It Never rains
written by Jayawardene , May 22, 2008

It now seems that the people of South Africa may have to face up to even more difficult problems than a few light bulbs going out.

The so called Xenophobia that our brothers and sisters from the south are said to harbour against "makwerekwere" has broken out in serious and murderous violence against migrant communities from other African countries.

South Africans have long resented African immigrant communities and the current economic downturn provides a backdrop to this current wave of killings, lootings and burnings.

The leadership in South Africa have a lot on their plate. However if this country is to be taken seriously on the world stage, the leaders will have to deal urgently with the issues that give rise to such appalling Xenophobia and do so pretty quick.

...
written by Truthseeker , May 22, 2008

I found this video here from Al Jazeera, it sheds a bit of light although by all accounts the problem seems to be one of scarce resources and a perception that foreigners are getting jobs and opportunities that should have gone to the locals.

Ncube

As Maina said in her article about Eskom, BEE seeks to reward locals who had previously found themselves unable to access goodies. The trouble is, those have gone largely to the skilled and the well-positioned, and the gulf between haves and have-nots, is growing ever wider.

Always convenient then to blame johnny-foreigner.

On the other hand, check this here.

...
written by a guest , May 22, 2008

Hold on a sec, politicians can charter planes, helicopters and all that bling bling during campaigns and they can use government resources like military transport planes to airlift Kenyan's from South Africa?

The ministry is relying on South Africa's visa precondition of a return ticket as a means to retrieve Kenyan's willing to return? This government and the current crop of politicians both in PNU & ODM better step up.

Create Jobs here
written by Nyabs , May 22, 2008

Sad.

However, if successive governments had taken advantage of Kenya's comparative advantage to create jobs and opportunities in Kenya, very few of our countrymen will be in South Africa running curio shops and enduring the cold South African winters. We would then only have professionals, providing high end services or investors for that matter.

The desperation of the poor South Africans is understandable, their choice of action is not. With an estimated emigrant population of 5 million Africans, and an economy in recess, one can understand their anger against those they perceive to have taken their jobs.

We need our brothers and sisters back home. Let us pressurize Ali Baba and his forty thieves to stop bickering and start creating an environment that will pull Kenyans back home. Alas, I forgot, they may be targetted for belonging to the wrong tribe and settling in the wrong areas if they do come back.

Is there any hope for the African?

re: Create Jobs here
written by Wuod Aketch , May 22, 2008

Sad.

Is there any hope for the African?

The answer is a big NO. What characterized the African was his/her hospitality.
If Africans can behave like this with their fellow compatriots, then how do you expect the whiteman/woman to be with African emigrants in Europe or the USA?

...
written by jaya wardene , May 23, 2008

I was in touch with some Kenyan pals in SA and one of them wrote:

"....Things have been a bit hectic the last couple of weeks but it has been in the informal settlements. Whereas with the area I live and work in things are calm, xenophobia is a way of life for this guys the way racism still exists so that has never changed. I'm surprised it has taken this long to get this bad. But having said that the government has set up a task force and the army has been sent in to sort things out so hopefully before to long things should be okay soon...."

What are South Africans saying about the situation? I notice that just like here in Kenya, their politicians never accept responsibility....they simply call in their army, police, GSU....

sound familiar?

Some animals more equal
written by aeichener , May 23, 2008

It is true that while xenophobia is a mindset thing (and while formal education is no panacea against it, not at all), its consequent and fruits are class dependent.

Exempli gratia, an Ory Okolloh will not be thrown out of the window or be burned to death in South Africa, like her poor lesser sisters; but as her blog shows, the amosphere of emerging hatred and endemic racism (so prevalent in Africa these days) has also shaken her.

Alexander

re: Some animals more equal
written by Keguro , May 23, 2008

It is true that while xenophobia is a mindset thing

I'm not sure I understand this claim. I *think* I get the class aspect (though we could argue that it *might* simply be more visible in certain class-related ways than others).

If you would, though, please elaborate on the "mindset" point.

Perhaps...
written by Sifuna , May 24, 2008

...We Africans must learn to stay in our countries and fight our dictators as opposed to running for cover in other countries. Fight to build our economies at home. This sounds like another death for 'cowards'.

Stay in Kenya and make Kenya habitable, stay in Zimbabwe and wrestle power from Mugabe, stay in Somalia and form a govt.

The way it is, we just keep running...now the race is coming to an end.

Good Lord have mercy. At some point, we must fight our wars to secure our places.

