Dear Zimbabwe, it’s time
for a brutal conversation about xenophobia in South Africa
Daily Maverick – 28
December 2022 .
Maybe it is time that we,
as Zimbabweans, remind ourselves that South Africa is treating us better than
we ever treat(ed) immigrants.
I am a Zimbabwean, so this
is difficult to write, and I stand to lose a lot. But I will do it
anyway.
Anti-immigrant sentiments,
or simply xenophobia, are difficult to write about because nobody wants to
speak candidly, and the few who do are often affected by emotions.
Nobody wants to, nor can
they, freely state that Zimbabwean immigrants in South Africa do not help their
own cause. Saying this would likely be interpreted as support for violence and
whip up a wave of cancellations.
Similarly, very few people
want to describe movements like Operation Dudula as what they are, largely
because offending them could lead to escalation and ostracism from the
locals.
And the sentiment,
expressed on Twitter and whispered in communities, appears to be that nobody
wants to speak about the rampant problems believed to be caused by
out-of-control migration into South Africa, such as drugs, murder and crime. In
2019, when xenophobic violence broke out, a popular artist, Sho Majozi, echoed
this sentiment, saying foreigners are not
completely innocent and nor are they completely responsible for crime.
This is how it is.
A few days ago, my wife
Boipelo Manyowa wrote an article for Daily
Maverick expressing disapproval of xenophobic violence and crime in South
Africa. It was a heartfelt piece that I believe was driven by her kind-hearted
nature, her faith in humanity and her belief that Africans are stronger,
together.
Xenophobic tensions are
very personal
My wife is a staunch
pan-African, but I will leave it there because I avoid speaking on her behalf,
because she can speak for herself, aptly.
However, at the centre of
her thoughts is the critical issue of migration, which we must talk about. I will
start by saying my heart goes out to people who have lost their lives and
property in xenophobic attacks, and that violence of any nature is unfortunate,
intolerable and unwelcome.
I first wrote about xenophobia in 2015, in an open letter to
President Mugabe. That piece got me in trouble with his government,
but also exposed me to different views. While I had egged him on to find ways
to remind South Africans of our role in their independence, and stability, and
at our expense, I also learnt a few lessons.
My work as a journalist
often makes me an annoying character. Ethics demand that I listen to several
sides before giving an opinion, including repulsive ones that make me sick. Yet
I do this because the only way to understand people is to listen and look. I
have also learnt since my 2015 days that nothing is ever black and white, nor
is black or white. There is always a semblance of truth, even among
destructive hatred.
It takes a brave man to
speak or write against the grain. To that end, I applaud Boipelo for speaking
out against her own country and its people, risking ostracism in the process,
and doing it for “people who have been very unkind” to her.
I too must be brave and
share a few thoughts in response to her article.
I largely agree with everything
she says – that people should be equal before the law, that violence is wrong.
But I have other perspectives that I believe belong in this dialogue.
Zimbabwe is not an
‘innocent’ country when it comes to xenophobia
When Zimbabwe first
achieved independence in 1980, it really was heaven on Earth. Its currency was
strong and the country was self-sufficient. Malawians, Zambians and South
Africans flocked to Zimbabwe to work as roadside vendors and in mines, to take
advantage of the education system, as well as flee from the racist apartheid
government.
But Zimbabwe and its
government at the time were hostile. Malawians and Zambians were called
MaBwidi, a derogatory term that describes foreigners as halfwits. The government
conducted raid after raid in townships, often asking people to repeat local
street lingo – fully aware that Malawian folk would do so with a hilarious
accent.
Those who failed were
bundled into trucks and deported. Those who remained were made half citizens by
the government.
At that time, naturalised
Zimbabweans from Malawi and Zambia were not allowed to vote, and their identity
documents were engraved with a huge capital “A”, designating them as “Aliens”.
This practice remained up until Robert Mugabe was removed from power.
But, at the same time,
Mozambique was engaged in a brutal civil war and a number of Mozambicans, many
of whom speak Zimbabwe’s main language, Shona, crossed into the country seeking
refuge. The government rounded them up and put them in refugee camps, while
several others were sent back, by force, to Mozambique, where they were
executed by rebel forces.
To this day, in and around
the township, derogatory jokes about Malawians, Zambians and Mozambicans are
exchanged at barbecues.
How we, as Zimbabweans,
treated other Africans at the time was wrong, and it must not escape history or
dialogue.
