The conduct of the people of Soweto shamed South Africa in the eyes of the world. To plunder and destroy the property of other people because they are immigrants out of sheer xenophobic hatred, is indeed an indication of how the principles of civilisation also bled to death on the altar of the New South Africa.
Of course, this is not the first time that incidents of xenophobia take place. A year or two ago the police had to step in when xenophobic violence became part of the looting and burning of farms in the Cape Winelands. The fact that a police officer in a police vehicle pulled up to a shop in Soweto last week and started looting and pillaging with the criminals, tells a story in itself. Where did he go to with that fridge? Is he one of the 11 million people whose houses were equipped with electric sockets recently? Pity that we now have no electricity in the country for those sockets to be of any use.
What amazes one the most is the fact that this xenophobic, racist behaviour fills the newspapers, is the cause for serious concerns and intense debate. Why? We have a president and other political leaders who incite hate speech, racism and xenophobia day by day. What can we expect of their followers?
Let us look at Wikipedia definitions for a moment:
1) Xenophobia: Unreasoned fear of that which is perceived to be foreign or strange. Is it not xenophobia when Julius Malema and Jacob Zuma repeats the tedious, communist inspired lie of European settlers who “stole” the land and how “they” do not belong in this country? Is it not xenophobia when a president uses witchcraft to “drive out the spirit” of Jan van Riebeeck, the first European to settle here? What is it other than xenophobia to brand the white minority as foreign and strangers to “African custom”. Indeed, mrs Zuma, Malema and all your henchmen – by definition, you are guilty of the crime of xenophia.
2) Racism : Prejudice and discrimination based in social perceptions of biological differences between peoples. Biological differences referring to the difference in skin colour, in case the president and the other politicians don’t understand. Is it not racism when Black Economic Empowerment and Affirmative Action keep the best qualified candidate out of the job to give it to an unqualified one, because he or she is black? Is it not blatant racism to enforce laws to benefit the vast majority at the expense of the minority? Is it not blatantly racist to expel a white student from a university for going to a fancy dress party dressed up as a black person, while it is socially acceptable for a black woman to dress up in a blonde wig and blue contact lenses? Are these double standards not blatantly racist?
3) Hate speech: speech that attacks a person or group on the basis of attributes such as gender, ethnic origin, religion, race, disability or sexual orientation. President Zuma and mr Malema: You are very guilty of Hate Speech. Your singing that cursed song “Kill the Boer” is hate speech in it’s very worse form. Your “Bring my machine gun” is hate speech at its ugliest. Hate speech is the attack on a group because of their ethnic origin or race. You deny it. And yet you direct all your hatred against the white population.
You see, the worst of this is the double standards. You praise the “unity” of the “new South Africa”, a land of opportunity and prosperity for all the people of your rainbow nation. In the meantime you are not committing merely one crime against the minority people in this country, you are guilty of three serious crimes against your rainbow. Why is that? Because in your view, your rainbow has only one colour in it: Black. And that is why it does not exist, for a rainbow of one colour is of no use to anybody. While the country is sitting in darkness (literally and figuratively speaking) the looting, the lying, the hate and racism and xenophobia doesn’t stop. I doubt whether you know how to stop it. And God alone knows where it will end.
Department Information
Front Nasionaal Suid Afrika
Petition:
Below is the link to a Petition with the aim of preparing formal charges against the South African President, Jacob Zuma, for committing crimes against humanity. The crimes include: Hate Speech, Racism, Denial of Basic Human Rights of minorities and Incitement to Genocide.
Jacob Zuma to be charged with Crimes Against Humanity
South Africa Today – South Africa News
