the alexandra/diepsloot xenophobia outbreaks have, among other things, become a persistent news topic. i would find it hard to believe that the average south african does not know about these things, but for the sake of posterity i’ll recap it here:

in summary, the xenophobic attacks started up in alexandra - a “poor” outer-johannesburg township - just a few weeks ago. the stated reason for these outbreaks is the collective disgruntlement of the self-proclaimed “downtrodden” sector of south african society, now claiming that relatively prosperous foreigners are “taking their jobs and their women”.

to date, these outbreaks have killed 32 people, wounded many more, divided entire neighborhoods, spawned warzones, and caused a massive media blitz. for all of that, though, people are unclear on what the motivations behind the attacks really are.

some people are set on blaming the government for it’s inadequate policies, mismanagement, and general apathy towards these people. some are blaming the economy, others are blaming the xenophobes, and a few - mostly the xenophobes - are actually blaming the foreigners.

since i personally believe i am never correct, i will be the first to say that i don’t have the right answer. i think the situation is complicated enough to warrant that no one will have the correct answer. we can collectively arrive at the best answer, but that’s about it.

i’m thinking this all started back at the independence wars - as i like to call them - in the pre-1994 era where government was about to change hands forever. i don’t know how many people finally got around to reading nelson mandela’s “long walk to freedom” autobiography, but i have. while he does not say so explicitly, one of the tactics the ANC adopted early on - apart from blatant terrorism - was the art of rallying people by means of a promise.

this happened to the extent whereby the general idea was this: “colonialists” have stolen our economic heritage (though it was all built by “colonialists” to begin with, but i digress), and when the ANC is in power, we will distribute what has been stolen back to the people it belongs to. by inference, the masses believed they would directly benefit from putting the ANC in power, and the rest, as they say, is history.

now, so many years later, this is still the idea. 40 million people in south africa, still believing the government owes them something. unfortunately - and while most people won’t voice this - the government is simply moving to line their own pockets, even at the expense of the children and elderly of this nation. if there’s anyone with some hard evidence to the contrary, i invite you to send it to me.

immigrants were introduced into this atmosphere, by forces they could not control. whether illegal or not, africans are generally here to try and make a better life for themselves, and their families back home. they haven’t been (willingly) brainwashed by pre-1994 ANC propaganda, and they understand that it takes hard work to get somewhere.

south africa really is full of opportunity. and since the locals won’t take up that opportunity, the immigrants will. i’ve heard countless stories of people from zimbabwe, mocambique - even somalia - that relocated here, took whatever “menial” work they could find, and eventually worked their way up to (in some cases) owning their own businesses.

serious kudos to you, the victims of this unruly violence. you have come here, against all odds, forged a new life for yourselves, and done so with the single motivation to make life better for yourself, and - most of the time - others. in light of this, the current state of our unemployed is really quite embarassing.

our “previously disadvantaged” languish in the townships, content with their government-supplied electricity, water, housing and transport. they’re happy to beg at streetlights, knowing there will be people that still feel sorry for them. and through all of this, they’re more than happy to dance in front of government buildings, demanding better jobs.

i’ve come to understand that “employment” is really just a catchphrase. most “disadvantaged” south africans are not looking for employment. they’re looking for “more”. more money, more stuff, less work. this example is distilled in the example of one patrick, a man that my dad used to unofficially employ.

my dad had need of a person to do occasional garden work and/or moving things around. not physically demanding by any standards - i know this because i once did the work he did, and i’m no mr. universe. and the conditions were fair (my dad knows what it’s like to be unfairly treated, and he does not pass that on), he earned r100/day plus lunch, and worked an average of 3-4 days a week.

plus, though him, his wife occasionally got housework to do, and got paid the same r100/day plus lunch. in a time where it looks as if employment is scarce, you’d consider this a golden opportunity, wouldn’t you? i know i would.

but there came a day where, in quick succession, patrick scored nearly r600 from two people for doing relatively little work. my dad was the one that referred him to those people, and since it was a one-off thing in both cases, they felt it would be a good idea to give him a bonus.

considering that he had a stable flow of work, you would expect him to be thankful for the extra lump sum, then go back to an assured stream of income. instead, since that day, he demanded to be paid r150/day, plus lunch, and to do less physical work.

needless to say, my dad told him to “try and find that deal elsewhere”, and terminated use of his services. to this day, i do not know whether he succeeded in finding a willing employer offering those terms, and it’s more than likely he went back to begging.

in all fairness, you can’t say that patrick didn’t have a chance. you can’t say that the conditions were unfair, that the work was taxing, or that he was being exploited. but ever since it entered his mind that he could be getting more money for his time - thanks due to the unwarranted overgenerosity of a few - he suddenly upped his demands, believing he was somehow “entitled” to them.

this is the problem. they constantly want more. they’re never satisfied.

so when you have several thousand unemployed south african beggars that don’t want to work, and a few immigrants that haul ass and rake in the dough, it’s understandable that the south africans will feel they’ve somehow been wronged. they accuse the foreigners of “taking their jobs”, when in reality they haven’t moved to create their own opportunities.

i heard someone tell this story on the radio. a somali immigrant had moved into a “poor” neighbourhood, and since finding work was hard, he decided to start a small home catering business. he made, delivered and sold sandwiches to the local community.

two years later, that somali was able to buy a bakkie - cash - and help the person telling this story to move his things to a new residence.

if someone can come from halfway up the continent, create and sell a product - and generate a profit - using nothing but locally-available materials and skills, why is it that more south africans aren’t doing the same?

it has nothing to do with “lack of opportunities”. south africa is ripe with opportunities. it’s just that some people aren’t inclined to actually get up and do anything about it. but they’ll get angry at people who do, out of sheer jealousy. hence, the xenophobic outbreaks.

it’s sad that it has to go as far as setting people alight. i thought south africa had progressed beyond this barbarianism? evidently, we haven’t. fourteen years of freedom come down to this, and it doesn’t look like it’s going to survive. just my opinion.