South Africa treats
refugees better than any other African country
Over the years, as conflict
has ravaged Africa, many people have fled their homes in Congo, Somalia,
Ethiopia, the Central African Republic, Burundi and other countries. Those who
found their way to Zimbabwe were put in refugee camps, where they remain to
this day. Countries like Malawi, Uganda and Zambia also have refugee camps for
asylum seekers.
Now, I mention this
because, when millions of Zimbabweans rightly fled the violence in 2008, the South African government responded by giving them special
permits and allowed those who didn’t apply to integrate with
communities.
In Malawi, as we speak, the
government is calling on all refugees who left
camps and integrated with communities to return to the camps or face action.
Zimbabwe keeps refugees in camps, while Kenya wants
to close its camps and send refugees back to conflict zones.
South Africa is not driving
foreigners into camps, but nobody wants to talk about this. And ignoring such
gestures of goodwill upsets and offends a country that has been very hospitable
to refugees, economic or otherwise.
One would struggle to find a
country today that allows millions of people to simply show up and integrate
into communities. To that end, South Africa is a haven for refugees from all
walks of life.
At the same time, we cannot
escape the reality that illegal immigrants commit crime in South Africa. People
avoid talking about it, but the stats are there. In 2017, there were 11,842 foreigners in South African prisons, 918 for murder
and 454 for rape.
One story has stuck with me
for years. On 17 October 2005, newlyweds Siphokazi and Sizwe Tyeke and their
friends Jabu Mbatha and Zukisa Kela took a stroll in the park. As they enjoyed
their late afternoon, a gang of eight Zimbabwean men ambushed them. They
stripped the husbands naked and raped their wives while they watched. After
that, they threw them into a pond and laughed as they drowned.
Thabo Nkala, Edmore Ndlovu
and Mduduzi Mathibela, all from Zimbabwe, were jailed for the rapes and murder.
However, the other five suspects fled back to
Zimbabwe and have not been brought to trial.
This is just one story. As
of 2017, there were 918 other stories. Before that, in 2011, 67.5% of foreign
inmates came from Zimbabwe and Mozambique.
We also cannot escape that Nigerian syndicates commit fraud and deal in drugs in South
Africa. And there is strong local sentiment that Zimbabwean vendors
and Asian shopkeepers are driving local South Africans out of business in
townships. The sentiment is strong enough that Gauteng’s
government in 2020 proposed a law to reserve certain sectors and sub-sectors
for South Africans.
The problem has been that
these sentiments get swallowed in conversations about xenophobia and, as Sho
Majozi wrote nearly three years ago, this will frustrate those who are
protesting and lead to more violence.
We, as Zimbabweans, must reflect
As of 2020, South Africa
had 790 citizens in foreign prisons, mostly for drug-related offences. This is five times less than foreigners who were in South African
jails 11 years ago.
Crime is not a competition,
and I don’t want to go deeper into what each nationality is accused of doing in
South Africa, but I do want to offer one observation: there are many immigrants
in South Africa, from several countries, but most anti-immigrant groups have
problems with Zimbabweans. That should be telling.
I wrote before on Facebook
that Zimbabweans need to reflect. We really do. Everywhere we go, people
complain about how we behave. Instead of attacking South Africans for their
sentiments, we must understand them, or what is leading to them.
Malawians, Zambians,
Burundians and the like do not take as much heat as we do. That calls on us to
reflect and call each other out. And we must start by accepting that no matter
how bad things are in South Africa now, we treated foreigners worse than we are
being treated.
We must accept that our
behaviour in foreign countries is intolerable. For example, we have 12
prisoners from Botswana in Zimbabwe, yet Botswana has 400 prisoners from
Zimbabwe. This cannot continue.
Namibia has an
issue with Zimbabweans. Botswana has an issue with Zimbabweans. Zambia recently developed an issue with Zimbabweans.
South Africa has an issue with Zimbabweans. And the UK
is deporting Zimbabweans en masse. They can’t all be wrong about
what we are doing out there. And we can’t keep attacking South Africans without
calling each other out.
As I said, I am appalled by
the murders and violent attacks in South Africa. But maybe it is time that we,
as Zimbabweans, also look in the mirror and remind ourselves that South Africa
is treating us better than we ever treat(ed) immigrants, and that our conduct
in their country leaves a lot to be desired.
www.samigration.com
