3.2.3. Xenophobia and Police Harassment
My informants also highlighted the negative impacts of xenophobia
on their day-to-day life in
the inner cit y. Makwerekwere is the term used by
the majority of South Africans to label all foreigners from other African
countries. Mungoma states that she does not like to be called a Makwerekwere
because it makes her feel like a stranger in SA. Xenophobic attitudes in the
inner city are expressed differently and can be seen in places such as public
health facilities, schools, supermarkets and in the behaviour of the police
officers and Home Affairs officials.
To focus the government's attention on xenophobia in the
inner city, Emeka, a Nigerian refugee, states:
«Xenophobia is a big issue in Johannesburg. It is
a disvalue (anti-value) that should be combated at any levels of the
society: schools, hospitals, government departments, even in the public
transport system, because it pushes people to ignore the African value of
solidarity and may compromise the idea of African unity in SA».
(Interview with Emeka, 2006).
Talking about his own experience in Hillbrow, Emeka emphasises
that the majority of South
Africans, including the police officers, believe that all
Nigerians are drug dealers. According
to Emeka, the number of Nigerians involved in drug trafficking is
very small. He thinks that
the South African government should mobilise its people and
teach them how to accept and learn from differences between people, as
foreigners die because of the xenophobic attitudes
of local people. Emeka confirms that Nigerians die in the inner
city as a result of xenophobia
(ibid, 2006).
Similarly, Jean Krysostome, a Burundian refugee living in
Yeoville, claims that many police
officials do not like to intervene in matters relating to
foreigners, in the sense that they do not intervene in disputes or conflicts
among foreigners. But, when conflicts between a foreigner and a South
African citizen arise, most take the side of their countryman. He
illustrates the argument by saying:
«... I had a problem with one of my home guy and
I went to the police station to ask for police intervention... Two
policemen asked me to give them money before helping me. I told them that I did
not have money, trying to show them that it was unfair to ask me for money....
One of them was angry; he took me out of their office telling me
that their mission is to protect South African citizens, but not
foreigners. He also asked me to go and resolve my problem alone with
my home guy. I was very surprised and I felt like I was missing
my country.»
(Interview with Krysostome, 2006).
According to Jeannette Mbala, a refugee from the
Congo-Brazzaville, the xenophobic attitudes of South Africans are based
mainly on their refusal to accept cultural diversities:
«They are very sensitive to our fashion and
languages. In my country, most of the married women, like me, do not wear
trousers like here in SA. We wear traditional clothes that we call
pagnes (in French), which make us different from South African ladies.
In Johannesburg, if you wear pages everybody can notice that you are a
Makwerekwere... Most of people look at you with disdain.... In public hospitals
or in clinics, the sentiment is the same. If you dress in
the way I dress, some nurses, especially blacks, cannot
treat you with the same respect as other people. It is easy to notice it
because they can ask you questions such as where are you from? When are you
going back to your home country? Why are you here in Johannesburg? How do you
feel with such fashion? These kinds of questions make me sick».
(Interview with Mbala, 2006).
Banks are also places where FMs experience xenophobia in the
inner city, as Mouhamer (an
Ethiopian refugee living in Yeoville) and Emeka describe.
Both, Mouhamar and Emeka
express their concerns about the suspicion that South Africans
have vis-à-vis foreigners when
they go to the bank to withdraw money or make some
transactions. Emeka, for instance, states that «when they see my physical
appearance, listen to my accent, and notice that I am from Nigerian,
everything can change... sometimes they can ask me where did I get my money
and
so on» (Interview with Emeka, 2006).
According to Mouhamar, the decision made by several
banks in SA to exclude FMs from opening bank accounts is based on
xenophobia. «First National Bank (FNB) is the only bank that allows
refugees and asylum seekers to open bank accounts»
(Mouhamar, 2006). Mouhamar does not understand why other banks, such as the
African Bank of SA (ABSA), do not allow FMs (especially asylum seekers) to open
bank accounts.
These, and many other issues raised by my informants suggest a
need for greater social justice
for FMs living in the inner city. This suggestion is also
confirmed by some members of CSOs,
as the next section will emphasise.
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