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

Abstract

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.

Institutionalised Xenophobia: African Migrants’ Experiences and Perceptions of Service Delivery at a Selected South African Department of Home Affairs

“…Anti-foreigner sentiment at times expresses itself in violent attacks on those who are assumed by South African citizens to be illegal immigrants. Rather than blame the unconsolidated democratic and unrepresentative government for their ills, the poor, homeless and unemployed are shifting the blame on foreign nationals (Charney 1995; Olofinbiyi 2022; Reitzes 1994, 1995; Tomlinson, Bam, and Mathole 1995). Hence, Africans are the most likely to be considered ‘illegal’ immigrants or foreigners even before they have crossed the borders, and this shows the degree of hatred towards black African immigrants (Peberdy 2001, 23–24), as South Africans are considerably more concerned with ridding the country of fairer skinned migrants (Landau 2004, 6).…”

“…Within both government and outside government circles, South Africans seem to be highly discontented with the inadequacy of the impacts of migration at all levels, and this has led South Africans to protest on the streets on several occasions. It is also on record that few or many of these kinds of protests have been orchestrated as a collective social action intended to ward off black African immigrants (Olofinbiyi 2022). More importantly, the major problem is that most studies on immigrants and migration in South Africa tend to concentrate more on xenophobia, while studies on service delivery tend to focus more on South African citizens receiving poor service delivery.…”

Situating Dashed Prospects of Independence into the Xenophobic Narrative in South Africa

“…Indeed, xenophobia in South Africa can thus to be viewed as a social structural creation, basing on Akinola (2017) argument that “nothing is pervasive and illusive in the perpetration of xenophobic violence as the role played by the system, and the complicit stance of the judiciary which is used to protect the strong from the weak than the vice versa” (Akinola, 2017, p. 141). As concretized by Olofinbiyi (2022), the erratic escalation of xenophobia in South Africa is largely subject to government’s denial and pretext to deter the cause among its citizens.…”

(South) African perspectives on the prevention, monitoring and combating of hate victimisation

“…However, almost 30 years later, thought leaders and social commentators are increasingly of the opinion that years of misgovernance, significant service delivery challenges and rampant crime and corruption–reminiscent of a mafia state, may suggest South Africa’s rainbow as a beacon of hope for the world is fading (for instance, see Austro-British Society www.oebrg.at/policy-paper-27/ and News24 www.tinyurl.com/58n7uyn4). In addition to the aforementioned concerns, there has been growing international attention to hate incidents driven by prejudice and their enduring impact on safety and belonging in South Africa, particularly affecting targeted groups such as non-nationals and LGBT+ communities (Breen et al , 2016; Nel and Judge, 2008; Nel and Mitchell, 2019; Olofinbiyi, 2022). Despite some efforts to prevent and address hate victimisation, effectively tackling such incidents remains a significant challenge.…”