Latest xenophobic attacks a serious human rights challenge - SAMWU

Written by Mxolisi Ncube

Wednesday, 25 November 2009 10:34

JOHANNESBURG – A South African labour body has described recent xenophobic attacks, which displaced an estimated 3 000 predominantly Zimbabwean migrant workers as a serious human rights challenge, and called on that country’s government to align itself with the victims.

The South African Municipal Workers Union (SAMWU) also called on the administration of President Jacob Zuma to take urgent measures to ensure that victims of the attacks, which happened about two weeks ago, are properly cared for, with respect and dignity.
“We urge Government not to see the victims as a problem that they hope will simply disappear, but as a human rights challenge demanding fair treatment, and to lead by example in making sure that safe and appropriate accommodation is found for them,” said Andre Adams, SAMWU’s Western Cape Provincial Secretary in a statement released Wednesday morning.
“Last year when xenophobic violence erupted, resulting in the deaths of more than 70 innocent people, the resolve of all parties was captured in the phrase ‘Never Again’. In the meantime, not a single conviction has taken place despite police witnesses, film footage, and the evidence of those who personally witnessed the carnage.”
Adams, whose union is an affiliate of the broader Congress of South Africa Trade Unions (COSATU), bemoaned the recent attacks in De Doorns, an area of the Western Cape almost entirely dependent on casualised farm labour.
“At least 3,000 chronically poor people, mostly from poverty stricken Zimbabwe, who have been living in informal settlements, have been forced to abandon what little they had in the face of a rising tide of resentment from ‘local’ residents,” said Adams, adding that SAMWU was members had been cooperative in trying to ease the situation in the camps housing the victims.
“Despite all the promises that were made about ‘Never Again’ how has this situation been allowed to develop?
“We must unambiguously condemn the actions of those who have sought to attack and blame Zimbabwean migrant workers and refugees for the poverty they face.
“Victimising another section of the oppressed is not the way to build class unity. It simply plays into the hands of those who profit from exploitation, and in this case the farmers who pay barely more than starvation wages, and the labour brokers they deploy to do their dirty work for them.”
Adams also called on the government to look into the grievances of its poor majority so that they do not turn their frustrations into attacks against foreigners.
The union also called for the launch of an extensive pro-active media and education campaign that would encourage community unity, to empower communities to put their legitimate demands on local and provincial government, and to expect positive results.
“….A campaign that exposes the fallacies of the xenophobes and all those who seek to exploit despair, including those who ruthlessly tender for detention facilities and profit from the misery they cause,” said Adams.
“We call upon our friends in the trade union movement in particular to join hands with all workers, regardless of their country of origin, and make a concerted effort to show our solidarity for their plight, and demand for example an immediate end to the divisive and deadly practices of the labour brokers and those who deploy them.
“We also call upon all migrant workers and all those who have come to be with us here in South Africa to try and support their families, to be one with us. Join a union like so many migrant workers have already, seek out union membership, build organisation in your community, use the law where you can, but also refuse to be cowed by the bullies in our communities. We can make a difference, but we have to work together.
“Finally, we call upon all those who want to see a humane South Africa to add their voice to the campaign to end xenophobic violence. Support those like Bishop Paul Verrayn of the Central Methodist Church in Johannesburg who continue to show compassion in the face of complacency, and all those countless others who stand with, and not against those who are our sisters and brothers.”

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