Pretoria - The violence in South Africa has pushed it up into the ranks similar to war-torn countries like Syria and South Sudan, foreign nationals in Pretoria have said.
They said they live in so much fear of being attacked that waking up to live another day had become a curse and a blessing.
The foreign nationals, most of whom are refugees who run shops and supermarkets in the city’s townships, said they lived in fear of being attacked by the very people they lived with and serviced.
“The violence as we see it is totally out of control, but what is worse is the lack of leadership to stop it,” Esaie Prince of the Congolese Community said on Sunday.
The refugees from his and other countries were powerless in the face of impending violence, he said. “Our embassy has said nothing to us, they do not care and neither do those in the country’s positions of power,” he said.
Prince spoke in the wake of the brutal killing, in full view of crowds, of Mozambican national Emmanuel Sithole, who was stabbed on the streets of Alexandra on Saturday.
He later died of his wounds, causing an outcry from large sections of the population, but that is where it would end, Ibrahim Shurte, a Somali national said.
“It is sad that while ministers and politicians talk to the media and lay out plans and strategies, the lootings and killings continue unabated,” he said.
The situations from which the refugees had run when they came to South Africa played out before their eyes.
“We thought we were escaping murder and mayhem but we find ourselves in the middle of that now,” he said.
There was no guarantee of safety back home and there is none in South Africa, he said.
“Tensions are high in the townships where most of our people live. They are ready to pack up and go home rather than live under the shadow of death.”
The refugees hardly slept for fear of being attacked in the night, and could not operate during the day or walk around freely for fear of being targeted. “Not knowing if we will live one day to the next is a painful experience,” said Shurte.
While waking up alive was good, not knowing when locals would strike was worse, he added.
But no amount of inequality or disgruntlement justified the brutality meted out to fellow sons of the soil, the country’s Young African Royals said at a press briefing on Sunday, as they took a firm stand against the attacks and killing of foreign nationals.
The Young African Royals are a group of young people from the country’s royal households.
They sent out a strong message, in which they called for a return to a peaceful, violence-free South Africa. They called on South Africans to join forces to bring peace back to the country, and said discrimination of all kinds - be it xenophobic attacks or the killing of people, oppression including tribalism and racism - was a violation of basic human rights.
“The violence, killings and abuse imposed on others undermines human dignity, life and humanity,” Princess Stella Sigcau of the Mpondo Kingdom said.
Prince Unathi Mtirara of the Thembu Royal House said there was never a need to turn violent in the search for solutions.
“There are growing inequalities in communities, but no amount of discontent justifies what we are witnessing,” he said.
Also at the briefing to affirm the young people’s message against xenophobia were Princess Zama-faku Sigcau, Princess Nomafaku Ndamase and Princess Dineo Meko of the Batlokwa Royal House.
“We are campaigning for increased teachings against moral degeneration and the upliftment of morals as a solution to disagreements, and to avoid violence,” said Meko. These discussions would take place in all communities and go beyond the borders of the country.
They would serve as a reminder to everyone that Ubuntu was not a concept, but a lifestyle, she said.
The young royals said they would be joining the South African Royal Campaign against xenophobia, in which royal houses across the country would participate.
They would also be engaging the government and ministers to contribute in efforts to find peace.
The young royals were also working with kings and other traditional leadership on programmes of moral regeneration.
On Sunday Sigcau said they wanted to take on board all young African royals from across the continent to join their movement to end violence and bring peace back. “Let’s respect and value human life. Let’s work together for a better life for all,” she said on behalf of the young royals.
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Pretoria News