The past few weeks have seen an eruption of xenophobic violence across South Africa perpetrated by South Africans on immigrants - migrants and refugees from various neighbouring countries.
The stated reasons for these often brutal attacks are that the immigrants are seen to be "taking our jobs, our homes, our women".
These attacks have left more than 60 people dead, many wounded both physically and emotionally, with approximately 60 000 displaced. Many have fled back to their countries of origin, while several thousand have ended up in "refugee camps" awaiting either reintegration into the communities from which they were routed or possible repatriation.
These attacks occurred in urban settings, predominantly in informal settlements where large numbers of indigent people live in sprawling slums with very limited amenities such as adequate water supplies, electricity and sewage.
The unlimited and unregulated influx of immigrants across our borders may have passed a critical threshold in certain areas of what could be contained by an already stressed and fragmented collective.
The attacks on immigrants were often characterised by looting of their shops or homes, stealing their belongings, burning down their shacks, and destroying their identity documents.
Acts of extreme brutality also occurred, such as beatings, stabbings, rape, and murder. Some foreigners were even set alight and burnt alive by mobs of dancing, chanting, weapon-wielding men.
When humans live in squalid conditions with little hope of a better future or improvement in their lot, the anger and resentment at unmet expectations is like a slumbering volcano that will eventually erupt and predictably be directed at immigrants.
Activation of the survival instinct is of an impersonal nature and sweeps like wildfire through a group of disgruntled people. Immigrants become the target who must be destroyed to ensure survival of the community on what little resources are available.
A group of analytical psychologists, all members of the Southern African Association of Jungian Analysts (SAAJA), met to reflect on what may have contributed to the individual and/or collective psychic activation that gave rise to this eruption of violence and, in particular, on why the attacks were so brutal.
It is clear that collectively and individually we are a deeply wounded people. Profound damage was inflicted over a sustained period of several decades by the previous apartheid regime and the wounds to psyche are extreme.
Not only were millions brutalised and dehumanised by a regime that institutionalised oppression of the majority of people living in this country but there was also a systematic disruption of the fundamental fabric of any society, namely, the family and the community.
Neurobiological research on the development of the human brain has shown conclusively that lack of adequate parenting (such as a lack of bonding, neglect and/or physical and emotional abuse) during the first 18 months to two years of life can result in demonstrable developmental delays in brain development. This may cause significant later behavioural problems.
Without adequate parenting by at least one competent caring adult during the crucial early months and years of life, children can develop into callous antisocial teenagers and adults, people who are capable of committing rape, murder and other atrocities with impunity.
We are a society in which the collective has been fragmented. We are a society in which traditional social structures have been disrupted by both the apartheid regime and, more recently, by the devastation wrought by HIV and Aids. The latter has left millions of children and adolescents without parents or parental guidance.
We are a society whose youth lacks direction and authoritative leadership. We are a society where formidable matriarchs carry the authority, with very few positive male role models.
We are a "fatherless society" where many men procreate but lack the capacity to be a father to their children, having come from families in which their own fathers were often either abusive or absent. In the latter case, men were forced by the policies of the apartheid regime to leave their families to work on the mines, often far removed from their wives and children.
Because of the breakdown in family and community structures, coupled with poverty and lack of employment opportunities, some young boys and men may turn to gangs and crime in a desperate effort to belong and to find some meaning in their lives. This is an unconscious attempt to compensate for the disruption in social structures.
Gang leaders become surrogate fathers to compensate for their own fathers and/or elders that are missing from their lives. Gang members become their surrogate siblings and the underworld a "reconstituted family".
There is a distinct lack of positive father figures and respected leaders in our fragmented society. Over the past few years, President Thabo Mbeki has become increasingly distant and removed from contact with his people. He is unable to contain the projections for the collective of the "Good Father" energy.
Jacob Zuma is a very flawed successor who, because of his own blatantly poor impulse control, is also unable to contain the collective's projections of the Benevolent Father energy.
An example of how disinhibited and uncontrolled the youth have become was the recent ANC Youth League conference, during which the attendees turned the event into a debauched free-for-all. No elder was able to exercise any authority or control over the crowd and after three days, not a single item of business had been completed.
