Understanding the causes and the nature of Xenophobia in South Africa : a case study of De Doorns

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: This study seeks to understand the causes and nature of xenophobia in South Africa. Itinvestigates this through the case of De Doorns, where in November 2009 3000Zimbabweans were chased out of their homes, which were subsequently looted anddestroyed. This case was chosen because it is an example of a xenophobic incidentthat went beyond xenophobic attitudes to manifest in violent behaviour towardsAfrican migrants.The study was guided though three questions. (1) How can the violentxenophobic attacks in De Doorns be explained? (2) Do the explanations forxenophobia offer sufficient explanation for the causes and nature of xenophobia in DeDoorns? (3) Are the causes for xenophobia still evident in De Doorns? To answer thefirst and third questions key informant interviews with relevant organisations wereconducted with Agri Wes-Cape, the Hex River Valley Table Grape Association andPeople Against Suffering, Oppression and Poverty (PASSOP). In addition, publishedwork (reports and an article) has been analysed. To answer the second question,literature on the topic of xenophobia was reviewed and the findings compared to theanswers found for the first question.The key findings in this study were, firstly, that the causes for xenophobiawere twofold: there was a context and there were underlying causes; in addition therewere specific triggers for the xenophobia. This twofold explanation is evident inHorowitz's ethnic violence theory, where he takes into consideration both externalcontextual causes and immediate locality-bound causes. The context was the farmingcommunity of De Doorns, characterised by casual work, job insecurity and (often)poor living conditions. The underlying causes were found to be locals' frustrationwith and perceptions of Zimbabweans; this led to the development of xenophobicattitudes. In addition, labour brokers were found to have worsened the situation byencouraging causal work and by skimming off workers' payments. Governmentinsufficiencies were also an underlying condition: there was lack in an early warningsystem and there were service delivery failures. These underlying conditions gave abreeding ground for the triggers of the violence to operate. These triggers were foundto be of a local political character, and these highlighted the explanatory value ofMisago's micropolitics theory. A local councillor stirred up the xenophobia to gainpopularity for re-election before the upcoming local government elections. From this it is found that with similar or worse underlying condition xenophobia could flourish,given the 'right' triggers. This is an important finding in light of the up coming localgovernment elections in 2016. In terms of the nature of the xenophobia in SouthAfrica, it is argued that this often goes beyond the expression of xenophobic attitudes,and takes the form of violent xenophobic behaviour which is usually targeted at blackAfrican migrants. Explanations for this violence have historical roots in the armedstruggle and it illicits a response from government. Why black Africans? Theirproximity and their vulnerability are put forward as explanations, though it is alsorecognized that current explanations are insufficient.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University