Violence and Xenophobia in South Africa: Panafrican perspective.The recent events of violent flare ups in South Africa are unfortunately not singular.
They seem to happen regularly, in waves which target different communities of foreigners.
Then we read the news in world media outlets, which speak of ethnic outbursts of deadly violence in the streets of South Africa. In the wake of recent violent acts targeting foreigners, human life was lost.
Also, a synagogue of Black Jews where Zimbabwean visitors come to pray, has been victim of arson. These tragic events are part of a larger anger directed at African non nationals in general. FJN denounces the descent into xenophobic violence which threatens South African society.
What we are witnessing here are the symptoms of what happens when Panafricanism is put on the back burner, in the background, instead of at the forefront of discussions.
FJN as a Panafrican human rights association wishes to address this question, and offer some insights.
One of the fundamental axis of Panafricanism is Culture.
That is because Culture is what we have before us, when we peel away the colonial layer from African reality.
Politics can never replace African culture.
African politics can only speak in the name of African culture.
But in order to achieve this, this politicians need to cultivate the art of listening, not only the one of urgently speaking their
minds.
Because in Africa, even governance is part of Culture.
Eldership consultation, traditional courts, are part of culture.
South Africa is blessed to have functioning traditional courts, which demonstrate that even in matters of justice, culture is consulted and respected, and has popularity, whereas the political process still struggles to become legitimate in the eyes of the people.
In African society Monarchy is the summum guarantor of culture.
South Africa is uniquely blessed to have a living and vibrant Zulu Monarchy.
The functioning traditional justice tribunals in South Africa, which are attended by the people, are connected to Zulu Monarchy.
Once we understand that social anger and suppressed cultural identity go together, we can read the South African reality with more clarity.
A people whose Monarchy is not fully invested and recognized, will never fully feel citizens of their country. Especially when their Monarchy is perfectly functional, but not officially established as ruling the country.
As a consequence, some people might feel outsiders to the law.
Unfortunately when their situation is still poverty and misery, some people might become robbers criminals xenophobic, or they might even opt for political corruption, just to make it.
Many Zulus feel that seeing their Monarchy being put down before their eyes, is tantamount to dehumanize, delegitimize and even marginalize them.
Feeling marginalized in their own country might make some react to foreigners with anger, thinking that outsiders have it easier than the indigenous population.
This breakdown of morality, which comes when people see their Monarchy being shunned on one side, and often corrupt post colonial politics on the other, can be devastating to the social well being of a country.
When a people thinks that after achieving independence their ex colonial masters are still controlling their economy, and still defining their style of governance, they display signs of societal breakdown.
To avoid the consequences of such a breakdown, we must be alert to the cause: the disenfranchising of cultural norms which turn identity, pride, and morality, into a motivation to participate in society.
A people who massively trusts more its own traditional justice tribunals, linked to their Monarchy, than the State sanctioned courts, is sending a message.
Not listening to that message, being deaf to the centrality of traditional culture, is taking a dangerous risk, if not inviting such trouble as we have seen, to only continue to be repeated. FJN condemns all acts of violence, all xenophobia, and ethnic discriminatory speech. We pray for the victims of such acts, and hope for social peace in South Africa.
At the same time we call for a reflexion, over the importance of bringing the reality and relevance of Zulu Monarchy to the forefront, for we believe it is the only immediate solution to alleviate the threat of violent ethnic tensions against non nationals in South Africa.