Pretoria – Although some hostility continued towards immigrants in South Africa, many foreigners had been reintegrated with their communities, Home Affairs Minister Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula said on Monday.
Speaking in Pretoria at a conference on xenophobia, Mapisa-Nqakula said: "Communities affected by the violence have engaged amongst themselves and although hostility still continues in a few communities, the vast majority of those displaced have been reintegrated," she said.
The Minister was speaking while a Constitutional Court decision was being awaited on Monday on an appeal against a court ruling on the closure of Gauteng refugee shelters.
Last Friday, refugee camps around the province were expected to be dismantled.
Speaking of her visit to Atteridgeville in March, the Minister said she noticed that people were talking "past each other" when coming to people who were different from themselves.
Will take time for wounds to heal
"It will take time for wounds to heal. There is no room for arrogance," she said, adding that the loss of over 60 lives in the xenophobic attacks was due to "pure criminality".
This opinion was shared by Minister in the Presidency, Essop Pahad.
Referring to the xenophobic attacks which started on May 12, Pahad called the attacks "dastardly".
He said the lives of everyone in the country, including documented as well as undocumented persons, had to be protected.
Pahad said most immigrants contributed to the country's economy.
SA Human Rights Commission chairperson Jody Kollapen said although the Constitution made provision for diversity, this was still a very "romantic and elusive" notion.
"We are grappling with who we are," he told delegates.
He said the nation has been deeply damaged and that the stereotyping of people needed to be discussed frankly.
Marivic Garcia of the Centre for Study of Violence and Reconciliation said reintegration was a complex process that should be done properly. Xenophobia also adversely affected immigrant children.
The Africa Institute of SA's Patrick Matlou said South Africans needed to travel more in Africa to become acquainted with other cultures.
The Methodist Church's Bishop Paul Verryn said that xenophobia was a "world phenomenon" and not restricted to South Africa.
"Another matter which is of deep concern is justice. One can't be seen to be doing for A what we're not doing for B. You can't be seen to be doing for foreign nationals what you're not prepared to do for South Africans."
Too many rights
He added that reintegrating foreigners back into their communities was fraught with anxiety.
The House of Traditional Leaders blamed the attacks on colonialism and the apartheid regime. Kgosi FP Kutama said colonialism had been responsible for dividing peoples and called for borders to be scrapped.
The SA Council of Churches' Eddie Makoe blamed the attacks on the "deterioration" of the nation while railing against the "rationalising of violence".
A representative of the Somali Association of SA said it seemed as if South Africans had been given more rights than they could handle, and that this weakened the country's stability.
In News24.com
CSVR is a multi-disciplinary institute that seeks to understand and prevent violence, heal its effects and build sustainable peace at the community, national and regional levels.
