Do you remember the rivers of blood? I do. As if it was yesterday. That flow of water with something indistinguishable bobbing and eddying along. Perhaps a bunch of reeds or some flotsam. Then the form rolls over and you see an arm. An exposed shoulder. A foot. Part of a leg. It is a body. One body followed by another and another in a river of blood. Then the obscene, gruesome realisation hits you. The body count isn’t slowing down, it’s speeding up. This is a genocide.
In 100 days between April and June 1994, some 800 000 Rwandans were killed. In a country with a history of violence, ethnic tension and political tribalism, the death of Rwandan president Juvenal Habyarimana (a Hutu) was the spark that ignited the genocide. Following Habyarimana’s death, Kigali’s presidential guard began a bloody campaign of revenge, killing leaders of the political opposition. So began the slaughter of Tutsis and moderate Hutus while the world did nothing. Rwanda will forever live in the memory of the world as a moment of collective shame. The Rwandans who died there were failed by the media and the international community. When help finally did arrive it, was too little and way too late.
In South Africa the xenophobic violence has shown that hate is a virus which, with the right socio-political and economic conditions, easily spreads across provincial borders. At the time of writing this, some 42 people have been killed and another 25 000 displaced. We now know that our government was aware of the potential for violence with Intelligence Minister, Ronnie Kasrils telling the SABC: “Of course we were aware there was something brewing.” The cause for the xenophobic violence has almost been over analysed. You cannot open a newspaper or click on a website without seeing yet another eloquent debate on the causes.
As Zimbabweans, Mozambicans and Nigerians are burnt, hacked, shot and beaten to death; as our country’s international stature is decimated; as thousands crowd police stations, churches and other places for safe harbour; as families are torn apart; there’s the profound realisation. This is our collective moment of shame. This is a pivotal point in history and as it passes we will be asked: “What did you do?”
What are we doing to end this? Who are we helping? What action have we taken?
While it is unfair to compare this to Rwanda because of the hundreds of thousands of lives that were lost there, we need to ask ourselves how many more people must be displaced, how many more lives must be lost here? What must it take before we collectively rise up against this evil?
South Africa is a country with a proud tradition of collective protest where action was collectively taken against the most unspeakable evils. Now is the time to rise up once again and take action. For when it is over and becomes a part of our history we will be asked: “What did you do?”
As a member of the media, as a captain of industry, as a member of government, as a privileged person with resources, as a church leader, as a media owner, as an ordinary citizen we will be asked: “What did you do?”
Lastly if you are aware of any efforts aimed at protesting against the violence, bringing relief to the victims or any other actions that will benefit this situation please list them with your comments. Let’s hear what you’re doing to help.
Then if you live in the Centurion area and want to do something to help, please email me at mandyd[at]mweb.co.za. I am rallying with the Institute for Islamic Services of Pretoria. We are looking for blankets, warm clothing, baby food, baby supplies and non perishable food that can be distributed to victims of violence and displaced peoples in the Pretoria and surrounding areas.
It is not your Rwanda.
And that remark is rather insulting to the Hutu and Tutsi dead, let alone the situation there now.
You have the start of it, and you have the choice to do something.
When you have 800,000 dead in 100 days you will have a Rwanda.
Til then, I suggest you stop whinging and start admitting all the Hate Speech coming South from Zimbabwe is having an effect.
Let alone the possibility of deliberate “Agent provocatuers” in order to distract the world’s attention away from Zim and into SA.
Mandy – I have posted the same view – I think that you are right.
I think that this is pure ethnic violence.
I think that we have forgotten the Freedom Charter.
I think that we are reaping the benefits of decades or centuries of race based policies that continue to today.
It may be unfair to compare to Rwanda – but in Rwanda too once there were only 40 killed.
I am at a loss to know what can be done, I weep for the beloved country
Mandy
Good for you – with the help you are rallying.
However re Rwanda:
The death of the president was “the spark that ignited the genocide”. There is a fair amount of evidence coming to light that the president was killed by those that planned the genocide, exactly to supply the spark. It was very well planned you know – even to people having well prepared lists of names of those who were to die, which would have taken some months to compile.
