INTRO: For the past week xenophobic violence has erupted on an unprecedented scale in Gauteng.

UPS: - VOICER - Poverty, desperation and frustration are a potent mix and a deep-seated anger has flared up. It’s directed at foreigners. The message is clear: Get out of our country.

PRE-TITLE: HAMBANI MAKWERE-KWERE

UPS: - VOICER - It all started in Alexandra. On Sunday 10th May violence was unleashed from the hostels called “Beirut.” Screams and gunshots cracked through the night. Angry mobs had attacked the foreigners living in their midst.

UPS: - YVONNE NDLOVU – A Zulu came to me and started to hutted me. They said I am a foreigner.

UPS: - BANDAGED MALAWIAN – I heard shouting let’s get foreigners with gunshots. I thought I was going to die.

UPS: - VOICER - Throughout the day, foreigners mainly from Zimbabwe fled to safety at Alexandra police station. And a chilling picture began to emerge.

UPS: - JT PHARASI; SAPS ALEXANDRA -The residents went there went from shack to shack, looking for people from outside the country. Fighting them out of their shacks

UPS: - VOICER - Over the next few days, the police beefed-up security battling to bring the situation under control.  While they managed to disperse large crowds smaller gangs roamed the township preying on the vulnerable. We found groups of frightened people on the road waiting for the police to take them to safety.

UPS: - LEON MOYO; VICTIM – they come just now they break my shack and tell me to get out

UPS: - VOICER – Why?

UPS: - LEON MOYO; VICTIM - You can see I am wearing pyjamas they say I must go back

UPS: - VOICER - Why

UPS: - LEON MOYO; VICTIM - Because I am from Zimbabwe I’ve got a ID and everything from here

UPS: - VOICER – the next day we found leon here at the Alex police station where she spend the night waiting for an escort to collect his belongings. He is one of the hundreds of people needing attention.

The police are overwhelmed and make it clear they can’t help everyone.

UPS: - LEON MOYO; VICTIM - I am been sitting here the whole day since 8 o’clock and the police don’t want to help.

UPS: - VOICER - The night before a group of men had dragged him out of bed and beaten him with a sjambok.

UPS: - LEON MOYO; VICTIM – was not expecting anything was very angry instead of being terrified I must fight but too many I though there were too many they will kill me.

UPS: - VOICER - He came home to pack collect a few essential things….knowing that some of neighbours were behind his attack.

UPS: - LEON MOYO; VICTIM - I know they came next door and people are saying I know those guys and so it was dark and they were hiding those whom I know they were hiding and they sent those whom I don’t know to come and break but they were there

UPS: - VOICER - After 30 years in Alexandra, he locked up his shack…and left with a change of clothes, a toothbrush and some washing powder. He’s determined to return.

UPS: - LEON MOYO; VICTIM - I am not going to go back to my home country. I have worked here for so long and all my strength is finished here in this country so now I am going back to my shack like it or not

UPS: - VOICER - But he may not be able to. Most of the shacks belonging to foreigners have been taken over by locals. After they were ransacked, new locks have been fitted on the doors and messages warn the previous owners to stay away. Groups of men guard against any attempts.

UPS: - MESSAGE - Don’t touch you rubbish puppy dog. Don’t fuck with Zuma’s place.  Don’t play with a pitbull.

UPS: - MDUDUZI GUMEDE; ALEXANDRA RESIDENT – I do not think it is going to be easy for them to come back. To take back their properties because they are already owned by other people so if I own the shack that used to be for my next door neighbour now I can even call my brother or my friend, my homeboy, come look for a job here on Joburg, it’s nice now I got a new property that I own yeah.

UPS: - VOICER - Shacks were not the only thing people stole. 

Fridges, TVs, work tools and hidden stashes of money were also looted. Everything of no value was simply burnt or thrown into the streets to be picked over by children.

UPS: - MDUDUZI GUMEDE; ALEXANDRA RESIDENT – all those who are here illegally must go back home. Not only the Zimbabwean the Nigerians those who are from DRC congo.

UPS: - VOICER - Even though Mdu likes to watch Nigerian movies…. He’s fed up with foreigners.

UPS: - MDUDUZI GUMEDE; ALEXANDRA RESIDENT – I can say that South Africans are good and on the other side I can say they are bad.

UPS: - VOICER - He thinks that they are taking away what is rightfully his. So when the attacks started, he joined in.

UPS: - MDUDUZI GUMEDE; ALEXANDRA RESIDENT – I do not get the house from the RDP people from outside the country are owning houses if you go to river park you find Mozambican, Zimbabwean Nigerians they are owning houses but if I take myself to the department of housing in Johannesburg they will say subsidy approved who is in my house tell me know. Who is in my house it is a foreigner. And a South African a citizen of this country stays in a shit place like this. Why?

UPS: - VOICER - The violence in Alex left over 600 people displaced. 

Roughly 60 people were injured and 6 killed 3 were South African.

