
Africa, and the social fabric on which the country’s democracy is founded.
Misstatements by public officials and politicians have time and again fanned
the flames of xenophobia and violence associated with it. United Nations
experts recently warned that “the country is on the precipice of explosive
violence”.
Almost three decades after the county’s first democratic election, South Africa
faces what commentators have dubbed the triple challenge of poverty,
unemployment and inequality.
More than half of the country’s population lives in poverty, with close to 12
million people hungry and 2.5 million experiencing hunger daily. The country
has a Gini coefficient of 0.65, making it one of the most unequal countries in
the world."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
