http://www.witness.co.za/?showcontent&global[_id]=10863

Citizenship and belonging
25 Jul 2008
Thabo Manyathi

The regrettable incidents of xenophobic attacks against Africans by other fellow Africans have come and gone. However, the scars of those attacks will remain with us for some time. Most important is the manner in which local, provincial and national governments dealt with and continue to deal with people on the move.

Our migration policies, which contain structural forms of discrimination, have helped to fuel xenophobic attacks against people on the move. The inability of the government at all levels, jointly and collectively, to deal with the crisis resulting from xenophobic attacks leaves much to be desired. The vicious and non-caring manner in which Durban City and its security apparatus have dealt with the refugees, consisting mainly of women and children, is appalling, to say the least.