Xenophobia tarnishes us, and the government’s irresponsibility is criminal

SA — the new kid on the block as far as democracy goes — is the cute little baby that Africa, like an adoring parent, has been proud to show off to the rest of the world since the demise of apartheid and the birth of the new dispensation. That pride has now given way to shame and embarrassment. It no longer praises our name. It spits it out. It’s become an insult.

After spending the better part of its history in splendid isolation because of its apartheid policies, SA once again runs the risk of being sent to purgatory. This time the rejection is much more painful because it is inflicted by our kith and kin, by people who stood with us in our darkest hour. Our victory was theirs too. There’s nothing worse than being shunned by one’s family.

But maybe we deserve such a punishment. Xenophobia is the pits. Yes, it is xenophobia. We should call it what it is. Burying our heads in the sand won’t make the problem to go away. Failure to identify the problem makes it more difficult to solve it. This flatearther’s denialism has brought us to such a sorry pass. We’ve allowed our embarrassment to cloud our judgment.

The idiots and scoundrels baying for foreigners’ blood, burning and looting their businesses, have trashed the country’s good name, perhaps irrevocably. No longer will the country be defined primarily by the hurts it endured under apartheid and the indomitable spirit of its people as they fought to overcome it; Chris Barnard’s pioneering heart transplant operation; the major events that it has successfully hosted, including the Soccer World Cup; the giants it has produced — Albert

Luthuli, Robert Sobukwe, Nelson Mandela, Steve Biko.

All the extraordinary accomplishments by this young democracy will now be sullied and overwhelmed by the stench of xenophobia. Brand SA has been tarnished. No longer the beacon on the hill, to show Africa that there’s perhaps a better way than war to solve problems. Xenophobia will be the albatross around our neck. It will not only affect SA’s foreign policy or government-to-government relations, business and trade will suffer too. The country’s liberation from the clutches of apartheid has seen many South African companies fanning out across the continent, bringing goods and services and jobs to hitherto poor and barren lands.

While these companies provide the soft power that is a crucial ingredient in foreign policy, they can also be the country’s soft underbelly. Nigeria, for instance, is already using the fact that it’s a lucrative destination for South African companies to hold the country to ransom. It’s always itching for a fight. Xenophobia has become a convenient fig leaf. Although many of its nationals based in SA have been accused of being involved in selling drugs and human trafficking —the initial trigger

of the unrest — none of them are known to have either been killed or injured during the mayhem. And yet the Nigerian government has been quick in issuing threats against the South African government, with President Muhammadu Buhari sending an envoy to Pretoria to dramatise the seriousness of his démarche.

But Nigeria is also exploiting the fact that the South African government has always been weak and timid when dealing with its African counterpart. Its voice does not always measure up to its power or potential influence. President Cyril Ramaphosa, a former chairperson of MTN, which has huge investments in Nigeria, should be careful not to be seen to be going easy on Nigeria. He should act in the national interest regardless of the consequences. Should the government give the impression that it would go out of its way to protect South African companies in Nigeria, the

Nigerians will always use it as a weapon. The only way to disarm them is by daring them to do their damnedest. They cannot pull the plug or trigger without themselves or their people also suffering the consequences.

So there will be major economic consequences. And for ordinary South

Africans, their intentions will always be questioned. Tarred with the same brush as the looters, they will be regarded with suspicion by fellow Africans. They will be asked a simple question they will never be able to answer: Why? Why are you doing this to us? The damage done to the country is incalculable.

Xenophobia, like crime, will come to define us; it will be our imprimatur. In fact, the two are siblings, born of violence and lawlessness. But the worst culprits in all of this, worse than the xenophobes themselves, is the government. Its irresponsibility on this matter has been nothing short of criminal. The country’s borders have been porous from day one, and those warning against such laxity were accused of Afrophobia. And a decade after the first xenophobic attacks — remember the Mozambican who was set alight? — nothing has been done to address the issue or its causes. Now that there is anger in the streets and people are dying, the government is panicking and running around like a headless chicken.

But the horse has bolted, so to speak. The mess we’re in should be laid at the door of the government. It is feckless, cowardly and incompetent.

There has to be an honest discussion on migration, without the usual namecalling, which will take people along. The AU, for instance, has signed a continental free-trade agreement with not even an attempt to consult citizens. But shouldn’t such a groundbreaking arrangement, which will irrevocably change the nature not only of the AU itself but of its signatories, have been subjected to a referendum in each of the countries? Without borders, you don’t have a country. But if that’s what people want, then they should be given an opportunity to say so.