Xenophobia Attacks :

Xenophobic attacks leave 2 dead in SA
Published: Tuesday, 13 May, 2008, 01:36 AM Doha Time
Members of the Alexandra Township community gather yesterday to listen to their leaders after xenophobia attacks on Zimbabwe immigrants by South AfricansJOHANNESBURG: An attack on a community of foreigners in Johannesburg has left two people dead and 40 people injured, a police spokeswoman said yesterday.“They were blaming the foreign nationals for (high levels of) crime,” said Johannesburg Constable Maria Malefetse.A mob attacked foreign residents of the Alexandra township on Sunday night, breaking into their shacks and demanding they move out of the area.“They threw stones at these people, shot at them, whipped some of them ... and robbed them. They say the foreigners rob them on the streets. All the victims were either from Malawi, Mozambique or Zimbabwe,” Inspector Simon Maphakela told The Star newspaper.Two people were shot and killed during the unrest, a South African and an unidentified man.The Zimbabwe Exiles Forum (ZEF) condemned the attack and called on the South African government to take action against increasing violence against foreigners.“We are asking the South African government to some thing about this because it is spiralling out of control,” said ZEF project leader Annah Moyo. “There is a general perception of foreign nationals as criminals, which is untrue.”Police arrested 12 people who will face charges relating to murder, attempted murder, theft, malicious damage to property and public violence.Two people were burnt to death and almost a thousand left homeless in March this year when a community of foreigners had their homes burnt down outside the capital Pretoria. For decades Africans have flocked to South Africa, the continent’s economic powerhouse, lured by abundant work in its mines, farms and homes and by one of the world’s most liberal immigration and refugee policies.Growing hostility towards this group threatens to damage South Africa’s relations with other African countries and handicap its buoyant economy, under strain from rising inflation, a shortage of skills and a power crisis.Many newcomers are being met with a cold shoulder and, in some cases, a clenched fist, according to relief workers and rights activists who have noted a rise in violence against foreign-born residents in the “Rainbow Nation”.“It’s clearly something that has got worse this year. These are general attacks on foreigners,” said Jack Redden, regional representative of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in Pretoria. “What has been really worrying is the violence that is attached to them.”It is unclear whether the rising cost of living and other economic jitters directly contribute to the violence. Fear of crime is generally given as the cause of attacks on foreigners, who are often blamed for murders, rapes and carjackings.Immigrants say they are frequently the victims of crimes and their complaints are beginning to get attention.Nigeria’s Senate last month considered a motion condemning attacks on its citizens in South Africa. South Africa’s government has acknowledged its concern about rising xenophobia within its borders and says it is taking steps to tackle the problem. – Agencies