Grahamstown - The sleepy town of Grahamstown, best known for its annual arts festival, is still reeling from a spate of violent xenophobic attacks which have left hundreds of foreigners destitute and fearing for their lives.
For over two weeks, hundreds of Ethiopian, Somali and Pakistani asylum seekers have been holed up at the Stone Crescent Hotel just outside Grahamstown, following the total destruction of their homes and shops in xenophobic violence on October 21 and 22. Thanks to the largesse of the hotel’s owner Tariq Hayat, the 500 victims were not left to sleep out on the streets.
“These are my brothers, and they had nowhere to go and needed help immediately, so I opened my doors to them,” Hayat said in an amazing display of ubuntu.
Many of the victims of the xenophobic violence in Grahamstown are asylum seekers who fled persecution in their own countries and sought safe haven in South Africa.
“Ten years ago, I watched my neighbour and close relatives being killed. Al-Shabab tried to force us to join their ranks, but in Somalia, there is no safe place.
“I asked myself where I should go, and I heard that South Africa was a safe place, so I brought my wife and two young boys here,” Bishar Adam told Independent Media on Monday.
“At first, I started studying, but it became too expensive, so I opened a spaza shop in the township to survive. On October 21, the police told us to close our shop and come with them just as a huge mob of local people were approaching to start looting.
“We only had time to flee and now we have lost everything. Even the toilet seat, windows and door frame are gone. They took all of my stock and I lost R75 000, which I owe to my supplier. I ask myself every day how I’m going to pay it back.”
Adam and his family are among over 100 asylum seekers who still remain at the Stone Crescent Hotel, 10km outside of Grahamstown.
“The municipality realises that I cannot look after them indefinitely, so they are supposed to be moving them today to a sports centre in the township,” Hayat said.
“The problem is that the people are scared to go back to the township as they know the locals will not welcome them. These are people who have lost everything – of 300 shops, not a single one is left.”
The Pakistani Deputy High Commissioner Nasir Awan visited the affected community last week to understand what the foreigners were going through. “We must commend the police for assisting the shop owners and preventing any injuries or loss of life, but we remain concerned for the future welfare of those who have been left destitute”
The Chairman of the Grahamstown Muslim Association, Naveed Anjum, said that while the shops belonging to Ethiopians, Somalis and Pakistanis have reopened in the town itself, very few have reopened in the township.
“We should not downplay the financial loss to these families, which we estimate to be in the range of R15 to 25 million. Most asylum seekers are not allowed to open bank accounts, which means that any cash savings they had were taken. Many fled without even their shoes.”
Cape Times
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