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From May 2008 to 2011: Xenophobic Violence and National Subjectivity in South Africa

2013; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 39; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/03057070.2013.767538

1465-3893

Judith Hayem,

Historical and Contemporary Political Dynamics

Abstract This article examines the recurrence of xenophobic attacks in 2011 in the light of the events of May 2008. Using archives and secondary data, examining slogans and discourses heard at the time and reflecting on the author's own involvement as an activist alongside foreign residents displaced by the 2008 attacks, it is argued that the xenophobic attacks demonstrated a shift in the national subjectivity or conception of citizenship, from an inclusive notion implying participation in the future South African society to a dialectical representation of nationals against foreigners. It is further argued that, in its mismanagement of the 2008 crisis, the South African government contributed to the emergence of such attitudes and did nothing to stop the violence; hence its repetition. The notion of human rights that has emerged in South Africa is one of the keys to an understanding of the representations at stake: whereas human rights used to be a universal and founding notion in post-apartheid South Africa, they are now seen as a national privilege regarding access to basic needs. The article shows that the humanitarian management of the May 2008 crisis by the South African Government contributed considerably to obscuring the notion of 'human rights'. In order to oppose such a dangerous policy, there is an urgent need to revive the political debate in South Africa. Notes 1 Press Brief, 10 June 2011, Government must act against xenophobic violence and the intimidation of foreign traders, www.migration.org.za. *I wish to thank the organisers and participants of Panel 128 and 75 at Leipzig AEGIS Conference, in July 2009 –especially Chambi Chachage, Tamlyn Monson, Lauren Landau and Aurelia Segatti, as well as Michael Neocosmos for their useful criticisms and comments on previous versions of this paper. 2 For a detailed account of the attacks and their geography and for criticism of their description in the media, see S. Bekker, 'Explaining Violence against Foreigners and Strangers in Urban South Africa: Outbursts during May and June 2008', in A.A. Yusuf (ed.), African Yearbook of International Law (African Foundation for International Law, 2010), pp. 125–49; T. Monson & R. Arian, 'Media Memory: A Critical Reconstruction of the May 2008 Violence', in L.B. Landau (ed.), Exorcising the Demons within: Xenophobia, Violence and Statecraft in Contemporary South Africa (Johannesburg, Wits University Press, 2012), pp. 26–55. 3 Cape Argus, News Briefing, 24 May 2008. 4 See also, E. Mashaba and M. Khoza, 'Xenophobia Accused is ANC Councillor', http://www.iol.co.za/thestar/xenophobia-accused-is-anc-councillor-1.1086442, retrieved on 5 July 2011. 5 http://www.lhr.org.za 6 A. Moselagkomo, 'Traders Close. Locals Threaten Foreigners', The Sowetan, 17 May 2011, p. 8. 7 See for instance, M. Neocosmos, From 'Foreign Natives' to 'Native Foreigners': Explaining Xenophobia in Post-apartheid South Africa. Citizenship and Nationalism, Identity and Politics (CODESRIA, 2006, 2010), pp. 85–8; D. Vigneswaran, 'Undocumented Migration: Risks and Myths (1998–2005)', in A. Wa Kabwe-Segatti (ed.), Migration in Post-apartheid South Africa: Challenges and Questions to Policy Makers (Agence Française de Développement, Notes and Documents, 38, Mars 2008), pp. 135–59. Drawing on several convergent studies, both authors show how, in spite of the public denunciation of xenophobia by the post-apartheid South African state, many Home Affairs officials have regularly described foreigners as 'illegal aliens' and 'criminals'. As a result, Human Rights Watch (quoted by Neocosmos, From 'Foreign Natives' to 'Native Foreigners', p. 86) concluded as early as 1998 that 'South Africa's public culture has become increasingly xenophobic and politicians often make unsubstantiated and inflammatory statements that the 'deluge' of migrants is responsible for the current crime wave, rising unemployment and even the spread of diseases'. 