DORIANNE ARENDSE
Government needs address the socio-economic concerns of the local residents in the country as this is what has led to the recent looting of shops owned by foreign nationals in townships recently. This is the view of researcher and writer in civil society, Glen Ashton. Speaking to VOC News on Tuesday afternoon Ashton said the looting of the shops in various townships is not xenophobia but is merely a battle for scarce resources in the community.
"My believe is that this is not xenophobia but rather a battle for resources amongst the poorer sectors of the community. This is amongst the poorest of the poor who are competing for resources especially with those who have had better opportunities in education. I think that there is quite a deep degree of resentment but it is not resentment because they are a different race, but resentment that they are economically more successful. They are seen to be having access to an inordinate amount of resources that locals believe should be reserved for them," said Ashton.
Frustration
Ashton explained that what one is seeing at the moment is sheer frustration on the part of the local community. "I think what we are seeing is a profound frustration on the part in the poorer sector of society, who remain voiceless ten years after democracy and with the neo-liberal balance of economic power in South Africa and the way development has happened in South Africa.
"The social net has been widened but sufficient resources have not been put into areas where there is nothing. Through out Africa the heart of the community is the market where goods are traded. There has been no move to open up democratic markets within the poorer communities. It is interesting that a lot of the immigrants have basically moved into these niches which are still existence in some parts of Africa. But in South Africa these markets have been crushed and have been forgotten through apartheid."
He said that a lot of the acts of violence have not only being directed at foreign nationals but also at some locals who may not necessarily be in from the Western Cape. "What we have seen in South Africa is interesting because a lot of the violence has not just been directed at people from outside the country.
"It is also directed at internal migrants within South Africa, where we see people come down from Venda to the Western Cape who according to the Xhosa speaking locals are concerned come from ‘Ethopia'- the cultural differences between the two groups are so vast. So again you find people from within South Africa being targeted as outsiders because they do not speak the local dialect," he said.
Army
Ashton agreed with the South African Institute for Race Relation's (SAIRR) view that sending in the army and additional police officers may send out mixed signals as to whether the attacks are xenophobic. "I believe that it does because locals would then believe that the state is protecting the outsiders because in most places we know that the poorest communities are the most dangerous places live in.
"The security there is abysmal and now suddenly the police and the army is being brought in - why are these huge resources being mobilized to help the poorer sectors of the community. I think it is almost bound to bring some degree of resentment to the communities and the South African Institute for Race Relations is quite correct."
However, Ashton is not of the view that hosting a summit on xenophobia or on ways to address the socio-economic concerns of the community would be of benefit. "South Africans love sitting down around tables and I personally think we need to see more action. We need to see more resources being moved into townships.
"Unfortunately I think the heads of our security apparatus - the police - seem to be heavier handed in their approached and I think we need a little hand. We understand what is going on and it might be useful to discuss the issue. There have been various forums where this has been discussed in places like Masiphumele and Khayelitsha where there has been dialogue between conciliation experts," he said.
Job Creation
When asked if foreign nationals were more resourceful in creating jobs for themselves, Ashton replied that we should look at the wonderful resources that is being made possible by the foreign nationals. "South Africa is seen as a huge economic magnet within Africa and we have migrants coming in with various skills, enabling us to employ people with a large skill base. I think it is a matter of embracing rather than seeing the foreign nationals as a threat."
Ashton commended the media for highlighting the possibility of another outbreak of xenophobic violence. "The media always gets tagged as fuelling these rumours but I think the media was instrumental in sharing the information about what was initially happening out there. If we did not have good media reports we would not have know what was actually happening.
"So rather than putting a lid on everything like in the old apartheid days we need to have a transparent media. There is a very powerful attack on the free media in South Africa and there is all kinds of legislation in the pipeline," he said
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