Xenophobia and Illegal Immigration in South Africa
There are an estimated 5 million illegal immigrants in South Africa. This is roughly 10% of our population at the moment. 3 million of these illegal immigrants are Zimbabwean. Recently in 2007 & 2008 there have been many anti-immigrant protests in South Africa leading to a lot of violence and aggression against these refugees. This can be termed as Xenophobia. Now it is all very well knowing this, but do we actually know what illegal immigration and xenophobia are?
Illegal Immigration refers to the illegal movement across national borders. It occurs in a way that violates the immigration laws of the destination country. It is often caused by civil war, repression, genocide or poverty in the country of origin. People become endangered and fear for their lives. In an effort to escape the violence they flee the country and enter another (more often than not) illegally.
Xenophobia is the dislike and/or fear of that which is different to oneself. It derives from the Greek words ‘xenos’ meaning foreigner and ‘phobos’ meaning ‘fear’. The Xenophobia that has occurred in South Africa targeted the illegal immigrants in our country. The protests were carried out in a violent and aggressive manner. We looked to find out why?
There are many affects that illegal immigration has on society. One of the leading factors is poverty. When people flee their country they often leave with nothing. Many are in a state of desperation and lose the ability to think ahead. They concentrate on the present and only focus on the dire situation that they are in. They struggle to find jobs and end up in poor state. Those who do find jobs disadvantage those legal citizens in the country who themselves are struggling to find work. Illegal immigration reduces job opportunities in countries and this leads to increased poverty.
Another major negative effect it has on society is overpopulation. As well as contributing to poverty, overpopulation severely increases pollution which is very detrimental to the environment. It also contributes to water crisis’ such as Cholera which leads to death of immigrants and citizens alike.
These two effects seem to be the major contributors to the recent Xenophobia attacks in South Africa; but really how violent were these protests?
In 2007 & 2008 South Africa witnessed many Xenophobia attacks on illegal immigrants. Most of the attacks were by people infuriated that these immigrants were taking South African jobs; jobs rightfully theirs. They were angry that these refugees were upsetting their way of life, overcrowding their settlements and lowering their quality of life.
Attacks and violence occurred throughout South Africa but the severest ones took place in Reiger Park, Ramaphosa and Holimisa. The Reiger Park incidents are the most horrific. About 20, 000 people have been displaced from their homes. Hundreds have been injured and even killed. These figures show how violent and aggressive the attacks have been. It is believed that the angry mobs used the foreigners as scapegoats to their problems (unemployment).
We interviewed a Malawian in an effort to gain more insight into the conditions she and other foreigners were living in.
After conducting the interview, there was one thing that really struck us. The thing is that these people actually want to go back home. They arrive in South Africa with high hopes of a new life; but now most are unwanted and many want to leave again. The problem is that people like our interviewee, have no money or possessions. It is simply not possible for them to just set off home again. Another thing is that these people, if they made it back home, would not want to return to South Africa because they feel unwanted due to xenophobic issues here.
Now if these immigrants/refugees can’t go back home, they need to be looked after here in South Africa. During the recent Xenophobia attacks many refugee camps were set up in an effort to help and protect people threatened by Xenophobia. The problem is that these camps were often in very poor conditions. Many of them were even short of clean water and most didn’t have any electricity. The people in these camps were in a state of despair and lived simply off what was given to them.
We believe that the crisis was dealt with poorly. All immigrants were to be dispatched home by late July 2008. It is now September 2009 and the problem hasn’t gotten much smaller. These remaining immigrants need to be looked after properly, until they are in a good enough state to return home.
By:Reid Falconer, Martin Dyer and Ethan Gray
Illegal Immigration refers to the illegal movement across national borders. It occurs in a way that violates the immigration laws of the destination country. It is often caused by civil war, repression, genocide or poverty in the country of origin. People become endangered and fear for their lives. In an effort to escape the violence they flee the country and enter another (more often than not) illegally.
Xenophobia is the dislike and/or fear of that which is different to oneself. It derives from the Greek words ‘xenos’ meaning foreigner and ‘phobos’ meaning ‘fear’. The Xenophobia that has occurred in South Africa targeted the illegal immigrants in our country. The protests were carried out in a violent and aggressive manner. We looked to find out why?
There are many affects that illegal immigration has on society. One of the leading factors is poverty. When people flee their country they often leave with nothing. Many are in a state of desperation and lose the ability to think ahead. They concentrate on the present and only focus on the dire situation that they are in. They struggle to find jobs and end up in poor state. Those who do find jobs disadvantage those legal citizens in the country who themselves are struggling to find work. Illegal immigration reduces job opportunities in countries and this leads to increased poverty.
Another major negative effect it has on society is overpopulation. As well as contributing to poverty, overpopulation severely increases pollution which is very detrimental to the environment. It also contributes to water crisis’ such as Cholera which leads to death of immigrants and citizens alike.
These two effects seem to be the major contributors to the recent Xenophobia attacks in South Africa; but really how violent were these protests?
In 2007 & 2008 South Africa witnessed many Xenophobia attacks on illegal immigrants. Most of the attacks were by people infuriated that these immigrants were taking South African jobs; jobs rightfully theirs. They were angry that these refugees were upsetting their way of life, overcrowding their settlements and lowering their quality of life.
Attacks and violence occurred throughout South Africa but the severest ones took place in Reiger Park, Ramaphosa and Holimisa. The Reiger Park incidents are the most horrific. About 20, 000 people have been displaced from their homes. Hundreds have been injured and even killed. These figures show how violent and aggressive the attacks have been. It is believed that the angry mobs used the foreigners as scapegoats to their problems (unemployment).
