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Prof Bawa’s Take on Xenophobic Attacks

Prof Bawa’s Take on Xenophobic Attacks

According to Professor Ahmed Bawa, Vice-Chancellor and Principal of DUT, the xenophobic attacks that shook the country earlier this year represented one of the most serious challenges South Africa has faced since 1994.

Prof Bawa was the guest speaker at the Home Away from Home! Is it Really? Seminar organised by DUT’s Art  For Humanity and the Democracy Development Program at the University’s City Campus on Tuesday, 15 April 2015.

“Let me begin with a disclaimer. I’m definitely not an expert on xenophobia. What you’ll hear today are some thoughts that I have about this really challenging situation that we find ourselves in,” he said.

“This isn’t an aberration. It’s not a spontaneous outbreak. I think there are some deep seated issues that we have to deal with and we aren’t working hard enough as a society to address these deep issues,” said Prof Bawa.

The xenophobic attacks claimed the lives of seven people in Durban and Johannesburg, while thousands were displaced.

“This capacity to construct something that we might call ‘the other’ is at the heart of this and it’s really concerning. We try to think of ourselves as ‘us’ and ‘them’ and it’s a very serious issue. An example us of this is a case which happened in New Brighton (Port Elizabeth) in the late 90s. There was an incident of fighting in the township and three people died. A local tabloid newspaper reported the matter, saying: two men and a Venda were killed this weekend. I’m sure you get my drift. We have to think quite hard about the race and ethnic dynamics within our society. It’s not just about what’s happening with foreign people today, it goes deeper than that,” reiterated Prof Bawa.

The attacks on foreign nationals have been described as a form of ethnic violence. In 2008, over 60 people died, mainly in Johannesburg’s townships.

– Andile Dube

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