Letter: Xenophobia should be classified as a crime, just like racism is

A refugee carries her possessions after they were evicted from a sit in protest against xenophobia outside the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) offices in Cape Town

A refugee carries her possessions after they were evicted from a sit in protest against xenophobia outside the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) offices in Cape Town

Published Nov 22, 2019

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Letter- IN MANY ways, xenophobia is no different from racism.

Its victims suffer from harm. Those who committed these crimes are motivated by prejudice, intolerance, ignorance and hatred based on people's identities.

The victims are excluded, discriminated against and marginalised. However, unlike racism, xenophobia is not regarded as a crime in South Africa.

Those arrested during xenophobic violence are not charged with the crime of xenophobia, but with common assault, looting and destruction of property.

The South African Human Rights Commission reports that after the 2008 xenophobic violence, 62 people were killed and thousands were displaced, some were arrested.

Only 16% of these resulted in a conviction, and these convictions were, among others, for malicious damage to property.

South Africa's Prevention and Combating of Hate Crimes and Hate Speech Bill is a significant step towards the criminalisation of xenophobia.

Under the bill, any act intended to be harmful or incite harm or promote propagate hatred on the basis of one's nationally, birth or language, among others, is a statutory crime.

Africa belongs to all who live in it.

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