8 Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, no. 108 of 1996. 9 FMSP has now been renamed the African Centre for Migration Studies. 10 I was involved on road R28 as an activist of ADF (African Diaspora Forum) and not as a scholar. ADF is a federation of foreign national aid associations. It was funded before the attacks occurred and initially was meant to promote inter-cultural values, reciprocal knowledge and peaceful relationships between South Africans and foreign African migrants. When the attacks started, it helped the displaced with food, shelter and comfort and kept a critical eye on the situation in the temporary shelters. ADF members became intermediaries with the authorities on the R28 in order to avoid violence against people left stranded there and sorted out their situation, following their failed expatriation via Lindela. See www.adf.org.za for more details, and T. Polzer and A. Wa Kabwe-Segatti, 'From Defending Migrant Rights to New Political Subjectivities: Gauteng Migrants' Organisations After May 2008', in Landau (ed.), Exorcising the Demons Within, pp. 173–99. 11 Neocosmos, From 'Foreign Natives' to 'Native Foreigners', p. 15. 12 S. Lazarus, Anthropologie du nom (Paris, Seuil, 1996). 13 In Gladysville (Gauteng) for instance, a pastor indicates that those who could not speak Sesotho were seen as foreigners. See S. Molapo and K. Ngubeni, 'Gladysville: Xenophobic Violence in South Africa after Apartheid', in K. Von Holdt, M. Langa, S. Molapo, N. Mogapi, K. Ngubeni, J. Dlamini & A. Kirsten, The Smoke that Calls: Insurgent Citizenship, Collective Violence and the Struggle for a Place in the New South Africa: Eight Case Studies of Community Protest and Xenophobic Violence (unpublished report, SWOP, July 2011), p. 94. 14 In Gladysville (Gauteng) for instance, a pastor indicates that those who could not speak Sesotho were seen as foreigners. See S. Molapo and K. Ngubeni, 'Gladysville: Xenophobic Violence in South Africa after Apartheid', in K. Von Holdt, M. Langa, S. Molapo, N. Mogapi, K. Ngubeni, J. Dlamini & A. Kirsten, The Smoke that Calls: Insurgent Citizenship, Collective Violence and the Struggle for a Place in the New South Africa: Eight Case Studies of Community Protest and Xenophobic Violence (unpublished report, SWOP, July 2011), p. 94 15 It has been now corroborated that at least 12 of the 62 people killed were South African people of Venda or Shona origin, supposedly darker than other South Africans and who did not speak or understand Zulu. 16 T. Monson, 'Making the Law; Breaking the Law; Taking the Law into Our Own Hands: Sovereignty and Territorial Control in Three South African Settlements', in Landau (ed.), Exorcising the Demons Within, pp. 151–71. 17 See, amongst many other instances, J. Gordin, 'It's Ethnic Cleansing SA Style', Cape Argus, 25 May 2008. 18 J.-P. Misago with L. Landau and T. Monson, Towards Tolerance, Law, and Dignity: Addressing Violence Against Foreign Nationals in South Africa (Johannesburg, IOM, February 2009), p. 22. 19 See D. Posel, 1948–1961: The Making of Apartheid, Conflict and Compromise (Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1991). 20 P. Geschiere and F. Nyamnjoh, 'Capitalism and Autochthony: The Seesaw of Mobility and Belonging', Public Culture, 12, 2 (2000), pp. 423–52; and F. Nyamnjoh, Insiders and Outsiders: Citizenship and Xenophobia in Contemporary Southern, Africa (London, Zed Press; Dakar, CODESRIA, 2006). 21 A. Wa Kabwe-Segatti speaks of a 'new paradox: despite the overall legal framework offering migrants in general more rights and guarantees than ever before, their situation in terms of human rights' abuses, economic and social rights and day to day interaction remains a preoccupying one'. Indeed, drawing on several research studies Neocosmos described a long list of 'criminalization, policing and [often illegal] repatriation' of foreign migrants in South Africa. Lindela centre is the incarnation of these exactions. Both insist that the lack of a proper ANC policy on immigration contributes to that situation. 22 Quoted by F. Gauthier, Triomphe et mort du droit naturel en Révolution, 1789–1795–1802 (Paris, Presse Universitaire de France,1992), p. 154, my translation. 