Or maybe

A wake up call
written by Wuod Aketch , May 25, 2008

Take a look at the Angolan situation, the once warring factions UNITA and MPLA silenced their guns in 2002 to form a new government. The actual president and dictator is not one of those "frequentable" guys as the west puts it. But s the world today is ruled by "Real politik" many leaders from the west go willingly to trample the red carpet in Luanda. The French president Sarkozy who had promised Africans and the whole world that he will severe the umbilical chord linking France with African dictators, is one of those examples who went to pay his homage to Jos Eduardo Dos Santos. As you all know now that petrol price hikes are breaking records everyday in the world markets, Angola where this natural is resource is plenty has become king and unavoidable . But with only the former soldiers now in power in Angola i.e those who say that they fought for freedom, and feel that they should be rewarded, this heaven given resource profits only a few i.e the freedom fighters.
With the French company Total extracting millions of barrels of petrol per day from Angola oil reserves, I wonder how much of this harvest trickles down to the common Angolan mwananchi.
Again, there are elections coming up soon in this country. Those in power are surely going to sell their country to the West and the Chinese in order to get funds to win fairly/unfairly these elections.
This style of democracy in Africa the western way is not the route to go. One is tempted to ask which is a better world for Angolans, the one of chaos supported by the West and the Communist block before 2002 incarnated into a UNITA Vs MPLA showdown, or the present, with the two now respectable, one of them in power and the other in opposition? In both cases and periods, they see/saw their diamonds and petrol being exported overseas under their noses without touching a penny. In the past the quantities were limited because the country was termed as dangerous so there was no risk of exhausting the resources. But today, it is still business as usual but the quantities of the country's natural resources leaving the country are beyond measure.
The African continent is rich but Africans remain poor. With examples like Angola in Africa being many, the African will wake up one day to find him/her self completely naked - the West and China will have depleted all the natural resources on the continent. I cannot imagine the condition of the African without natural resources. With nothing else to export, the new business resource will be, the new slave trade? I cannot imagine what the agenda of the discussions at the World Trade Organization of Pascal Lamy would be!!!

failure of leadership
written by John Ongeri , May 26, 2008

Our sympathies must go out to all the peoples affected by this sad turn of events in that troubled country. I welcome the support from the decent people of South Africa who are speaking out strongly against the criminal actions across the townships.

There is a clear message here that we cannot ignore : The poor and disillusioned of South Africa have been hurting for a long time but nobody was listening. The people endured unemployment, homelessness and lack of genuine opportunity for decades under the apartheid system. So many years of an ANC government have failed to deliver and yet all around we find opportunist foreigners working hard, exploiting opportunities as only immigrants can and generally getting on with their lives.

African Immigrants and refugees in SA are now paying dearly for the failures of Mandela and more especially Mbeki to address the pressing domestic issues of our time.

re: Perhaps...
written by John Ongeri , May 26, 2008

...We Africans must learn to stay in our countries and fight our dictators as opposed to running for cover in other countries. Fight to build our economies at home. This sounds like another death for 'cowards'.

Stay in Kenya and make Kenya habitable, stay in Zimbabwe and wrestle power from Mugabe, stay in Somalia and form a govt.

The way it is, we just keep running...now the race is coming to an end.

Good Lord have mercy. At some point, we must fight our wars to secure our places.

Or maybe

Even as we speak hundreds of airliners are taking off carrying thousands of people to destinations all over the world. Another space craft has landed on mars and has already sent photos that will be analysed to see whether this planet could support life.

Human beings have always wanted to wander. You wanna stay at home, that's up to you.

Really?!?!?!?
written by That Kenyan Loser , May 26, 2008

Ministerial statements remind me of Sep. 11, 2001 when our dear government announced that no Kenyans were harmed when those planes flew into the World Trade Center in New York.

Turned out there were. I'm certain Masika Wetang'ula is old enough to remember that, for he was in the ruling party back then, I think.

Would the honorable minister's flack tell us what the South African assurances are based on?

I'm not pessmistic; just skeptical.

seen it before!
written by ezz , May 27, 2008

There is never a xenophobic uprising by the poor without some politician or such character rousing the rabble for some personal gain. Witness what's been happening in Kenya. And guess who was recently in S.A. To share tips? Help organize?

re: failure of leadership
written by Wuod Aketch , May 27, 2008

There is a clear message here that we cannot ignore : The poor and disillusioned of South Africa have been hurting for a long time but nobody was listening. The people endured unemployment, homelessness and lack of genuine opportunity for decades under the apartheid system. So many years of an ANC government have failed to deliver and yet all around we find opportunist foreigners working hard, exploiting opportunities as only immigrants can and generally getting on with their lives.

comment deleted zero tolerance for baiting - manager

Charity begins at home
written by Aliosema , May 27, 2008

Nyabs wrote:
Sad.

Is there any hope for the African?


The answer is a big NO. What characterized the African was his/her hospitality.
If Africans can behave like this with their fellow compatriots, then how do you expect the whiteman/woman to be with African emigrants in Europe or the USA?

Wuod, no need to cite examples so far from home. ODMers have already demonstrated the lack of hospitality that exists right here in Kenya. Or had you forgotten that 1,000s were killed or displaced in Helldoret and Kisumu.

re: seen it before!
written by Njenga , May 30, 2008

There is never a xenophobic uprising by the poor without some politician or such character rousing the rabble for some personal gain. Witness what's been happening in Kenya. And guess who was recently in S.A. To share tips? Help organize?

As long as we blame others for our problems...we shall never have them solved. What is happening in SA is similar to what happened in Rift valley and sad to say, am sure like Ezz above, some politicians were involved

To return to what we know, Kenyan politicians defile the citizenry day after day..people leave for greener pastures...hold debates in the likes of KI on how kenya should be run.bla bla bla. to sum it all, if what kenyans or rather africans say was put into action, we would have working systems, nations et al

Wait until the chinese take all the that the british felt ashamed to take and we shall be talking a diffrent story