AFRICA/SOUTH AFRICA - “The recent fighting is a result of a situation that has been rotting for some time,” one missionary says.

Johannesburg (Agencia Fides) - “The fighting was inevitable, as the situation had been left to rot for some time,” Fr. Mario Tessarotto, Scalabrinian missionary, told Agenzia Fides. Fr. Tessarotto has been working on aid for migrants and refugees in South Africa for some time. “In particular, I am referring to the situation of the refugees in Zimbabwe. These people who have been escaping violence and the economic difficulties of the country have not been recognized as refugees by the South African government for political reasons, as South Africa is supportive of the Mugabe regime. Recognizing the Zimbabweans’ status as refugees would have implied a recognition that in their country there is a problematic situation.”
The nearly 3 million Zimbabwean refugees became the scapegoats for a socially tense situation that comes from a profound indifference towards the poorest classes among the black population. Along with them are the immigrants from other African nations such as Mozambique, Malawi, Kenya, keeping in mind that in South Africa there are also other “invisible” refugees, not recognized by the State, from the Great Lakes Region (Burundi, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo - see 26/5/2004). “It is an already declared war among the poor. The person governing the nation, therefore, is sure to portray the eventual chaos as “a problem of the black people,” in order to not scare away tourists and football fans who will travel to South Africa for the World Cup soccer tournament. This policy has already shown all its limitations. The South African press is beginning to suspect racism, affirming that the incidents should be characterized as racial, not xenophobic. In fact, for some time now, all African foreigners have been receiving derogatory comments. The violence of these days are the fruit of a seed of hate that was sown some time ago,” said Fr. Tessarotto.
The missionary tells of an even more tense situation: “the attacks are led by organized groups of delinquents that kill and kidnap foreigners in order to later rob them of the little they possess. The people live in terror and take refuge wherever they can: in churches and police stations. There are at least 2,000 people in one station alone. The police are on guard in Johannesburg, while there is discussion of a military intervention. There is fear that the wave of violence may spread to the rest of the country. The general concern is that if South Africa crumbles to pieces, the hopes of democracy and development of an entire continent will also crumble.”
“South Africa, for better or for worse, is a point of reference among the other African nations. For this reason, we cannot let it be lost. All the South African politicians express their denunciation of the violence, however there is a need for a development policy that will allow people to emerge from a state of misery. As missionaries, we have begun a project of professional formation and development that includes immigrants. We are teaching these people (among them are many educated persons and even those who have graduated) how to create cooperatives for installing and use of small solar panels for producing energy and for powering water pumps for wells. Once they have learned, we hope that we can help these people to return to their countries of origin and begin an economic activity,” concluded Fr. Mario. (LM) (Agenzia Fides 20/5/2008 righe 41, parole 557)