Monday, March 31, 2008
Racism and Xenophobia
Is there really a difference between racism and xenophobia. I was thinking of looking this up in a dictionary, but in a non-academic sense- there is no difference. Its a group of people, not liking another group based on their identity or percieved identity. Is anomosity between `coloured' and black people in Cape Town racism or xenophobia? If xenophobia is a special category of racism reserved for foreigners, where do we draw the line. All of us, bar the indigenous South Africans are settlers in South Africa. For how long is a person still a foreigner? Travelling in Africa has made me realise how other countries revere and respect South Africa. When they come here to become part of our economy, we are racist toward them, but call it xenophobia, so we can some how see this as more exscusable than white on black racism
Is there really a difference between racism and xenophobia. I was thinking of looking this up in a dictionary, but in a non-academic sense- there is no difference. Its a group of people, not liking another group based on their identity or percieved identity. Is anomosity between `coloured' and black people in Cape Town racism or xenophobia? If xenophobia is a special category of racism reserved for foreigners, where do we draw the line. All of us, bar the indigenous South Africans are settlers in South Africa. For how long is a person still a foreigner? Travelling in Africa has made me realise how other countries revere and respect South Africa. When they come here to become part of our economy, we are racist toward them, but call it xenophobia, so we can some how see this as more exscusable than white on black racism
# posted by Ian Mackenzie @ 12:00 AM 
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I like the question,as I am confronted by my own prejudices daily - be they class, race, belief, nationality...the list goes on. And the reflection I see is seldom pretty.
I would start at the end of your blog entry and work my way backwards:
1. Are they here legitimately or not? If legitimate, it is probably because they have a desired skill and/or refugee status.
2. If they have a desired skill then they can be assumed to be a contributing 'part of our economy'. However, there is every chance that a fair proportion of their income is leaving SA bound for family needs and not perpetuating the multiplier effect rand for rand. This also raises the question of whether I should apply 'affirmative action' principles to choosing my domestic help - does South African trump other-African with equal skills?
3. If not having the same financial impact as a South African then one hopes that there is some knowledge transfer taking pace.
4. If not here legitimately (no skills or refugee status) then are they taking low-end employment / income opportunities from South African entry-level citizens?
5. Also, does this encourage the influx of family and friends, some of whom come from violent and traumatic backgrounds in strife-torn nations, and are thus more inclined to resort to violent crime in order to survive in SA? It only takes a small percentage of our immigrant population to be socio-pathic for it to degrade the psychological health and climate of SA.
So, I welcome legitimate immigrants who make a positive contribution to the society that so many fought for. (ok, so I wasn't one of the 'strugglers' but would still like to see SA be a place where all citizens can live in peace, freedom and security).
If I were on te breadline and saw throngs of unskilled foreigners flocking in and removing income possibilities from my family and friends, then I would probably become xenophobic / racist.
I would start at the end of your blog entry and work my way backwards:
1. Are they here legitimately or not? If legitimate, it is probably because they have a desired skill and/or refugee status.
2. If they have a desired skill then they can be assumed to be a contributing 'part of our economy'. However, there is every chance that a fair proportion of their income is leaving SA bound for family needs and not perpetuating the multiplier effect rand for rand. This also raises the question of whether I should apply 'affirmative action' principles to choosing my domestic help - does South African trump other-African with equal skills?
3. If not having the same financial impact as a South African then one hopes that there is some knowledge transfer taking pace.
4. If not here legitimately (no skills or refugee status) then are they taking low-end employment / income opportunities from South African entry-level citizens?
5. Also, does this encourage the influx of family and friends, some of whom come from violent and traumatic backgrounds in strife-torn nations, and are thus more inclined to resort to violent crime in order to survive in SA? It only takes a small percentage of our immigrant population to be socio-pathic for it to degrade the psychological health and climate of SA.
So, I welcome legitimate immigrants who make a positive contribution to the society that so many fought for. (ok, so I wasn't one of the 'strugglers' but would still like to see SA be a place where all citizens can live in peace, freedom and security).
If I were on te breadline and saw throngs of unskilled foreigners flocking in and removing income possibilities from my family and friends, then I would probably become xenophobic / racist.
# posted by 
: 4:10 AM
: 4:10 AM
I couldn't agree with you more. It's racism, pure and simple. But for the government to admit that is a tough call.
Nevertheless, when they dither over what to do, they not only assist the violence, they agree with it, irrespective of what they say to FIFA
Migrant labour has been coming to SA from Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Lesotho and elsewhere for decades. On top of that there are political refugees from Swaziland and Zimbabwe, but none of this is factored in to the situation. We live in a state of denial.
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Nevertheless, when they dither over what to do, they not only assist the violence, they agree with it, irrespective of what they say to FIFA
Migrant labour has been coming to SA from Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Lesotho and elsewhere for decades. On top of that there are political refugees from Swaziland and Zimbabwe, but none of this is factored in to the situation. We live in a state of denial.
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