A waking nightmare

It's a strange and terrible time in South Africa. The xenophobic attacks, which started in Gauteng province (Johannesburg, Pretoria and surrounds), have now spread across the country.

It's horrific. Tens of thousands of people forced to flee their homes -- again. Several killed, many injured. The scenes and headlines are reminiscent of this country in the 80s and early 90s, when there was widespread violence as people protested against apartheid, and then as faction fighting and killings took place in while talks were going on in Kempton Park, in the run-up to the first democratic elections.

We thought we'd put all of that behind us. We thought the awful past was past, and that while there might still be very serious social problems, we were dealing with them somehow, in a muddled way. Now this.

So many thoughts and feelings and responses.

One of the worst scenes was the front-page picture of a man being burnt to death while people watched. I'm still not sure what I think about that. My first reaction when I picked up my morning paper was horror and revulsion, and anger that the newspaper, by putting that photo on the front page, didn't give me any choice about whether I wanted to see such a disturbing image or not. But I reasoned that that if that kind of thing is going on, it should be shown and written about. This is the awful reality, it's no use putting our heads in the sand. Then yesterday I heard an item on the radio about that man's family making burial plans for him. How awful for them, to have to see their loved one suffering like that -- on all the front pages! I wonder -- had they been informed previously that their relative had been killed, or did they also wake up one morning to learn of his death from their morning paper?

Many of the commentators, callers to radio programmes and writers of letters-to-the-editor have pointed out that South Africans found refuge in neighbouring countries during apartheid, and that now it's our turn to host migrants from troubled places. But I haven't yet come across anyone pointing out how much South Africa still gains from neighbouring countries. Everywhere you go -- Zambia, Malawi, Tanzania -- there are South African shops and companies. Game, Shoprite, Spar. Vodacom, MTN. There must be millions flowing back to shareholders in South Africa thanks to consumers in these countries. Does this not carry some associated responsibilities?

More conflicting thoughts... Yesterday the paper had a 'good news' story, about an informal settlement where the residents have now said sorry for attacking their neighbours, and are inviting them back, helping to rebuild their shacks, and so on. I was briefly heartened by this apparent turn-around, until I thought about it a bit more. It's a bit like an abusive husband who's full of remorse after hitting his wife until she's black and blue. Tearfully, he apologises, asks her to forgive him, to stay. But of course in a few days or weeks, he'll do it again. Or have I become too cynical?

We find ourselves talking about these events and noting that now it's not only foreigners -- members of minority groups within South Africa are being targeted too -- and that's even more worrying. But why is it more worrying? As if somehow, targeting foreigners is less bad than targeting one's own compatriots. It's on a par with comments that this violence is partly the result of poor border control. This may be true, but in both cases the subtext is that while we're all horrified, the foreigners don't really have a right to be here, do they? And isn't that xenophobic thinking in itself?

But it worries us more, because it starts to get too close to home. Yesterday it was foreigners, today it is migrants from other parts of the country, and members of minority groups within South Africa. And tomorrow? Along with the horror of what is happening to others, is the unspoken fear of the rest of us all feel, though dare not whisper: "where will this stop? Will we be next?"

Has the lesson of aparheid not been learnt?  High walls, fences and riot police are no solution. Only a more just society can bring peace. We now have a more just political system. But economic justice has been neglected. South Africa is the most unequal society on earth. We've long heard warnings that this is a recipe for disaster. We're starting to see these warnings come true. So will we finally start doing something about it?