Genocide is also happening again in Zimbabwe, like it did in the 1980s, and the world is told by SADC that it can’t intervene in a soveign state.
Explain to me the difference between genocide in Rwanda and genocide in Zimbabwe? Why is “the world” criticised for “not intervening” in the one and blocked from intervening in the other?
Mandy,
Among the many ways in which the present SA govt has let the country down, is its total lack of response in mobilizing relief efforts.
I know the scale of the disaster was different, but within 24 hours of the 2004 tsunami, giant Antonov transport planes of the India airforce were taking off with emergency supplies for far away Indonesia.
This despite the fact that India itself was hard hit. [ The SA govt would take 1-2 weeks to swing into action, for a disaster like that. ]
I was so impressed, that when I decided to donate money, I donated directly to the Indian govt, instead of e.g. International Red Cross.
You could have mentioned the tel no. of the Yusuf Mustafa Institute for Islamic Services : its 012 374 1584.
The best known SA NGO for emergency relief work is Gift of the Givers (also Muslim based). They went to earthquake hit areas in the Middle East and Pakistan, and helped with Tsunami relief work, but they say what they have experienced in Gauteng with the Xenophobia violence and its aftermath, was worse than what they encountered abroad.
Weekly Mail & Guardian May23-29 listed all known bodies active in relief efforts. Gift of The Givers has a JHB no. 011 832 1546.
I’m considering starting a dedicated website for Xenophobia relief efforts, information etc.
Mandy, as much as we would love to believe it to be, this is not Rwanda. This is South Africa, and we have a problem. There are few similarities: Poor desperate people with little options. The people here have one thing in common: A Constitution in beautiful words that mean nothing to them. No better life, not better medical care or schools than under apartheid, as a fact, things are actually worse than under apartheid for those people’s pockets. Sadly, as you might NOT know, if your pocket and stomach is empty and you luck is donw and low, high mighty and soothing words from a politician in an Italian suit and black German car who lives on a mere R600 000 per year, gifts and bribes excluded, means as little as the silly piece of paper what is called a constitution.
Mandy, you’re an ad guy.
So you understand the need for a hook – a headline that will catch people’s attention or an idea that will spark people’s imaginations.
It doesn’t matter if that headline is a gross exaggeration or without substantiation, as long as it sells the product or article, it has done its job.
Which is all fine when you’re selling Omo or steakhouse melts.
But this real life, where words and opinions count, where words and opinions have real effects, lead to disinvestment, to hate, to division and fear. And sometimes to love but generally that isn’t the case.
So I’d suggest you leave the hype and the buzzwords to the marketing and deal with the facts when trying to write editorial pieces.
40 deaths is a tragedy that our country needs to deal with but it isn’t (yet) genocide and most certainly doesn’t yet another person fanning the flames of fear.
According to Genocide Watch, South Africa is already listed at level four [There are eight levels within genocide]. That was before this violence had started. What will it take to escalate it to level five or six? And no it needn’t be 800 000, it can be as little as 400! It doesn’t take much to go from 42 to 400.
the world is saying the SADC can’t intervene in a sovereign state? hm. that explains nigerians on the ground almost everywhere in ecowas except senegambia.
SADC doesn’t intervene in zim because the one country with the manpower and military to do so refuses to do so. get it right. if mwanawasa had the manpower and the backing, there would be zambian troops on the streets of harare today. [the zambian economy is benefiting marvelously on their side of the vic falls, by the way.]
people tend to forget that large numbers of zimbabweans are going north, east, and west, as well as south to get away from bob’s messes.
@Alisdair Budd: I think it is not reasonable that you could know what would or could live in the collective minds of 800 000 dead Tutsis and Hutsis, unless you were on really good terms with them before they died, which I think is unlikely. And thanks for your suggestion, but let’s just agree to disagree, shall we?
@Walter Pike: I have just come back from Marabastad where I had some interesting conversations about what they believe brought about the Xenophobic violence. I will post that in my next post. Thank you for thoughts and comments.
