Somali refugees who fled
their war torn country in search of safety, are again under
attack - this time in the townships of the Eastern and
Western Cape. In the last three months 16 Somalis have been
killed in what appear to be extreme acts of xenophobia.
Police
claim that the attacks are simply robberies, part of the
crime wave that plagues the townships. But in many cases
nothing was stolen, prompting the Somalis to believe that
the motives may be more sinister.
They also
believe that the police are dragging their heels while
investigating the murders, simply because they are
immigrants.
The authorities claim that
the motive
behind the attacks is business jealousy. The Somali
community run small, successful businesses with lower profit
margins than their South African competitors. Keeping
largely to themselves, Somalis are easy targets for people
who claim their jobs are being stolen.
In
the fiercely competitive hawker market, locals’ anger has
become deadly. “They
must not come to the townships because they are going to get
killed.” These are the words of a young man from
Masiphumulele township near Fishhoek.
The Government of the
Western Cape and human rights groups are shocked that such
dangerous levels of intolerance have exploded into tragedy.
One life lost is one life too many they say. They believe
these attacks are a blight on South Africa’s record as a
constitutional democracy that respects and protects the
rights of everyone.
This moving account of the
harsh realities of life in South Africa is produced by Sasha
Wales-Smith and filmed by Shamiel Albertyn.
