Bodies of three Ethiopian victims will be sent home.
JOHANNESBURG (VOA News) — Thousands of people marched through the South African city of Durban on Thursday to protest recent anti-immigrant violence that has left five people dead and thousands displaced.Around 4,000 people marched through Durban, chanting “down with xenophobia” and “a United Africa” at an event attended by residents, students and local religious and political leaders.In a suburb of Johannesburg, police fired rubber bullets and tear gas on Thursday to disperse a crowd of anti-immigrant protesters aiming to attack foreign-owned shops.The violence first targeted shops owned by foreign nationals, largely from Somalia and Ethiopia. Now it’s spreading against all African foreigners, leaving many feeling terrified and hopeless.
Somalia national Ebrahim Mohamad Ali runs a coffee shop in Johannesburg. Memories of the 2008 xenophobic attacks in South Africa are still fresh in his mind. He lost his auto repair business – and his brother.
“They killed him in that robbery, for xenophobia. Me, I lost all my tools, all my money,” Mohamad said.
The anti-immigrant violence erupted again in recent weeks. Somali and Ethiopian nationals owning grocery shops in Soweto township were the first to be targeted. They were beaten and chased away by locals who took over their businesses.
Foreign shop owners in the port city of Durban were the next to be targeted, two weeks ago, and now all African foreign nationals are being told to pack up and leave. Thousands have been displaced and are living in makeshift camps.
Foreign nationals frightened
Ethiopian national Sarah Kidane is still traumatized after being violently forced out of her shop in Soweto.
“I’m not feeling OK,” said a tearful Kidane. “I was losing too much. I was losing my life…. I don’t have any choice now. Go back there? The people are not good; they will start again” with the violence.
Other victims say South African police are turning a blind eye to their fate.
“I did go to report for the police but no one helped me that time. I was in the police station, even — no police even that time. I don’t know what was happening. I didn’t receive anything,” said Gitaw Aniyo, 32.
Many others, like 25-year-old John Alemu, say they are puzzled by the attacks.
“We are African brothers, but they give us problems here. They kill our brothers and they rob our own shops,” Alemu said.
On Thursday, South Africa’s president, Jacob Zuma, denounced the anti-immigrant attacks and called for an end to the violence, Reuters news agency reported.
South African authorities have denied the country is experiencing xenophobic attacks, preferring to call them “criminal acts.”
Abdirikaz Ali Osman, national secretary of the Somali Community Board of South Africa, disagrees.
“To me it’s pure xenophobic attacks, which have been targeted [against] the foreign nationals who are living in the country – especially those who are having small, informal business in the townships and the informal settlements,” Osman said. “So it’s obvious that it’s xenophobic and Afrophobic violence, actually.”
Osman is pleading with authorities to swiftly intervene before these foreign nationals, who have already lost their livelihood, lose their lives as well.
Although the attacks are intensifying each day, the foreign nationals, especially those from Somali and Ethiopia, say they would rather die in South Africa than return to their countries of origin, where they are likely to be met with even more violence.
Peace march against xenophobia turns ugly in Durban CBD
A large group, wielding sticks and pangas, tried to disrupt the gathering at the City Hall.
Around 7,000 people in Durban’s streets joined the peace march saying No to Xenophobia on 16 April 2015. Picture: Govan Whittles/EWN
JOHANNESBURG (EWN) – As the president, Members of Parliament, leaders and ordinary South Africans call for an end to xenophobia, fresh violence has once again broken out in the Durban CBD.
A march by an estimated 10 000 people against xenophobia has been met with clashes between locals and the police after they tried to march on a gathering attended by ministers and KwaZulu-Natal Premier Senzo Mchunu.
A large group, wielding sticks and pangas, tried to disrupt the gathering at the City Hall where thousands of people denounced xenophobia and pledged to resolve their differences without violence.
Police fired rubber bullets, water cannons and tear gas into the angry crowd.
There is a massive people police contingent, but the CBD remains volatile.
The march was called by Mchunu in the wake of the killing of five people in Durban’s townships during the xenophobic flare up.
Durban Mayor James Nxumalo said, “Looking at the turnout I think we are sending a very clear message. It is also a very clear and positive statement where people are united and saying no to xenophobia. We are hoping that after today’s march the situation will go back to normal.”
MPs across the political spectrum have condemned the recent wave of xenophobic violence gripping parts of the country, after President Jacob Zuma used his appearance in the National Assembly to call for calm and an end to the unrest.
Meanwhile, Zimbabwe’s foreign minister says xenophobic violence in South Africa has displaced around 800 Zimbabweans and killed at least one.
The country is setting up a team to help those who want to return home.
Foreign Minister Simbarashe Mumbengegwi says a number of Zimbabweans have told embassy officials in Durban that they want to go home.
The minister says government officials are working with the Zimbabwe embassy officials in South Africa to put the logistics in place for this to happen.
The official Herald newspaper say the embassy is investigating reports that two Zimbabweans may have been killed in the violence, including a toddler.
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