@Lyndall Beddy: There are different definitions and interpretations of what constitutes a genocide. However the 1948 United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide defines genocide as “any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such: killing members of the group; causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group; deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life, calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part.” That said, the boundaries in Zimbabwe are very blurred. But I am not an academic or a politician, so there are better people to ask about that. Thanks for your comment though.
@Ricardo: Just want to make sure – are you saying that South Africa is “Africa’s only hope?” If so, I would say that is not so. What about Botswana, Mauritius, Gabon, Egypt, Algeria, Libya, Morocco…? And although Mugabe’s a despot and a madman, I think he may have a point regarding Western aid. The likes of Bob Geldoff and Bono haven’t brought relief, just dependence and corruption. I think aid in Africa is fraught and often hampers the very people it is meant to help.
Why should the “evil West” intervene? Is it only “allowed” to intervene when it suits Africa? Make up your mind, Africa! I say the West should stay out of it – let them muddle along alone. After all, the “evil West” is not wanted in Africa. Or is it?
The violence seems to have been orchestrated. How did it get to such a high and widespread level? Surely in this case there must be organisers behind it and these organisers will be well known to the community. What of the ANC in this? They are after all the main organisation in the townships what with all the youth leagues etc. The ANC must know who’s promoting these acts and could posssibly be the ones behind them. Which is why the govt response has been fairly muted.
I agree with this article. it start with one. Rwanda started with one hate-crime.and here we are again, battleground south africa, already on 42.
I think the S.A population just needs a re-education of the heart/conscience/mind. This country needs to reach a point where they can realise that tolerance is not something to be ‘tolerated’- but embraced.
Its baffling and sad at the same time that terms like “foreigner” now have a negative connotation in South Africa, to the point where off late- in the townships foreigner = the new “k word”
- To be a foreigner is now a reason to be beaten and treated like a 2nd class citizen-
S.A is treading on a very thin line, all it takes is a seed of hatred to spark a genocide. What is lamentable in this country is that a genocide of the rainbow nation is in effect, a genocide of empathy ( for these poor foreigners), a genocide of the lessons learnt from the end of apartheid.
and so what are we going to do?
@Oldfox : Thanks for your comments and listing numbers and the like. If you look to the right of the blog you will see links, I have listed some of the aid organisations (some of which you mention) there. It is by no means a comprehensive list. Just a beginning. And when you have established your website please let me know.
@Oom Koos: I spent much of today with displaced Zimbabweans living in an open field, or Home Affairs or an old tyre yard in Marabastad, Pretoria. They offered first hand accounts of attacks in Atteridgeville. They say the attacks weren’t carried out by locals. That it appeared to be deliberate violence against Shangaan speaking people. While I don’t dispute that crime and poverty are a contributing factor, that this is an orchestrated ‘ethnic cleansing’ (rather than ramdom acts of violence) cannot be ruled out.
@dibi: Very valuable contribution to the debate. Thank you for that. I wasn’t even aware of that.
@CB: I can’t understand where you get the notion of an ‘evil’ west. And really I cannot answer your question. I can’t even speak on behalf of all South Africans, never mind all Africans.
@Patrick: I am with you on that. I don’t believe that these are disparate and random acts of violence. The ANC broke away from the NEC conference early so they could visit the hot spots. Let’s watch the press tomorrow to see what they say.
@Tjedza M: So true. So sad, yet so true. But it is very encouraging to see the likes of Metro FM, YFM, Radio 2000 being incredibly proactive and speaking tolerance, peace, understanding. Spreading the good message. We need everyone of influence to join in and to get people to realise that the Mozambicans and Zimbabweans were the very people that aided (at great cost) the ANC and other people who fought for liberation in this country.
