Fight Xenophobia here and now!

southern africa | migration / racism | other libertarian press Saturday April 12, 2008 22:38 by Active Resistance

Statement of solidarity for the Zimbabwean immigrants harassed by the police and attacked by reactionary South Africans

We were disgusted to hear about yet another xenophobic attack, this time in Diepsloot. We are sad to hear that South Africans and, as usual, the police are scapegoating and attacking Zimbabweans, leaving 100 people homeless. The police knew about the attack beforehand and did not prevent it from happening, only arriving hours after the attack and instead of arresting the South Africans who committed the crime they arrested 20 Zimbabweans.

Most immigrants in South Africa are here because they are looking for a better life. Who wouldn’t do that if s/he had the chance to escape misery, poverty and war? It is only human to seek a better life somewhere else and try to raise one’s children in a safer environment, most of the time leaving behind their beloved family, friends and country. But immigrants are not only suffering from verbal attacks, they are also victims of open attack and their shacks being destroyed, probably the only thing they have. Instead of showing solidarity and support for people who once helped South Africa in the struggle against apartheid some people want to make their lives harder. That the police are once again unfair towards immigrants is nothing new. The police are on the side of capital and the ruling class, therefore trying to get rid of unwanted people. That however poor South Africans are not much better is a sign of how miserable many South Africans are with their lives so that they need to find a scapegoat by any means necessary. No, Zimbabweans are not the reason why we have high crime rates and live in poverty! It is the capitalist system that needs starvation and unemployment to keep prices low, and it is the inequality generated by the capitalist system that drives people to crime! It is the ruling class and the government which protect capitalism. We should not attack people suffering from the same system we suffer from but the people who are behind it!

It is time to get rid of some of the myths that are around in South Africa: most criminals in this country actually are South Africans and not Zimbabweans or Congolese or whatever scapegoat you want to find! It is a myth in order to build a South African national identity but it is built on a lie. What is even more stunning: some immigrants actually leave the country again because they think South Africa is too dangerous, rather preferring to go back to a war zone! Other Africans for the first time in their life experience racism in South Africa, and this comes from both white and black South Africans.

Xenophobia, meaning the fear of the foreign, is a sign of a society that has forgotten what its real enemy is: capitalism and everyone who supports this system (i.e. the state). It is as disgusting as racism to which it is closely related. Both have to be fought and no racist or xenophobic remarks or behaviour should be tolerated!

The poor and working class people of this whole planet have more in common with each other than any working class does with its ruling class in any one country. To attack immigrants is to fight our own people instead of working together to build a better world.

We should be fighting for a world without artificial national borders between brothers and sisters in which no one is illegal!

Active Resistance
(Active Resistance is an anti-authoritarian group based in Johannesburg which is currently trying to build up an anti-xenophobia campaign)
www.activeresistance.org.za