eMzantsi Ubuntu Coalition

By Caryn Dolley

Sreaming and the sound of shots flare up in the background while scores of petrified foreigners, fear evident in their eyes, run out of the dark informal settlement as police helicopters hover above.
A year later: it’s daytime, all is calm in Du Noon and children can be heard playing.
But a Somali man stands alone in his shop with the fearful look still in his eyes, and he flinches as a group of locals walk by, talking loudly.

‘No, they don’t belong here. They should go’

For 19-year-old Makaraan Mohamed, and many other foreign nationals living in Western Cape informal settlements, a year may have gone by but the feeling of being a target has remained.
On May 22 last year xenophobic violence spread to the Western Cape and erupted in the Du Noon informal settlement, with locals forcing foreign nationals to flee.
By the next day the violence had spread to a number of settlements and three days later at least 20 000 foreigners had been forced from their homes. Currently, although the situation has stabilised and the majority of foreigners have returned to the settlements, many fear that simmering tensions may lead to similar violence.
A meeting was held in Gugulethu this week to discuss these fears and last week two Somali men burnt to death in their shop in Darling in what locals believe was a xenophobic attack.
Speaking from his Du Noon shop, which was trashed during last year’s violence, Mohamed said he still felt uneasy about being back in the settlement. “Sometimes the people around here tell me to get out. Right now it’s okay but I’m scared the same like last year will happen,” he said.
Mohamed stayed at the Blue Waters safety camp for three months but then returned to Du Noon as he “had nowhere else to go”.
Further down the road, a Somali shopkeeper, standing behind a thick wire grid barring people from entering his shop, shook his head when asked about the violence. “I don’t want to think about that. Ever,” was all he would say.
In Gugulethu, shop owner Hassan Abdi said although locals bought items from him, they sometimes told him to “get out” of the area.
Mncedisi Twalo, an Anti-Eviction Campaign spokesperson, said yesterday locals had been complaining that they were losing business to foreigners. “Some say they are prepared to act violently to get back their business,” he said.
Police spokesperson Elliot Sinyangana said more police officers were being deployed in case violence broke out. Meanwhile, in Nyanga a local woman selling aprons said she felt foreigners in the area should “just be left alone”.
As she said this, though, a friend shook her head and said: “No, they don’t belong here. They should go.” Three others nodded in agreement.
caryn.dolley@inl.co.za

• This article was originally published on page 4 of The Cape Times on June 05, 2009

Published on the Web by IOL on 2009-06-05 08:00:00

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© Independent Online 2005. All rights reserved. IOL publishes this article in good faith but is not liable for any loss or damage caused by reliance on the information it contains.

Showing page 1 of 1 comment pages, 2 total comments

5 Hours ago Anonymous wrote :

I am a white SA citizen and dont blame the locals for there acts. I live in Observatory Cape Town and rent has become so expensive due to the demand thanks to the foreigners as well as food also thanks to them as the demand is so high. They are rude dirty and believe me i work and live amongst them. They have no respect for others and act as if we owe them. There are at least 10 million in SA and dont say i am wrong. Look at all the so called coloured and white areas. They have moved in by the thousands forcing out locals who move because of them. Landlords who are greedy rent out accomodation to them knowing they will pay the price. I know as i experience it and most cases they live up to 5 in a single room. A 2 bedroom flat accomodates 10. I know as i see it daily. I used to feel sorry for them now i loath them. I suffer because of them how do you think our poor locals feel? Jacob the president better take action before we have a blood bath like never before. Most are here for the ride not because of conflict. They own cars live in wealthy areas which i cant. The Nigerians are the worst running drugs and prostitution. Is there conflict in there countries? No they here for the crime and the ride as there laws will execute them in there countries. Our police and border officials as well as home affairs are to blame because of greed and corruption. Most of them have corrupt documents. Bought from corrupt officials. Our poor local blacks are suffering. It is a matter of time before the bubble bursts and all hell breaks loose. This time i will understand the hatred and violence perpetrated against them as they asked for it. Never in my life have i seen such disgust as what i see in the foreign people. Come spend a night at my place and you will see why. I sleep with ear plugs because of their inconsiderate behaviour. Every night the pubs in my area close at 4 the morning because of them. Look at Cape Town at night. Where they get the money to party everday God alone knows. I cant even party for one night as i cant afford it. Please someone in Government read this and wake up. The clock is ticking so is 2010. We are going to loose it thanks to corruption.

7 Hours ago Anonymous wrote :

The problem with governments in Africa, now and in the past, is that they are incapable of looking to history within the continent to find solutions for todays problems. Throughout Africa’s history the influx of foreign people and tribes into areas where they were not previously living has caused war and misery. Unless South Africa protects its borders and stops the tide of foreigners streaming into the country and taking advantage of its systems or resorting to crime, the hate against them will continue. History shows that certain people are not meant to live together at the cost of the native populations prosperity. It’s not racism, not bigotry and not nationalism, it’s fact.

Tags: cape town, Government, UN