ALEXANDRA PROTESTS: Xenophobia, crime and poverty trigger anger in Alexandra By Bheki C. Simelane colibheki
These were the words of a young man perched high up on the Alexandra men’s hostel. His words were directed to anyone who cared to listen, but fell on a passerby. It was an elderly woman.Voetsek,” the elderly woman said. “You are an idiot; you want people to say people who live in hostels are violent. You want people to say Zulus are violent people,” she said.
Residents said they were striking now because they continue to be ignored. They were striking only now because elections were drawing nearer and politicians were likely to hear and solve their problems.We are fed up with these foreign nationals. If it’s Somalis, they sleep on top of the very mealie meal they sell us. They spit right here when they want to. If it’s Nigerians, it’s drugs and crime. These people bring drugs, and they bring illness in our country.
She said despite the high crime rate in the area, police were nowhere to be seen. Mabuza said she had been attacked three times by gun-toting thugs and when she reported this, the police failed to investigate and told her she should have taken the thugs’ car registration numbers.The latest outbursts in Alexandra come as recent xenophobic violence in parts of the country continues to be blamed on some politicians’ xenophobic sentiments towards foreign nationals.
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