Brand South Africa Research Note 30 April 2015

By: Dr Judy Smith-Hhn & Dr Petrus de Kock

30 April 2015

A Nation United Against

Xenophobia

Brand South Africa

Research Note

Brand South Africa Research Note 30 April 2015

Background During April 2015 South Africa experienced a flare up of tensions between African immigrants and South Africans. Detailed media reports on the incidents, and implications are freely available. The purpose with this research note is to highlight how South Africans showed the true spirit of the country and its people through a huge and sustained mobilisation against acts of violence perpetrated against African immigrants. The government response to the incidents was swift and decisive. Brand SA extensively shared key decisions by the President, the Inter-Ministerial Committee tasked to work on finding solutions to underlying problems, as well as meetings the President held with the business community and representatives of expatriate communities. With this research note Brand SA would like to share with its stakeholders a snapshot of how strongly the country condemned the violence. This illustrates the true spirit of the nation as a people that live up to the principles of Ubuntu. Introduction The past weeks have witnessed an overwhelming response from civil- society groups and business in South Africa, demonstrating their support for foreign residents who have fallen victim to violence. This support has taken many forms from setting up shelters for those displaced by the violence, delivering food, clothing and other necessities to relief centres, to organising public demonstrations against xenophobia and collecting donations from ordinary citizens wishing to assist.

In Kwazulu-Natal province, where attacks against foreign nationals first broke out, the Red Cross, eThekwini Municipality, and Gift of the Givers were quick to respond by setting up relief camps, providing food, and much needed psychosocial support. Gift of the Givers, the largest African disaster response NGO, have also provided relief support in other provinces. Charities, churches and organisations such as Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) Southern Africa, and the Primrose Methodist Church, have also been major responders. CAF Southern Africa, developed a comprehensive list of donation points and organisations, and liaised with larger organisations in order to channel response funding to where it is most needed. There are two messages implied in the above. Firstly, that while media reportage on the incidents profiled South Africans as unwelcoming and violent, there is no question that the extent and pace of the relief efforts to date would not have been possible without this strong community activation. Secondly, if South Africans were as unfriendly to African peers as some analysts may claim, the extensive and speedy societal response would not have taken place. Citizens Demonstrate Support On 16 April 2015, thousands of residents from Durban and surrounding areas took part in a rally in a show of solidarity with foreign nationals. Elsewhere in the country Johannesburg residents assembled for a silent vigil at Constitution Hill on 21 April 2015. As candles were lit, people sang the anthem and hoisted the national flag.

Brand South Africa Research Note 30 April 2015

LeadSA, organisers of this vigil, called on people to show their support by lighting candles against xenophobia and then to post these pictures to social media sites Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Two days later, residents once again took to the streets, this time in a much louder protest through downtown Johannesburg. More than 5,000 people marched in a spirit of unity to show the world that there is another South Africa, one which welcomes migrants regardless of economic status or race. Essentially the purpose was to show that South Africans appreciate and welcome the contribution Africans from across the continent make to the South African society and economy. The event was organized by more than 200 partners and endorsing organisations! These included the African Diaspora Forum, Doctors Without Borders, Section27, and Corruption Watch, and Brand SA also participated. Elsewhere, residents from Alexandra, a hotspot during the 2008 violence, and the site of the widely publicized attack on Mozambican national Emmanuel Sithole, vowed to protect their foreign shopkeepers, rightfully labelling such attacks as criminal. On an even more positive note, the community of Yeoville, Johannesburg, home to thousands of foreign nationals, touted as a classic examplei of locals and foreigners co-existing peacefully, recorded not one single incident of xenophobia. This clearly illustrates that the attacks on foreign nationals were isolated. It is estimated that more than 1,000 South Africans believed to have taken part in attacks or incidents of violence have been arrested thus far. Between the strong security cluster and government response, and the overwhelming mobilisation of civil-society, it is clear that South Africans