@David Smith: Actually David I’m a woman. I am also a journalist. I was a broadcast and print journalist way before I got into advertising. Studied B.Journ at good old Rhodes University. While I appreciate we may have different views, how many people must die or be displaced before it is a genocide? Our death toll now stands at 50. News reports say some 17 000 have been displaced while the red cross say they are giving aid to some 25 000. Do you think it is better that we not rage? Speak our mind? Write our own respective truths? That sounds a lot like Mugabe’s rhetoric in Zimbabwe.
For some of the respondents to this blog who don’t know what genocide is, I offer the definition below.
I notice that they do not define how many people of a group must be killed for the act to become genocide – according to this definition then, the killing in Rwanda and the killing of foreigners in SA are equally genocide – no matter how much the quantitive difference in mortality. Lets not quibble about numbers eh? Genocide is genocide is genocide. Klaar.
“Article II: In the present Convention, genocide means any of the following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:
(a) Killing members of the group;
(b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group;
(c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part;
(d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group;
(e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group.
What took place in Rwanda was State sponsored and motivated.
That is the reason why so many lives were lost in such a short time.
I reckon that the South-African government did not analyse the situation before the chaos.
But since then, it has reacted swiftly.
I laud your initiative to try to help the foreigners.
Some of your countrymen just watch the situation without doing anything
@Tjedza M: There are some who say that it is already a genocide. However you are in that the question is not about definition, but rather about what action should be taken. I don’t have the answer for that, but from a gut level feel that opinion leaders and those who influence communities should continue to speak out about xenophobia, while the media could be harnessed to communicate tolerance and understanding. Then on a practical level the failure of Home Affairs, Safety & Security and National Intelligence needs to be dealt with.
@Antony in Perth: Thanks for your thoughts and contribution. I’m with you on the numbers. The attacks spread to George and Mossel Bay in the Cape today where Somali shops were burnt and looted.
@Jean-Louis K: Thanks for your comments and thoughts but I don’t believe that our government acted soon enough. If they did the deaths and vast number of people who are now displaced, may have been contained. Despite National Intelligence two months prior to attacks I reckon they were largely caught sleeping.
Ricardo
The West can’t keep sending aid – when the food gets stolen to feed the armies of dictators, who then sell their minerals to China.
Oom Koos
Well said
David
40 deaths not enough for you ? One death is enough for me.
Mundundu
The sovereign state was not the only argument, although how anyone can talk about sovereignity when Mugabe lost to Morgan in 2002 and everyone ignores it, escapes me.
The other argument was that there was no threat to peace in the region and it was therefore not a case for the UN Security Council. If there is any silver lining that is it. With refugees fleeing to all the SADC states, this argument is out of the window.
If this is spontaneous, which I doubt, then it was inflamed by Zuma. Let him sort it out.
Mbeki is being criticised for going to Japan. For once I support him. Presidents of 44 Africa states will be in Japan. Exactly who Mbeki should be speaking to.
Patrick
I agree
Jean-Louis
Yes, Rwanda was state sponsored. But what makes you think this is not? The question would be which state?
Mandy
I agree with what you say – except that Zim looked after the ANC at great cost. That is myth. Simply not true.
All the sh1t in Africa is caused by Western intervention – we DO NOT want any more. What we want is a skilled detective agency to root out all these western interventionists (the cronies of Simon Mann et al). The political/economic destabilisation of Africa makes our natural resources incredibly cheap for people with dollars and euros etc. Have you not heard how Bob loudly accuses Morgan of conspiring with the West to topple him? Do you not know that the one who is shouting the loudest is the one guilty of the crime he is shouting about?
C’est moi
Mineral resources of Africa are not being sold to the West but to China- who will give their leaders arms to stay in power. The West won’t!
Oh rubbish – the only difference is that China is open about it while the west uses devious means – always has. They are a bunch of thieves and liars
c’est moi
There you have a point – but then China is getting a conscience as well – at least they eventually re-called their arms ship.
Pretending to have rules is just a little better than having no rules at all.
Mandy,
Website http://www.xenophobia.org.za is now live. Needs list of contacts for areas outside W. Cape.
Information such as contact details ofpeople who can assist, may be e-mailed to info@xenophobia.org.za
Thanks for the blog post
Thanks for helping us out!