Stop the violence. Stop the hatred.
A message from the Executive Director of the Southern Africa Trust
The attacks on people from other African countries in some areas of Johannesburg resemble the worst crimes against humanity that the world has ever seen. We are extremely concerned about the levels of organized brutality and outraged at the scale of human suffering.
We must do something real and immediate, to change this tragic situation - forever.
What’s the Problem?
South Africans living in grinding poverty have many reasons to be angry. They continue to live in terrible conditions, only short distances from the richest suburbs on the continent. But the anger of the attackers is misplaced, when it is directed at migrants from other parts of southern Africa or South Africa.
These attacks starkly reveal the human tragedy of poverty in the region, coupled with our failure to adequately address the social issues that come with regional integration.
The problems that cause this outburst of anger are immense, but not beyond our grasp. They include:
- Joblessness and social exclusion of large numbers of young people in urban townships who are left behind in the scramble for new wealth;
- Rapidly rising costs of food, energy, transport, and other basic needs;
- Corruption amongst officials in social service delivery and law enforcement;
- Weak local government;
- Gradual decline of civic organization and the moral authority of political parties amongst the poor: the poor do not feel they have an organized voice;
- Failure of South African social policy to take adequate account of the large numbers of migrant people from other countries coming into South Africa;
- Inertia of states across the region to decisively address poverty and ensure human security for their citizens; and
- The slowness of our societies to comprehend the scale of human migration in our region and to address it responsibly – governments, businesses, civic groups, and donors alike.
Regional integration means more movement of people, money, products, and services across the southern Africa region. However, the economic and political changes that come with regional integration also have social costs that must be met. If social development policies do not keep up with the pace of regional integration, the poor will become victims of regional integration rather than its primary beneficiaries - and the social problems will intensify.
Yet now is not the time for blame – it is time for decisive action that will not only stem the violence, but forever change the conditions that cause it.
We Stand Against the Attacks
The Southern Africa Trust proudly operates in 15 southern African countries and has a diverse team from across the region. Our vision and values provide a guiding force for us all. We are proud of our diversity: it enriches our efforts to drive down poverty in southern Africa.
We are inspired by the courageous efforts of community groups in the affected areas who are standing against the attacks, protecting their neighbours, and clearing blockades. We are proud of the students at Johannesburg’s universities who are organizing public demonstrations against the attacks. We stand in solidarity with the women’s groups, churches, and community organizations who are providing shelter, food, blankets, sanitary supplies and clothes to those in need. We have courage because they are also mobilizing their members for door-to-door campaigns against the attacks and to organize community forums about the situation. We affirm the efforts of the law enforcement officials who are protecting victims in their police stations.
What We Are Doing
The Southern Africa Trust is supporting a wide range of organizations that are doing their best to respond to the situation:
- We have given emergency grants to church-based, women’s, and social movements to provide food, tents, blankets, clothes, and sanitary supplies to the people who have been forced out of their homes during these cold winter months.
- We are also supporting organizations that have links to the affected communities, to mobilize their members for door-to-door campaigns and community forums, to dialogue about the problems they are facing.
- In the longer term, we will intensify our own programmes to ensure that migration and social protection are given adequate policy attention in all the countries of southern Africa.
Our mission is to ensure that regional integration in southern Africa works to overcome poverty, so that the alarming scenes in Johannesburg this week will not get worse in the years to come. In the context of regional integration, we will continue to work for better food security; a sound environment for job creation and improved livelihoods for the poor; planning for the provision of adequate energy, transport, and water; policy interventions to support informal trading by the poor across borders; more effective community engagement with governments so that the poor have a voice; and better forms of governance that do not exclude large sectors of our societies.
What Can You Do to Help?
It is often difficult to explain to people what we do and why we do it. To learn more about the work of the Southern Africa Trust or to connect with organizations that you can support to help the victims, please visit our website www.southernafricatrust.org. With your help, we can do so much more to create lasting change.
You can be part of our effort. If you think that what we are doing is worthwhile, go to change4ever.org to give your support.
Sunday, 25 May, we celebrate Africa Day. Let’s seize the day and change this tragic situation - forever.
Neville Gabriel
Executive Director
Southern Africa Trust
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