We interviewed a Malawian in an effort to gain more insight into the conditions she and other foreigners were living in.
After conducting the interview, there was one thing that really struck us. The thing is that these people actually want to go back home. They arrive in South Africa with high hopes of a new life; but now most are unwanted and many want to leave again. The problem is that people like our interviewee, have no money or possessions. It is simply not possible for them to just set off home again. Another thing is that these people, if they made it back home, would not want to return to South Africa because they feel unwanted due to xenophobic issues here.
Now if these immigrants/refugees can’t go back home, they need to be looked after here in South Africa. During the recent Xenophobia attacks many refugee camps were set up in an effort to help and protect people threatened by Xenophobia. The problem is that these camps were often in very poor conditions. Many of them were even short of clean water and most didn’t have any electricity. The people in these camps were in a state of despair and lived simply off what was given to them.
We believe that the crisis was dealt with poorly. All immigrants were to be dispatched home by late July 2008. It is now September 2009 and the problem hasn’t gotten much smaller. These remaining immigrants need to be looked after properly, until they are in a good enough state to return home.
By:Reid Falconer, Martin Dyer and Ethan Gray
Tags: Illegal Immigration, South Africa, Xenophobia, Sub-Saharan Africa, sub_saharan_africa
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holimisa.docx, 11 KB -
Ramaphosa.docx, 10 KB
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Reiger Park.docx, 10 KB
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Replies to This Article
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Permalink Reply by Chris McPetrie on -
Well done guys. Next time I can proofread your article, if you want. Keep up the good work.
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Permalink Reply by Fritz Claessens on -
I read your article and it brings up some great points, but why would the immigrants want to return to their home country where there is poverty and war if they are being treated and looked after in South Africa?
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Permalink Reply by willem from wis on
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I read your article, I liked it but I have one question. how does it help the immigrants to go back to a country where they are in extreme poverty? how do you know that they wont just immigrate illegally again either back to South Africa or to another country?
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Permalink Reply by ISBangkok on -
What I found interesting in this article was the fact that these illegal immigrants would rather go back to their home countries and face the problems that they'd been fleeing, than stay in South Africa and face the segregation that they are facing now. I agree with you on the point that they should be taken care of properly before they are dispatched home- if not, they would have gone through this terrifying journey for nothing... Maybe international groups, like Amnesty, should step in and help provide basic necessities like food, water and maybe even simple jobs for these immigrants such that they are provided for without severely impacting the citizens of South Africa. This measure could be the stepping stone for them to start their lives anew.
Grace
International School Bangkok
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Permalink Reply by ISBangkok on
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Being a native of Australia, I am aware that there are many people in the 'white' community that are xenophobic, and ultimately unwilling to accept anymore outsiders. I remember the Cronulla Riots of 2003, and was shocked and ashamed by my culture for this.
You brought up some excellent points in your article. Well done, I look forward to reading more of them.
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Permalink Reply by ISBangkok on
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Your article is very interesting and it definetely brings up some good points. I agree that Xenophobia has had a major impact on refugees and it is discouraging to hear that residents are blaming all their problems on the immigrants.
From Amy,
International School Bangkok
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Permalink Reply by ISBangkok on
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This is a great article! I think it can take a long time to solve this problem. As you mentioned, there are a lot of wars going on in Africa and the places where people live are very dangerous or highly polluted. They can desperately come to the conclusion of immigrating, even illegally, just to get away from that place. Thank you for posting this article!
Helen Liu
International School Bangkok
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Permalink Reply by ISBangkok on
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While reading the article, I was wondering if it is true that the immigrants would want to return to their home country, where there is poverty. I was thinking that maybe they would immigrate to South Africa, but since they don't like it there, they would immigrate somewhere else, instead of their home country. However, like you stated in your article, some are not able to leave South Africa because they are too poor.
Also, I was wondering whether there would be a decrease of immigrants going to South Africa if they hear about the violence going on there towards immigrants? Wouldn't they want to immigrate to another country then?
Overall, this was a very well written article.
Christine
ISB
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Permalink Reply by Sophia Vallada on -
I found every aspect of this article interesting in a different way. What confused me was why would a counter migration occur in which immigrants would want to reutrn even if what made them leave is still going on in their home countries? I was also wondering what you think about any suggestions or future plans in preventing or reducing this type of illegal immigration. What I agree on with you is the fact that the immigrants should be treated fairly before any further decisions about their placements are made; after all people are people.
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Permalink Reply by Aurelia Mohrmann on
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This article is great! You made some very good points and the information is very accurate. I have lived in South Africa myself and I can understand what your talking about when I think about the dramatic differences between America (where I live now) and South Africa. I think your article brings good awareness to the situation. Some other aspects that could be interesting is the immiigration and xenophobia in the other countries near South Africa and the general flow of immigration throughout Africa. What major conflicts cause people to move around and how does is effect countries socially and economically? I thought it was interesting to read about the Xenophobia and how the South Africans feel about the immigrants . Overall, good job!
Aurelia Mohrmann
Washington International School
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Permalink Reply by Martin Dyer on
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The reason that xenophobic victims would want to return home is that they feel they would be better off in their home countries. The extent to which they have been discriminated against is so large, that they would rather return home regardless of the fact that their countries might be in war or be experiencing severe poverty. The horrible truth is that the refugees are not being looked after as well as they really should be here in South Africa.
© 2010 Created by Mark Schulte.