UPS: - PRINCE MASHELE; INSTITUTE FOR SECURITY STUDIES – the poor have elected a government instead of turning to a government and say you promised us jobs you promised us houses they turn to foreigners and say. Foreigners are taking our jobs it is the wrong approach really to turn on foreigners because it is the war of the poor on the poor

UPS: - VOICER - Mr Dhlamini lost his son, when a mob mistook him for a foreigner.

UPS: - PAT DHLAMINI; FATHER - Why my child? He is not a foreigner he is a child of South Africa born here and grew up here and is working and living here.

UPS: - VOICER - Thank you very much

UPS: - PAT DHLAMINI; FATHER - Is it the end of the world or what I don’t know. To me it seems as if it is the end of the world just because they have taken my beloved ones.

UPS: - VOICER - Charles was killed across the road from his father. His brother Maxwell tried to save him.

UPS: - MAXWELL DHLAMINI; BROTHER - I hear them screaming to Charles beating Charles with axes, knobkerries, golf sticks. I screamed and say he is not an outsider he is not a foreigner he is a South African his name is Thabo surname Dhlamini. He was bleeding. Here the blood it was like a broken tap.

UPS: - VOICER - A day after he was released from hospital, Charles died.

UPS: - MAXWELL DHLAMINI; BROTHER - He was not talking

AD BREAK 1

UPS: - VOICER - Four days after the attacks began, the Minister of Home Affairs announced a plan to end the violence and restore peace.

UPS: - NOSIVIWE MAPISA-NQAKULA; MINISTER OF HOME AFFAIRS - They are optimistic that by the end of the week they will be able to stem this tide of violence in Alexandra with the help of the.

UPS: - VOICER - The very same day, fighting broke out in Diepsloot. It seemed that the violence against foreigners was gathering momentum and ferocity. Five people were shot. Mobs strike at night.

UPS: - MOB LEADER – Actually it looks like we are living like tenants in the country of our birth. We pay rents to these people because they are the ones who owns like the RDP houses. There is no place anymore. Go to jobs we are under these people. Any thing they are controlling now. So we need the president to know that we are not criminals we are the citizens of South Africa we need to tell the government that if they do not know how to do the job we will do it ourselves.

UPS: - MOB – We will kill

UPS: - VOICER - His anger reveals a deep sense of exclusion. The mobs’ fury may be directed at foreigners, but it points to other underlying issues than simply xenophobia. 

UPS: - PRINCE MASHELE; INSTITUTE FOR SECURITY STUDIES – We have not seen the kind of unity say the ANC president and the State president together holding hands sending out a clear message that is united. Cities when they are problems they look for leadership. The question is where is the leadership? And if the political party that is ruling this country which is the ANC does not seem to be in control of the situation. The question is who is going to have morale authority in order to come down the situation.

UPS: - VOICER - Analysts say one only needs to look at the living conditions of people in townships to understand what ignited the attacks. A lack of services, grinding poverty and frustrated dreams have pushed poor South Africans to the limits of their tolerance.

UPS: - FRANS CRONJE; SA INSTITUTE RACE RELATIONS - I suspect that the spark in this case was to do with the pinch that poor communities are starting to feel with rising economic pressure rising food prices and fuel price and they are lashing out at who they see as responsible for that.

UPS: - VOICER - Foreigners have been blamed for many of the country’s ills. The government’s current refugee policies, have pitted poor South Africans against the 10 million, or so, legal and illegal immigrants in the country. 

UPS: - MOELETSI MBEKI; SA INSTITUTE INERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - we have a sit where the govt is passing the buck of the failure of its polices it is passing that buck to the poor people of South Africa and then preaching to them to love their neighboughs

UPS: - VOICER - Destruction of the economy and repression in Zimbabwe is forcing millions to flee to South Africa. The government calls them “economic migrants” not refugees. It means they can’t get a permit to live and work here. so they stay illegally  

UPS: - MOELETSI MBEKI; SA INSTITUTE INERNATIONAL AFFAIRS - in reality they don’t exist and if they don’t exist they have rights, so the police can harass them anyone the criminals can kill them, anything can happen …we are actually allowing the anarchy that Mugabe has created in Zimbabwe to be exported into SA.

UPS: - VOICER - Even recognised asylum-seekers struggle.  Few employers recognise the documents they are issued by Home Affairs. Without jobs, both legal and illegal foreigners are forced to eke out a living in the informal sector. Alongside South Africa’s poorest, who view them as competition

UPS: - PRINCE MASHELE; INSTITUTE FOR SECURITY STUDIES – poor people will always look for solutions to their problems now in this case poor people they do not have jobs they do not have houses they look around they see a greater influx of foreigners coming in their communities. They turn to use foreigners as the scapegoat.

UPS: - VOICER - A depressed social climate is fertile ground for rumours and resentments towards foreigners to grow.

UPS: - PAUL VERRYN; CENTRAL METHODIST CHURCH - The poor of this country are coming to a point where they are actually not going to care about the niceties of whose property is what.  To have to scratch in Dustbins for your food, to have to continue worrying about how you are going to educate your children and clothe yourself. As winter approaches you are wandering how you are going to keep yourself warm if there’s a job just doing any menial kind of task, to sometimes wonder whether you are a human being, ultimately it must come to the point where you’ve got nothing to lose. 