23 See Landau (ed.), Exorcising the Demons Within. 24 Neocosmos, From 'Foreign Natives' to 'Native Foreigners', pp. 55–6. 25 M. Mamdani, Citizen and Subject: Contemporary Africa and the Legacy of Late Colonialism (Princeton N.J., Princeton University Press, 1996). 28 Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, no. 108 of 1996. 26 Neocosmos, From 'Foreign Natives' to 'Native Foreigners', p. 56. 27 Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, no. 108 of 1996, chapter 2 29 It must be noted though that in the South African Constitution, being a citizen is a keyword at the end of the paragraph in contrast with the previous lines. Perhaps this ambiguity in the Constitution itself is at the heart of the change in the concept of the nation. 31 E. Spitz, 'La jurisprudence de la Cour constitutionnelle sud-africaine relative aux droits de l'homme', in G. Conac, F. Dreyfus & N. Maziau (eds), La République d'Afrique du Sud: Nouvel Etat, Nouvelle Société (Paris, Economica, 1999), p. 55, my translation. 30 See, among others D. Posel, Commissioning the Past: Understanding South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission (Johannesburg, Witwatersrand University Press, 2002). 32 African National Congress, The Reconstruction and Development Programme: A Policy Framework (Johannesburg, Umanyano Publications, 1994), p. 7. 33 Although I would not talk of 'economic citizenship', my findings echo Michael Neocosmos's notion. 34 For more detail, see J. Hayem, La figure ouvrière en Afrique du Sud (Paris, IFAS-Karthala, 2008). 35 I did not interview workers on that specific issue at the time nor conduct similar research with the unemployed, which might have contrasted with those results. Nevertheless their replies show that an alternative notion of subjectivity in relation to the nation and the country did exist at the time, at least among employed workers. See J. Hayem, 'The "Voucher" Strike: Workers' Political Subjectivities in Post-apartheid South Africa', Journal of Asian and African Studies, 47, 5 (2012), pp. 516–29. 36 M. Silverman and T. Zack, 'Housing Delivery, the Urban Crisis and Xenophobia', in S. Hassim, T. Kupe and E. Worby (eds), Go Home or Die Here: Violence, Xenophobia and Reinvention of Difference in South Africa (Johannesburg, Wits University Press, 2008), pp. 147–61. 37 Zulu for: 'Go away foreigners go!' 38 Devan Pillay develops a close argument about a culture of entitlement in 'Relative Deprivation, Social Instability and Cultures of Entitlement', in Hassim, Kupe and Worby (eds), Go Home or Die Here, pp. 93–104. 39 Von Holdt, Langa, Molapo, Mogapi, Ngubeni, Dlamini & Kirsten, The Smoke that Calls, p. 27. 40 As noted in an article written by L. Haigue and H. Solomon from the Centre for International Policy Studies in Pretoria which was published in the Cape Argus, the new 1998 Refugee Act is rather progressive and opens, at least theoretically, most of those rights to foreign residents, once asylum status or refugee status is granted, with the exception of political rights. Citizenship is a requirement for the right to vote, as is the case in most countries. 41 Quoted by N. Africa, 'Les politiques publiques en faveur du bien être', in Conac, Dreyfus & Maziau (eds), La République d'Afrique du Sud, pp. 47–55. 42 M. Naudé, 'Rights, the Public and the South African Constitution: Civil Society and the Performance of Rights', Anthropology Southern Africa, 31, 1 & 2 (2008), pp. 58–69. 43 Of course, Mandela does not call for a demagogic conception of representation where people should be followed whatever the direction they are heading towards, including even xenophobia. He contends rather that the State can be prescribed by people. 44 See, for instance, J. Kirshner, ' "We are Gauteng People": Challenging the Politics of Xenophobia in Khutsong, South Africa', Antipode, 44, 4 (2012) pp. 1,307–328, pp. 1,322–323; Von Holdt, Langa, Molapo, Mogapi, Ngubeni, Dlamini & Kirsten, The Smoke that Calls, and D. Kell and C. Nizzu's documentary, on Abahlali BaseMondjolo Shack-dwellers in Umlazi, Dear Mandela, 90 minutes, United States, Producers: D. Kell, C. Nizza, T. Brown & N. Brandt. 