COSATU condemns the criminal acts masked and reported as Xenophobia
1 April 2019
The Congress of South African Trade Unions condemns in the strongest terms the developments in KZN with the attacks and looting of shops belonging to non-South African residents and stealing of their belongings.
We have watched with despair and concern the criminal act by some South Africans during the spate of violence against foreign nationals and their properties. These criminal elements do not act on behalf of all South Africans, they must be dealt with and experience the full might of the law. There is no excuse whatsoever that can make this intolerable behaviour acceptable. These criminals are an enemy to the good reputation that South Africa is striving to uphold.
While we accept that there are elements of xenophobic targeting of foreign African Nationals, South Africans are loving and welcoming and generally not xenophobic. We know too well that these acts happen mostly where people are struggling with poverty and these people generally live harmoniously together irrespective of where in Africa they come from. It takes just one or two disgruntled person(s) with criminal intend provoking the desperation due to poverty to mobilise such behaviour. We make no mistake in taking this as if it is fully xenophobia, we understand that there are criminals who are hell bound to tarnish the image of our country and they must be brought to book, criminally charged and convicted. South Africa did not get here on its own, S.A. was carried on the backs of the very same people of the African countries some of us are attacking today.
South Africans need to be educated and understand the impact of their behaviour on the country as a whole, that South Africa does not operate in silo, we are not an island but we exist and operate within a collective of other countries particularly African Countries who consider us as brothers and sisters, countries who know where we come from as a country and have sweat blood in support of our struggle. As some of our own attack foreign African Nationals living in South Africa, we must not forget that we have our own, who are also living and working in other countries within the continent. We must be careful lest we stab ourselves in the back losing our own when we need them the most.