Riots in Durban in 2015

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Violence was used during rioting against migrants in the South African city ​​of Durban and its surroundings in April 2015 . Six people were killed, around 5,000 people were evicted from their homes and property of foreign residents was widespread. The attacks, which were described as xenophobic in public , were directed against people who mainly come from the Democratic Republic of the Congo , some from Ethiopia and Malawi .

Events

The riots developed in the Isipingo district of Durban when foreign roommates were attacked there, after which, following numerous strikes by local workers, people from their circle were fired and replaced with foreign workers. The attacks then spread to Isipingo and other informal settlements of Durban such as Kenville and Greenwood Park . The xenophobic mood is said to have been fueled by the statements of the Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini at a meeting in Pongola , who is said to have asked African migrants living in South Africa to return to their home regions.

Hundreds of people sought refuge at Chatsworth Police Station on April 13 when part of that settlement was again exposed to serious threats. Under police protection, the migrant families displaced from their homes were taken to a makeshift camp in Isipingo Beach .

Against this development, a protest demonstration formed in the center of Durban on April 14th, which was narrowed by civilian vehicles around 11 p.m. and threatened by unemployed young people. The police deployed teams with water cannons , rubber bullets and tear gas to separate the conflicting parties . The permit for the protest demonstration had previously been canceled by the city and should be postponed because the local authorities did not consider a safe process to be feasible beforehand. The day after this event, protesters gathered in front of Durban City Hall , where speakers spoke about the incidents.

Journalists are of the opinion that similar riots can revive in those residential areas in which the living conditions are particularly unfavorable, regardless of the respective regional background of their residents.

Criticism and impact

The police operation on April 14 in downtown Durban was criticized for its supposedly excessive reaction against the approximately 300 demonstrators, as was the police reaction the following day at the gathering in front of Durban City Hall .

The invitation to migrants to return to their African home countries encouraged those in Gauteng province to make xenophobic statements, created a heated mood in South African society and sparked a heated controversy.

Thousands of people gathered for a demonstration in Johannesburg on April 23, 2015 to show their support and solidarity for the African migrants. A similar event had already taken place in Durban on April 16.

On April 23, 2015, three buses carrying Zimbabwean citizens left the Beitbridge border crossing in South Africa. The Zimbabwean government had issued travel documents to those wishing to return at short notice.

In Mozambique , strangers threw stones at the vehicles of South Africans. Protests took place in front of numerous South African embassies in African countries. In Nigeria , South African companies have been asked to stop doing business.

According to domestic observers, the remarks made by the Zulu king constitute a political explosive for South Africa. 21 years after the end of apartheid and white minority rule, the country is facing entrenched poverty and high unemployment.

The Zulu king publicly stated that statements of his speech in Pongola were misunderstood and at the same time condemned the riot as a "heinous" act. Mangosuthu Buthelezi gave him public support for this. On the other hand, observers who know the Zulu language believe that his words were completely clear and directed against the foreigners.

Development before 1994

In many urban and conurban regions of South Africa, tension built up in their regional labor markets over several decades, because the population grew faster than the number of jobs required. The average age was low, many of the unemployed people had little or no education, which can be seen as a direct result of apartheid . For the whole of South Africa, it was the case that not all of the children enrolled in school in 1978 passed the final exams after 11 years, 78 percent of the white students graduated from school and only 25 percent of the black students. In the 1980s, practically no new jobs were created in the official labor market sector.

According to studies by the Durban research institute Sanlam Economic Research Department , around 1990 75 percent of young people in the entire former province of Natal did not have a regular job. For the future of South Africa, the then labor minister predicted in 1987 that there could be up to 6 million unemployed in the year 2000. In his budget address to the Legislative Assembly of his homeland in May 1991, the KwaZulu Finance Minister assumed that 70 percent of the then working population within the Durban economic region could be unemployed in 2000.

Web link

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Reuters: South Africa anti-foreigner violence spreads to center of Durban . News from April 14, 2015 on www.reuters.com (English)
  2. ↑ Faith Karimi, Diana Magnay: Shops set ablaze, looted as xenophobic attacks spread in South Africa . News from April 18, 2015 on www.edition.cnn.com (English)
  3. ↑ UNHCR: UNHCR concern at xenophobic violence in South Africa . News from April 17, 2015 on www.unhcr.org (English)
  4. ↑ La Tempete: Violences against the Congolais in Durban: L'ambassade d'Afrique du Sud présente des excuses . News from April 20, 2015 on www.7sur7.cd (French)
  5. ↑ nce Mkhize: Durban march against xenophobia canceled amid fear of attacks . News from April 17th, 2015 on www.bdlive.co.za (English), viewed on April 25th, 2015
  6. ↑ BBC News: South Africa arrests over xenophobic attacks in Durban . News from April 10, 2015 on www.bbc.com (English), viewed on April 25, 2015
  7. ↑ Press statement: LHR condemns ongoing xenophobic violence in Durban and calls for restraint . seen on www.lhr.org.za on April 25, 2015
  8. ↑ 24.com: Max du Preez: Edward Zuma showing his true colors message from April 24, 2014 on www.news24.com (English)
  9. ↑ 24.com: Anti-xenophobic march 'shows real SA' . News from April 23, 2015 on www.news24.com (English)
  10. ↑ The Herald: More flee xenophobic attacks . News from April 23, 2015 on www.herald.co.zw , viewed on April 27, 2015
  11. ^ Vasudevan Sridharan: South Africa xenophobic attacks: President Jacob Zuma heckled in Durban . on www.ibtimes.co.uk , viewed April 27, 2015
  12. ↑ a b Ofeibea Quist-Arcton: South Africa's Xenophobic Attacks 'Vile,' Says Zulu King Accused Of Inciting Them . News from April 26, 2015 on www.npr.org (English), viewed on April 27, 2015
  13. ↑ David Smith: Zulu leader suggests media to blame for South Africa's xenophobic violence . Reported April 20, 2015 on www.theguardian.com (English), viewed April 27, 2015
  14. ↑ John Kane-Berman: South Africa's Discreet Change . Zurich, Osnabrück, 1992, pp. 112-114 ISBN 3-7201-5240-5