This event was televised and broadcast for all to see. The impression was created that this conduct was acceptable and the norm for young adults, and that there are absolutely no consequences for this bad behaviour.
Where there is no inner moral control the need for outer social control becomes crucial. However, the civic authority of law and order is so absent and infected by corruption and dysfunction there is little chance of perpetrators of crime facing consequences that could encourage them to exercise restraint.
The groups of young adults that perpetrated the acts of xenophobic violence are for the most part poorly educated and poorly parented. This has resulted in a very limited capacity for self-reflection with a lack of values passed on to them by elders of their communities.
Under these circumstances there is an even greater need for guidance from a solid, embodied, present and related leader of great integrity and influence - such as a Nelson Mandela - that could inspire rudderless youth to emulate his behaviour as well as infuse our civil servants with integrity.
Neither Mbeki nor Zuma embodies these qualities and this has resulted in the youth feeling increasingly adrift and insecure. The outcome has been an eruption of acting out in an uncontrolled and disinhibited way that has resulted in violence and brutality.
When these xenophobic attacks were occurring, our leaders were not only silent, they left the country for several days before responding in highly inappropriate disconnected rhetoric (in the case of Mbeki) or ineffectual attempts at controlling these out-of-control people (Zuma was actually booed off the stage at a gathering he tried to address).
These wild and disinhibited young men desperately needed a respected father figure to confidently take charge and provide them with leadership, discipline and guidance.
Does this government have the political will and leaders to recognise the nature and extent of the problems facing us? Are there any leaders who can meet this challenge? There are no easy answers to these questions.
Perhaps depth psychology, with its unique perspective into the necessary requirements for the healthy development and functioning of the human psyche, be it individual or collective, has an important part to play in both understanding and helping to find solutions to this problem.
Although we are in agreement that there is no known effective intervention or treatment for those with antisocial personalities that are prone to violence and other brutal behaviours, we recognise the need for "symbolic parenting" of our youth.
It is our view that our society would benefit greatly from leaders who have the attributes of what is traditionally regarded as the positive masculine.
These positive attributes include the capacity to be firmly assertive; the capability of having clear boundaries; a respect for the feminine and for children; a sense of responsibility and integrity; the ability to exercise impulse control and an aptitude to be discerning. Leaders of this calibre are in short supply.
We are in agreement that church leaders, traditional leaders, leaders of community organisations and NGOs could play a vital role in attempting to fill the glaring hiatus in our society of positive male and/or paternal role models.
These figures can help to instil positive values in the younger generation that has been betrayed by its elders. These leaders can also help to support and emphasise the extreme importance of adequate education.
An example of a possible helpful intervention is that of a school on the Cape Flats that engages grandmothers in the classroom to provide a solid parental presence. They simply sit at the back of the class and knit during classroom activities. Their mere presence has an orderly and calming influence on both the children and the teachers.
We recognise that utilising emotionally mature elders of either gender in communities in this and other ways could offer some much-needed authority in situations where this is lacking.
We feel very strongly that much more attention needs to be given to establishing opportunities for parental guidance and counselling in communities across the country.
We support the provision of basic parenting skills training in as many communities as possible to reinforce primary prevention of future problematic behaviours. Adequate parenting is one of the only hopes we have of safeguarding future generations.
We support a policy of "zero tolerance" of violence in the home, in schools, and on the streets. We also support the facilitation of workshops and training to help our children and youth find better ways of resolving conflicts without resorting to violence. Team sports could provide a positive outlet for the frustrations of young people and help to build a community spirit.
We have witnessed the dire consequences of the widespread disruption of our basic social structures of family and community cohesiveness in the recent spate of xenophobic violence. It is our hope that the creative and thoughtful implementation of some of the suggestions outlined above would begin the process of healing our wounded collective psyche.
- Paul Ashton, Astrid Berg, John Gosling, Peter Hodson, Helise le Roux, Gillian Mudie, and Gerald Stonestreet are analytical psychologists and members of the SAAJA.