reject such violence in their cities, and communities. All in all, the number of public demonstrations held across the country where citizens expressed their rejection of violence perpetrated against immigrants from peer African states far outweigh the number of perpetrators of these acts. From Durban in KZN, Johannesburg and Tshwane in Gauteng, to East London in the Eastern Cape, people took to the streets in peaceful protest. The Art of protest Protest took on a more artful note with the Wits Choir and POPFESTSA, organizing the People of Peace (POP). On 23 April, both the Wits Choir and the Young Wits Choir hosted a concert at Wits Main Theatre to register the universitys protest against xenophobia and the abhorrent violence against foreigners. On 26 April, one day before Freedom Day, the People of Peace organized a benefit relief event for displaced families and individuals affected by xenophobic attacks in South Africas three largest cities - Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg. All proceeds from the event went directly to Gift of the Givers, the latter spearheading the initiative to provide aid, relief, psychological counselling, shelter, clothes, and food to those in need. Social media put to good use South Africans also used social media to coordinate various civil society responses. The 'Durbanites Against Xenophobia' Facebook group, for example, has been a major coordinating point for civil society, as has the Joburg against Xenophobia Facebook group.

Brand South Africa Research Note 30 April 2015

IAMAFRICAN, yet another Facebook group, is working to support and organise protests, discussions, and to contribute to the relief effort. IgniteSA, a social engagement platform that provides educational, skills and enterprise development programmes and initiatives for youth across South Africa, have through IgniteUNITE provided effective and professional remote and on-the-ground coordination, focusing particularly on the needs of children in the camps and donation collection points specifically for kids' needs. Looking ahead Other organisations have recognised the need for ongoing dialogue that addresses the perceptions and behaviour that fuel violence against foreign nationals residing in the country. The loveLife Trust, for instance, will be organising its Born Free and Community Dialogues around these issues. South Africas national youth leadership development will be activating its volunteers from the respective communities (groundBREAKERs and Mpintshis) to lead discussions on xenophobia and human rights, while also touching on related issues such access to services and youth development. The NEPAD Business Action Against Xenophobia is likely the most prominent among the business responses. The event, hosted on 23 April 2015 by the NEPAD Business Foundation (NBF), was attended by businesses that have operations in other African countries and companies looking to expand into Africa in the financial services, FMCG, telecommunications, construction and transportation and logistics sectors. A number of action points were raised at the Forum, the final version of which will be adopted and carried forward by

participants and their respective organisations on 14 May 2015. These include: 1) the need for a multi-stakeholder coordinated approach and action, 2) communicating the right message, 3) reinforcing existing frameworks such as the African Peer Review Mechanism and the National Development Plan, and 4) relooking at education with a focus on leadership and teaching the values of Ubuntu to name a few.ii Concluding thoughts While we raised several examples in this note that show the strong social rejection of xenophobia and violence against African nationals, it is impossible to reflect all the statements, condemnations, and actions taken by South Africans. With this Brand SA would like to extend a warm word of thanks to all South Africans who came out in full force. More importantly we hope that by sharing this information our national and international stakeholders can see that South Africa is a nation united against xenophobia. This report illustrates the strong and unequivocal rejection of violence perpetrated against immigrants from peer African states living in South African communities. We call on our stakeholders to continue to seek new and inspiring ways of integrating the continent, and addressing some of the local (South African) and continental root causes of social tensions in our communities.

Brand South Africa Research Note 30 April 2015

Endnotes

i See http://www.enca.com/media/video/yeoville-classic-example-locals-and-foreigners-co-existing?playlist=107 ii For more detail on the preliminary action items, please see: http://files.ctctcdn.com/8360ff0d101/2a7daf57-

eb3f-4dc1-b787-dbe3ab392308.pdf

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Contact: Dr. Petrus de Kock, Brand South Africa, General Manager Research

+27 11 712 5000

petrusd@brandsouthafrica.com