Battle For Jobs Is Root Of South African Violence Against Immigrants

Apr 20, 2015 05:32 AM EDT

(Photo : Reuters) Foreigners from Zimbabwe wait to leave on a bus home, from a camp for those affected by anti-immigrant violence in Chatsworth, north of Durban April 19, 2015. South Africa's President Jacob Zuma on Saturday canceled a state visit to Indonesia to deal with a wave of anti-immigrant violence at home and promised peace to those who wished to remain in Africa's most advanced economy. The unrest which began in the port city Durban two weeks ago and spread to Johannesburg, Africa's economic hub, appeared to have died down on Saturday as police patrolled trouble spots. REUTERS/Rogan Ward

Thousands of immigrants, mostly from Zimbabwe, are fleeing the South African city of Durban after they were attacked by machete-wielding men. The anger of the locals stems from their perception that domestic jobs are being taken by the foreigners.

At least five died from the attacks; two are immigrants and three are South Africans, reports CNN.

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Some had to flee to Johannesburg in the middle of the night because of the threat to their lives. One of them, a 34-year-old woman from Malawi, said she walked 15 kilometers to get a ride to the capital city. Fortunately for her, the cab driver didn't charge the fleeing woman when he learned of her story.

That story is replicated thousands of times in various forms. The charity group Gift of the Givers estimates that last week, about 8,500 sought temporary shelter and protection in refugee centers or police stations to escape the violence.

Authorities have arrested more than 300 people in connection with the xenophobic attacks. To avert more violence, police departments deployed armed officers to stop more clashes.

At the same time, the South African government urged residents to keep in mind that many locals also left the country when the Apartheid government ruled the nation. During this period, other African nations accepted the fleeing South Africans and provided them homes but also allowed them to be employed.

But when the rule of the white minority ended in 1994, not only did the South Africans returned home; other Africans and Asians migrated to the county in big numbers are opportunities opened.

The violence forced South African President Jacob Zuma to cancel his visit to Indonesia. He instead checked the situation of immigrants staying in Chatsworth.

While official data placed the number of foreigners in South Africa at two million or 4 percent of the total headcount, other estimates said their number has reached five million at a time that the country's unemployment rate had worsened to 24 percent, BBC reports.

But the Gift of Givers noted that the xenophobic outlook is not shared by all South Africans. The charity is the recipient of support from locals who condemn the attacks "not only because they are foreign, or Africans, but because they are fellow human beings."