45 Ex-Department of Home Affairs minister Buthelezi's (in Mandela presidency) words echo like a premonition to that view when he stated that '[i]f we as South Africans are going to compete for scarce resources with millions of aliens who are pouring into South Africa then we can bid goodbye to our Reconstruction and Development Programme'. See ISS paper at http://www.iss.co.za/pubs/ASR/6No1/Christie.html, retrieved July 2011. 46 T. Monson, 'Making the Law; Breaking the Law; Taking the Law into Our Own Hands: Sovereignty and Territorial Control in Three South African Settlements', in Landau (ed.), Exorcising the Demons Within, pp. 151–71. 47 See for example T. Monson, 'Alibis for Xenophobia: Producing Knowledge, Reproducing State Borders', Geopolitics, forthcoming, who clearly invalidates that thesis. 48 In fact, the humanitarian crisis, referred to international standards, was the only one to be properly acknowledged. 49 Pretoria News, 14 May 2008. See also Mail & Guardian (Johannesburg): 'Minister: Xenophobic Violence Under Control', 26 May 2008; ANC Daily News Briefing: 'Attacks on Foreigners Not Xenophobic: Mbeki', 3 July 2008. 50 To make a comparison: when US President George Bush did not visit New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, this was widely understood as a sign of how little he cared for the people affected. 51 Democratic Alliance spokesman, John Moodey, observed as early as 15 May that 'The army should only be used in a civilian context in case of serious emergency. But I believe we may have reached that stage', SAPA. 52 'Nation in Disgrace', The Star, 20 May 2008. 53 On 15 May, SAPA reported that 'Lawyers for Human Rights expressed concern about the army being used to help quell the violence. "Such use of the military risks exacerbating the situation and creating a security environment similar to that continuously used prior to 1994", the organisation said'. 54 Neocosmos, From 'Foreign Natives' to 'Native Foreigners', pp. 55–8. 55 J. Kirshner, "We are Gauteng People": Challenging the Politics of Xenophobia in Khutsong, South Africa", Antipode, 44, 4 (2012) pp. 1,307–328, pp. 1,322–323. 56 Radio and television address to the nation by Thabo Mbeki, on the occasion of Africa Day, 25 May 2008, http://www.anc.org.za/show.php?id = 4172, accessed 8 January 2013. 58 Radio and television address to the nation. 57 See the parallel Zuma declaration, 'Maybe we (ANC) haven't been able to explain how much African countries helped us during the struggle for our freedom', in X. Mbanjwa, 'Umshini isn't a Song to Kill, Says Zuma: ANC Leader Condemns Attacks on Foreigners', The Star, 19 May 2008. 59 K. Maughan and SAPA, 'Mbeki, Zuma Condemn Attacks; Aid Agency Calls for Foreign Status', Pretoria News, 19 May 2008. 60 C. Bailey, 'Migrant Attacks: Trials Next Month', The Star, Edition 2, 17 June 2008. 61 See for instance, T. Monson and J.P. Misago, 'Why History Has Repeated Itself: The Security of Structural Xenophobia', SA Crime Quarterly, 29 (September 2009), p. 29, regarding such cases at Itelereng. 62 See for instance, T. Monson and J.P. Misago, 'Why History Has Repeated Itself: The Security of Structural Xenophobia', SA Crime Quarterly, 29 (September 2009), p. 29, regarding such cases at Itelereng 63 L. Rondganger, 'Tension Has Been Brewing in the Area for Many Years', The Star, 16 May 2008. 64 J. Gordin, E. Momberg and Sapa, 'Cores Flee as Gauteng Attacks Spread', Cape Argus, 18 May 2008. 65 See for instance, 'Rebuilding Communities after Xenophobia', http://www.sagoodnews.co.za/general/rebuilding_communities_after_xenophobia.html, retrieved August 2008. 66 See for instance, A. Cox, 'Reintegration Set to be Fraught', The Star, Edition 1, 17 June 2008. 67 J. Sharp, ' "Fortress SA": Xenophobic Violence in South Africa', Anthropology Today, 24, 4 (August 2008), pp. 1–3. 68 In some places where no violence erupted, such as Soweto, local organisations worked hard to calm the spirit and avoid any outbursts of violence. Similarly, in Alexandra, some NGOs and local civics tried their best to restore peace. I am here referring to the absence of active state-led action for reintegration, organised and assumed as such. 69 See http://www.sawid.co.za/index.php?option = com_content&task = view&id = 76&Itemid = 78 for more details. 