Tension simmers in Alexandra

Alexandra residents were not appeased by calls for unity at the end of a tense meeting on Tuesday in the sprawling township in which xenophobic violence erupted on Sunday night.

As Safety and Security MEC Firoz Cachalia called on the community, during a mass meeting, to allow the police to do their work regarding illegal immigrants, residents booed and howled.

Some exited the community hall, saying they should “toyi-toyi”. Shouts of “we are overpopulated” rang through the hall as the MEC addressed the crowd.

Many cited unemployment as a basis for the animosity toward foreigners.

“They steal our jobs because they work for little money,” one woman said.

The meeting was held with the residents following the xenophobic attacks which left two people dead, over 60 injured and dozens displaced.

Those displaced gathered at the Alexandra police station seeking protection, aid and shelter after they fell victim to the attacks.

At an earlier media briefing, Cachalia said the violent attacks carried out were not just “spontaneous acts of xenophobic hatred”.

The attacks on foreigners by local residents began on Sunday and continued into Monday night and early Tuesday morning.

“Let’s be very clear that these were criminal acts carried out in violation of our country’s laws, its constitution and its commitment to human rights,” said Cachalia.

He said there was also a degree of misinformation about the attacks as one of the people killed was a South African and a South African family had also been displaced.

“We must call a spade a spade… these are criminal acts.”

Cachalia said steps were being taken to ensure that the displaced were being temporarily accommodated and looked after.

On Tuesday, the Red Cross was handing out food parcels and toilet rolls to foreigners who had gathered at the police station.

NGOs, the City of Johannesburg, the SA Council of Churches, the SA Human Rights Commission and the Gender Commission among others have also pledged support and aid in dealing with the situation.

Maria and Serve, a couple from Mozambique, who lived in Alexandra came to the police station before 8pm on Monday night after they heard that foreigners were in danger.

Maria sat against the wall of the police station with a neatly packed suitcase containing everything she owned.

Serve, a bricklayer who worked in Rosebank, said the couple had not eaten since they arrived at the police station and he had not gone to work for fear of being targeted.

Gift Sithole, a Zimbabwean national, was assaulted and forced from his home. He sat on the pavement with his hand covering a large cut on the back of his head.

He too had not eaten and had no provisions with him.

Willet Sibanda, 28, was forced to seek the safety of the station after men she described as ‘Zulus’ threatened to rape her younger sister, Thando.

She said the men from a hostel in Alexandra broke down her door on Monday night and told her to leave everything behind and get out.

“They insulted us. They screamed, they shouted and said get out… they said leave everything. They demanded my cellphone and money… [they] touched me all over.”

Sibanda described how the group of men told her to stand behind a curtain because they wanted to rape her little sister. After a while the men shouted at Sibanda and her sibling to leave.

Because Sibanda is in the country illegally, she was told she would be taken to Doornfontein but she would rather go back to Zimbabwe.

“I want to go back to my country, it’s not easy to stay in South Africa.

“Anywhere in South Africa, we are not safe… we came here for jobs and this is what we get,” she said.

Police spokesperson Director Govindsamy Mariemuthoo said the situation was being monitored and that police had met with various “roleplayers” to find a solution to the problem.

He confirmed that two deaths were reported due to the attacks and over 60 people had been injured.

Chief executive at the Alexandra clinic, Abel Mangolele, said that just under 150 people had been brought in with injuries sustained during the attacks.

Political parties and human rights watchdogs have reacted to the attacks and said more was needed to be done to address the problem of xenophobia which was related to poverty and unemployment experienced by South Africans.

SA Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) chief executive, advocate Tseliso Thipanyane, said government needed to address poverty and needed to do more.

He said these attacks had been occurring over the last ten years, and it was about time ways were found to deal more effectively with them.

ANC spokesperson Tiyani Rikhotso said: “Such acts can only take society backwards and open the wounds of racism and intolerance against which so many of our people fought.

“The killings in Atteridgeville earlier this year and recent attacks on Somalis and others are an attack not only on foreigners, but are an assault on the values of our democratic society.”

The Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu) urged the Johannesburg Metropolitan Council to provide shelter for those who lost their homes or could not return home for fear of attack.

“We also urge the Department of Home Affairs to do more to assist immigrants,” said Cosatu Gauteng provincial secretary, Siphiwe Mgcina.

He said the underlying cause of xenophobia was the intolerable level of poverty, unemployment and crime, and the shortage of housing in poor communities.

“People’s frustration is understandable, but there can be no excuse for placing the blame for these problems on immigrants who have been forced to flee from even worse conditions in other parts of Africa, especially Zimbabwe.

The Democratic Alliance applauded the arrests of alleged attackers in Alexandra.

DA Caucus chairperson for Johannesburg, Vasco da Gama, said government needed to act urgently to get to the root of the problem.

“It must deal with the causes of xenophobia both in terms of improving service delivery and creating an economic climate that creates job opportunities.

“It is also clear that people are angry that the government cannot control immigration,” he said.

The Young Communist League (YCL) said the xenophobic attacks were “extremely appalling and regrettable” and were undermining international struggles and solidarity, which were a cornerstone of the country’s hard-won freedom and democracy.

“We believe these actions have no credence and role in our society. We further believe that foreign nationals should not be viewed and treated as inferior beings, but as equal human beings that need to be treated with respect and dignity,” said spokesman Castro Ngobese. - Sapa