The xenophobic violence in South Africa during the past couple weeks that has left 56 people dead has had a
big impact on the poor Mozambicans and other foreigners living and working there. Over 34,000 Mozambicans have fled home to Mozambique and more are expected. From this side of the border where we have not seen the violence firsthand and where senseless retaliation against South Africans has so far been avoided, thanks in part to politicians and church leaders urging good behavior, I have to admit a bit of uneasiness about welcoming back our prodigal children.
Not to be overly stereotypical or anything, but the tens of thousands of returnees are largely poor Mozambicans who were eeking out livings selling pirated DVDs on the streets of Joburg or slaving away in gold mines (i.e. "stealing our low-paying jobs!"). The first few days back home in Mozambique may give some relief to be safe and joy to be back with family and friends, but pretty soon, these tens of thousands of poor Mozambicans who left their homeland to find better opportunities are going to realize that the DVD and electrical adapter street vendor jobs are all taken and that other gainful employ is about as hard to find in Mozambique as presta-valve mountain bike tubes.
To put a fine point on it, it seems that there will very soon be even more poor and desperate people at least in Maputo. And yes, I am suggesting that crime will go up. And based on the security reports I'm encouraged by my employer to read and heed about the kinds of misdeeds performed on a daily basis in some nearby South African cities, I am not really worried about my car's blinkers and side mirrors (since bolted down) going missing again. I'm worried about my entire car going missing, with me, shaking as one does after facing the barrel of a gun on the side of the street, desperately repeating the license number of the car driving away from me and then wondering why I didn't focus more on the carjackers' features than on a number I already know.
All this to say that the acts of xenophobic idiots (suppose that's just redundant) will certainly affect more than just those who were there to witness and flee the atrocities.
This whole situation is a shame most South Africans are frustrated about as they struggle to build the country's reputation as much as its economy in a post-apartheid era. But frustration and indignation among South Africa's non-poor aren't going to calm this storm. The Government had better get things under control soon (and this certainly means, you know, easy stuff like better wages and conditions for the poor and disenfranchized...) or it risks setting off a lot of retaliatory fires against its citizens in neighboring countries, including Mozambique.
Either way, this episode of senseless violence is already an ugly stain on South Africa's improving standing and does nothing to lend any
hint of success in the lead-up to the first Africa-hosted
World Cup in 2010. Even hard-nosed, it-must-be-held-in-South-Africa
FIFA is a bit worried.
I admit, the dynamics of my stolen side mirrors and possible political ranker and violence between international neighbors, as well as the potential that South Africa could lose its World Cup hosting job are pretty fantastically different in scale and impact, but at least the latter two situations should be high in the minds of Mozambican and South African policy makers (not to mention all that other stuff about providing basic social services and a living wage to their citizens...).
