Tafi Mhaka and Suraya Dadoo: South Africa is becoming a pariah in Africa
By Tafi Mhaka and Suraya Dadoo | Al Jazeera |
On September 8, a group of people armed with sticks held a march in Johannesburg calling on African migrants to leave South Africa’s biggest city. The demonstration, which left one dead and five injured, followed a turbulent week of deadly attacks on African migrants and migrant-owned businesses in the country.
Such violence is neither new to the country, nor surprising. For years, South African politicians have found it more convenient to feed xenophobia rather than address it, to blame foreigners for poverty and the absence of basic services than to admit to their own failures to provide for the needs of the impoverished majority. Today the South African economy is on the verge of recession and the political elite needs to wash its hands.