By Sapa and own correspondents
"Please, please stop."
This was the message on Monday from Nobel Peace Laureate and struggle icon Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu in the wake of the outburst of xenophobic violence of the past few days.
"Please stop. Please stop the violence now," the churchman said in an impassioned statement.
| 'We are disgracing our struggle heroes' |
"This is not how we behave. These are our sisters and brothers. Please, please stop."
Tutu, who once intervened in the apartheid years to prevent a mob necklacing a man, said that when South Africans were fighting against apartheid they had been supported by people around the world, and particularly in Africa.
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Although they were poor, other Africans welcomed South Africans as refugees, and allowed liberation movements to have bases in their territory, even if it meant those countries were going to be attacked by the then South African Defence Force.
"We can't repay them by killing their children. We can't disgrace our struggle by these acts of violence," he said.
"It is as if we were back in the days of the necklace.
| 'Our children will condemn us in the future' |
"The world is shocked and is going to laugh at us and mock us. We are disgracing our struggle heroes. Our children will condemn us in the future."
As the xenophobic attacks continued across Gauteng, police stepped up a gear and a disaster management system was unveiled in the latest attempt to quell the violence, now in its ninth day.
The official death toll is 22 - with at least seven people confirmed dead in the violence on Sunday and yesterday. More than 240 have been arrested.
On Monday, the battle to contain the violence continued, with incidents reported in Kya Sands, Reiger Park, Primrose and at Joburg's Bree Street taxi rank, among others.
Businesses in Joburg - run by foreigners, or people who perceived they would be considered foreigners, closed as fear of further looting spread.
More than 6 000 people have taken refuge in police stations, churches and community halls.
Police are to bring in reinforcements from other provinces to counter the "wave of unacceptable violence".
National police spokesperson Sally de Beer said police were to be reinforced by four platoons from the National Intervention Unit; one from the Western Cape, another from KwaZulu-Natal and two from Pretoria. De Beer said the unit was specifically trained to deal with medium- to high-risk situations.
The decision follows a high- level meeting by top management of the SAPS and the province.
One of the 247 people arrested so far for crimes ranging from housebreaking, robbery and public violence was unrepentant.
"We will burn the Shangaans if they don't go back," were the chilling words of the 25-year old man arrested in Ramaphosa settlement on the East Rand on Monday.
He was referring to the Tsonga-speaking group of people, mostly hailing from Limpopo and Mozambique.
Police in the Ramaphosa township braced themselves last night for further violence, with the main road into the township barricaded by Metro Police, who were ordering vehicles to turn around.
As the sun set, onlookers lined the street, watching as police prepared for the night.
A woman, who declined to give her name, said the violence in the East Rand settlement started on Friday night when some "Shangaans" sang and taunted residents on the streets of Ramaphosa.
She said it was only on Saturday night that the situation became uncontrollable when local residents retaliated.
More people flocked to the police station in Reiger Park, already packed with adults and children seeking refuge alongside huge piles of suitcases and bags.
Bakkies were piled with furniture as foreigners left the area, and a man on foot was seen carrying a couch on his head as he headed for the safety of the police station.
Neighbours offered them tea and coffee, while the Red Cross and the Anglican church next door helped with food and shelter.
At least 10 000 people are already taking refuge in community centres in the Ekurhuleni area, metro spokesperson Zweli Dlamini said.
"The figures are escalating as people run for their lives," Dlamini said.
Ambulances were "driving up and down," he said, and clinics were on alert to deal with violence, as well as the medical needs of the displaced.
- This article was originally published on page 1 of Cape Times on May 20, 2008
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