AD BREAK 2

UPS: - VOICER - As the attacks spread across Gauteng it seems the violence is spiralling out of control. Authorities have been caught completely off guard. No-one anticipated that the lawlessness would spread with such intensity. Police lack of information as to where the violence will flare up giving mobs the advantage. They can strike before authorities get there. To date there have been at least 23 deaths, hundreds injured and 1000s displaced. Police have arrested 257 people. Spaza shops and businesses have been looted and property worth 1000s of rands destroyed.

UPS: - PRINCE MASHELE; INSTITUTE FOR SECURITY STUDIES – The fact that this thing is moving from one township to the other and spreads like veld fire. The way we have seen it suggest that there is an element of organisation behind this. The question is? WHERE IS OUR INTELLIGENCE IN ALL THIS? Because our intelligence is suppose to be a step ahead of however seeks to stabilise society.

UPS: - VOICER - Government was warned of xenophobia brewing amongst poor communities in the Cape over 10 years ago.  They failed to act then and it spread. Somali traders were the first targets of xenophobic attacks.  Nearly 500 have been shot or burnt alive.

Authorities claimed that xenophobia wasn’t a problem in South African society.

UPS: - FRANS CRONJE; SA INSTITUTE RACE RELATIONS - I think that when there has been violence targeted at immigrant communities the response has been an incorrect one the response has been one to say that South African should embrace foreigners that we should hold meetings and interventions and hold get together in communities and talk about the problem. It is in large part a law enforcement prob.

UPS: - VOICER - It’s come back to haunt them.  The eruption of xenophobia now shows the true extent of people’s resentment.  Police have been helpless to prevent the attacks…coming in after the worst is over.

UPS; - STANLEY MAKONESE; ZIMBWABWEAN - It’s just a little bit like Zimbabwe. If your belongings are taken, how do you live? A person must have a proper a good life so when you are entitled to a good life somebody will come and say no you find those things here in south Africa so you have to  take all belongings so that you can go back to Zimbabwe

UPS: - VOICER- When we went back to their shack, youths drunk on power and alcohol threatened to kill us.

UPS; - STANLEY MAKONESE; ZIMBWABWEAN - I was just running away from Zimbabwe thinking that the law will protect me in South Africa. The law , it’s law itself doesn’t protect us as foreigners is you are going to the police station now they will tell you that we cannot go and search those properties. So we are encouraging the police to take an action but you can find out they could not take an action. Our shacks are being demolished. Where is the justice? They are just there

UPS: - VOICER- The two men are living in the bush. It’s the second time they have lost everything. They left Zimbabwe after their homes and businesses were destroyed in Mugabe’s notorious “Clean out the filth” Campaign. It seems the same is happening again.

UPS:  - MOELETSI MBEKI; SA INSTITUTE INERNATIONAL AFFAIRS; we cannot turn around and blame the poor people of South Africa who have to carry the burden of Mugabe destroying the economy of Zimbabwe. It is the poor people of Alexandra township who are having to bear this burden it is not the government it is not the guys sitting in Union building it is no the Minister of Home Affairs

UPS: - VOICER- But now that the government is faced with thousands of Zimbabweans displaced within their cities. They are faced with a humanitarian crisis.

UPS: - PRINCE MASHELE; INSTITUTE FOR SECURITY STUDIES – we need and emergency arrangement to house Zimbabweans we cannot dig our in the sand and pretend Zimbabweans are not entering the country. They are country now what is it that our government is doing Home Affairs specifically to really attend to the Zimbabwean question as a specific case.

UPS: - VOICER- The people in Dieploot are going to restore peace to their neighbourhood. Horrified by the destruction that has taken place.

They want to clear the streets of barriccades and send a message to those involved.

UPS: - CHRIS VONDO; ANC COMMUNTIY LEADER - we are sending a message to the criminals because we believe this activity that is happening in our own community criminals disguising under the issue of Xenophobia and illegal immigrants.

This is just another typical example of this criminal activity because they are looking for something much more important which they can take for their own benefit.

UPS: - VOICER - They’ve managed to recover some of the stolen goods and are working with the police to identify perpetrators. Most people here don’t support the violence, but they do share the belief that there’s a problem of too many illegal immigrants. They want the government to deal with it.

UPS: - CHRIS VONDO; ANC COMMUNTIY LEADER - Basically the community is saying let the authorities deal with this thing. This is not the way of doing things, of people taking the law into their own hands.

UPS: - VOICER - But as the townships continue to burn, labelling the events as criminal, means the government avoids  blame for it’s part in the problem. It may be shortsighted.

UPS: - PRINCE MASHELE; INSTITUTE FOR SECURITY STUDIES – If we do not have leaders we are going to run into the situation where holligans and criminals are going to take the space that exists in society.

UPS: - VOICER - One thing we can’t do is stand aside and watch.

UPS: - PAUL VERRYN; CENTRAL METHODIST CHURCH – All South Africans must … it’s beginning with foreigners it is not going to end there.

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