70 M. Neocosmos, 'The Politics of Fear and the Fear of Politics', June 2008, available at http://www.abahlali.org/node/3616 71 M. Neocosmos, From 'Foreign Natives' to 'Native Foreigners': Explaining Xenophobia in Post-apartheid South Africa. Citizenship and Nationalism, Identity and Politics (CODESRIA, 2006, 2010), p. 56. 72 Although it is good news for Zimbabwean people living in South Africa, the Zimbabwean documentation project launched in September 2010 cannot qualify as such as it stresses a bilateral agreement between South Africa and Zimbabwe within SADC rather than access to rights based on working in a country. 73 D. de Lange and S. Mkhwanazi, 'Temporary Amnesty Considered for Refugees', The Mercury, 30 May 2008. 74 D. Vigneswaran, 'Undocumented Migration: Risks and Myths (1998–2005)', in Segatti & Landau (eds), Migrations in Post-Apartheid South Africa: Challenges and Questions to Policy Makers (Agence française de Développement, 2008), pp. 135–62. 75 I visited various camps with ADF on 20 July and had informal discussions with several displaced people. OCHA and Amnesty International investigations corroborate those findings. 76 Home Affairs officials told ADF that they used the opportunity to issue a new type of secured documentation which included fingerprints. This was never clearly explained to the people and, indeed, was a strange explanation. Amnesty reports confirm that 'there was poor communication about the implications of camp residents signing the 'Individual Data Collection Form' (Amnesty Report, p.11) and that some government statements amounted to 'a clear threat on the part of the South African state to breach it's legal obligations' (p. 13). 77 M. Agier, Gérer les indésirables. Des camps de réfugiés au gouvernement humanitaire (Paris, Flammarion, 2008). 78 M. Foucault, 'La naissance de la médecine sociale', pp. 207–28, in Dits et écrits, t. 2 (Paris, Gallimard, 2001). This concept is used to indicate that power and politics are exerted on people's lives and bodies (bios in Greek) as opposed to territories. 79 M. Foucault, 'La naissance de la médecine sociale', pp. 207–28, in Dits et écrits, t. 2 (Paris, Gallimard, 2001). This concept is used to indicate that power and politics are exerted on people's lives and bodies (bios in Greek) as opposed to territories, p. 223. 80 Personal discussion with camp manager at Glenanda/Rifle Range. 81 SAFM afternoon interview with Minister of Home Affairs, Mapisa-Nqakula, 24 July 2008. 82 Personal notes taken during Minister of Home Affairs, Mapisa-Nqakula's speech at the press conference in Lindela Repatriation Centre on 31 July 2008. 83 United Nations Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs Regional Office for Southern Africa (UNOCHA ROSA), Recommendations Stemming from Lessons Observed of the Response to Internal Displacement Resulting from Xenophobic Attacks in South Africa May–December 2008, p. 36. 84 Amnesty Report, p. 28. 85 L. Cabane, 'Treating Social Conflicts as Disasters. The Rise of Disaster Management in Post-Apartheid South Africa in Dealing with Violent Conflicts' (unpublished paper, European Conference on African Studies, Panel 19: 'Translating Conflicts', Leipzig, 3 to 7 June 2009). 86 G. Agamben, Homo Sacer. Sovereign Power and Bare Life (Stanford, CA, Stanford University Press, 1998). 87 After long debates we had convinced the R28 people to come forward to us indicating what they wished for their future. Those lists convinced UNHCR representatives to come on the ground to process people officially. But as soon as they arrived on road R28 and started their administrative work, police arrived too. 88 A judicial battle took place around the closure of the camp. See for instance, Thabiso Thakali, 'Temporary Reprieve for Refugees. Victims of Xenophobic Violence Can Remain in Their Camps Until Monday', The Star, Edition 1, 16 August 2008. 89 Personal interview with M. Gbaffou, ADF President, Johannesburg, 28 July 2009. 90 Foreign policy and pre-crisis xenophobia also played their part but lie outside the scope of the present analysis. 91 Neocosmos, 'The Politics of Fear and the Fear of Politics'. 92 Kirshner, 'We are Gauteng People'. 93 Sharp, 'Fortress SA'.