By Annisa Essack
04:02:2022

Almost three decades as a democracy, South Africa remains a highly unequal society. The Covid-19 pandemic and its economic impact have done little to stem the tide of negative sentiment against foreign nationals, who are persistently seen as competing for and taking away scarce resources from struggling South Africans.

Radio Islam International hosted Prof Loren Landau, Migration and Development Unit at the University of Oxford and WITS University’s Centre for Migration in Society and XenoWatch.

Landau says Xenophobia has always existed but what we are encountering is “a heightening of threat”, and the attitudes of Xenophobia might translate into violence and are indeed translating into politics.

On the issue of whether migrants were usurping jobs from South Africans, Landau says that, firstly, the number of migrants in South Africa would not make a difference to the unemployment levels in the country. Secondly, he explained that migrants allow companies to expand when they provide scarce skills, thus creating jobs.

South Africa experiences excessive crime, and foreigners are sometimes implicated in some incidents, like the Rosettenville cash-in-transit and abductions. Landau says that solving these issues is to see them as crimes and policing issues instead of immigration issues, which would help resolve this.

He says Operation Dudula is a dangerous one that risks spreading and that people are being fed lies and being encouraged to act as vigilantes. He added that when this behaviour takes root, especially with the backing of political parties, it proves to be detrimental to those against whom it is perpetrated and to citizens. I could start with foreigners today and escalate to other groups, seen as the other for whatever reason, in the future.

Furthermore, he says that political parties use Xenophobia to bolster support, especially with the upcoming elections. He called this politicking “lazy, dishonest and dangerous.”

Landau says that condemnation should come from other quarters like business and government, instead of human rights and civil society groups. Xenophobia, he says, affects South Africans and the South African brand. He also stressed that the government and human and civil rights groups need to enforce a code of conduct that politicians and society must follow.

He further iterated that we needed to have broader and honest discussions about immigration, understanding that this would not end, and if it did, it would not solve our problems.

[LISTEN] to the podcast here