South African society has United to find solutions to the current bout of Xenophobia which has found it’s way to South Africa. The blogging community though slow on the uptake has kicked into gear and started a number of initiatives to encourage action.
The south African government has in part admitted it knew this was coming.
"Of course we were aware there was something brewing. It is one thing to know there is a social problem and another thing to know when that outburst will occur," Intelligence Minister Ronnie Kasrils told SABC public radio.
http://www.thetimes.co.za/SpecialReports/Xenophobia/Article.aspx?id=772375
The country Unites in Action
A Facebook group has been launched with information and contacts to help us get involved. For starters we need to show concern and not just go about saying "shame!". In the days of apartheid, the countries from where those being attacked have come, stood by South Africans and welcome those fleeing the oppression of apartheid. We owe it to ourselves and those being oppressed in our country to do something.
The guys at the Quirk Station have swung into action as well starting a campaign which they hope will
… attempt to use our skills where they will have the most impact. With this in mind, I am thrilled to say that we will be launching a “Web2.0” portal that will serve as a platform for all Africans to share information about the attacks, get information about the NGOs involved in mitigating the violence and provide an opportunity to cultivate a culture of tolerance while working together to affect change.
http://www.gottaquirk.com/post/1347/xenophobia-finding-a-solution;
Keep your eye on http://www.unitedforafrica.co.za/ to see how you can help then wage an information campaign to bring back tolerance and understanding.
Mustadafin Foundation, a Cape Town based relief organisation has started a drive to provide food and other support to those being affected. they need donations and volunteers to assist them. They can be contacted MUSTADAFIN FOUNDATION – 021 633 0010 OR 082 7742611.
Gift of the Givers, the largest disaster response NGO of African, has set up a base at Sandton’s Village Walk where people have been invited to leave any donations they may wish to offer. In just a week, Gift of the Givers has moved over R1 million worth of goods from Village Walk to refugee centres in Alexandra, Cleveland, Primrose and various other parts of Ekurhuleni.
Protest Marches and action groups are being started all over the country so please get involved in some way to voice your disgust and pledge your support. Religious communities have thrown their efforts into supporting the victims and drumming up activism to bring the situation to an end.
South African corporates have also expressed their condemnation and shown support for victims. Since launching an appeal for assistance last week, the South African Red Cross Society has received donations from a number of corporates, including a R3 million cheque from Standard Bank.
Something has to be done, many of us are not affected by these acts of indiscriminate violence, but if we stand still and don’t act to stop what is happening, a time will come when it lands on our own doorsteps as well.
It’s not "their" Fault
Please, when you speak about "illegal immigrants" you are devaluing their humanity and somehow putting the blame on them for being attacked. It’s not only those who are illegally present in our country being attacked, but anyone who does not fit the approval of the violent mobs.
So far, about 43 people have been killed, more than 500 arrested and 20 000 displaced following the attacks. These figures are modest and only based on what has been reported officially.
You can track news on these events at the Times website.
Please get involved, donate, march, inform others and keep them in your prayers. May Allah(God) be with us and help us out of this dark hole we have fallen into.
The major problem we have it that these “refugees” are not true refugees and the sheer volume of them. Very very few of them had to flee from their homeland, they just wanted a better lifestyle. The problem is that we simply can’t absorb that many of them.
They are stealing our jobs and lowering the average wage in the process.
I would encourage all employers to be “Proudly South African” but ONLY hiring South Africans! You are not “Proudly South African” just because you wear a Proudly SA shirt while hiring a gardener from Malawi
http://xenotruth.wordpress.com
@ XenoTruth – it may be true that many people have come to South Africa to seek a better life and are not true refugees.
Are you saying that this justifies people being burnt and hacked to death? Would you expect to be attacked because of your nationality if you went to another more prosperous country to seek a better life?
Hiring South Africans should be on the top of our list, yes, but as I have experienced, many South African people who are offered skills training just expect hand-outs.
Foreigners have come here and created their own opportunities from nothing, set up shops where there were non and even employed some south africans themselves. They have opened stores and sold products in the townships at lower prices. In fact in many cases they have stimulated the economy and used initiative to create a living for themselves and others.
Many of our locals are too busy taking drugs, getting drunk and lazing around expecting hand-outs to take a stand and use their God abilities to cerate opportunities like these.
I know it’s a complicated situation, and people living in inhumane conditions experience a loss of dignity which drives them to act in certain ways, but this does not make immigrants the cause of their own oppression.
We need to tackle the state of poverty and degradation that the majority of South Africans are living in in order to remedy the root causes of many social ills which plague our country.
How do we do this? How do we change the conditions for all people. In the days of apartheid, when South Africans were oppressed at home they fled to other African countries and found support. Can we not offer the same to others?