-Caveat Lector- U.N. Sees Rising Xenophobia in Mandela's S.Africa Reuters 28-APR-99 PRETORIA, April 28 (Reuters) - Xenophobia is on the rise in post-apartheid South Africa, with a growing number of brutal attacks and killings of foreigners, the United Nations refugee agency said on Wednesday. "In the past two years, more than 30 innocent refugees and asylum seekers have been brutally killed, simply because they were foreigners," said a report released by the deputy regional representative of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, Mengesha Kabede. The UNHCR report cited the deaths of two Mozambicans and a Senegalese on a train in Pretoria last September when an angry mob accused them of stealing jobs from South Africans. Two of the victims were electrocuted by overhead wires while trying to escape by climbing onto the roof of the train. The third was thrown out of a window and was hit by a train. The report was co-authored with the South African Human Rights Commission and the National Consortium on Refugee Affairs. It was released at the launch of a public awareness campaign against xenophobia by UNHCR and non-governmental organisations. "Increasingly, persons perceived as foreigners fall victim to hostile attacks and otherwise outrageous, xenophobic behaviour," the report said. David McDonald of the Southern African Migration Project told the news conference that xenophobia was mainly fuelled by a belief that immigrants were taking scarce jobs and were responsible for rising crime and disease. South Africa has shed 500,000 jobs in the first five years of democratic rule, pushing unemployment to around 30 percent. McDonald argued that "many migrants were victims of crime and not perpetrators of crime in South Africa." He said up to 23 percent of foreigners in South Africa were assaulted and another 42 percent robbed. "Extortion and abuse at the hands of some sections of police and civil servants and discrimination in areas of education, health and labour markets are but examples of institutions and segments of society where xenophobia manifests itself," the report said. Some experts have argued that xenophobia is a legacy of apartheid, which isolated South Africans from the rest of the continent and the world, making them suspicious of foreigners. Official government statistics show that up to four million immigrants, mostly from neighbouring Mozambique and Zimbabwe, live in the country. Officials at the department of home affairs said they were handling asylum applications at the rate of 1,500 a month. South Africa is a country fostered by immigrants, ranging from the ancestors of many blacks who migrated from central Africa to scores of Dutch, German, French and British settlers. Copyright 1999 Reuters Limited.All rights reserved. ================================= Robert F. Tatman [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Remove "nospam" from the address to reply. NOTICE: In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml POSTING THIS MESSAGE TO THE INTERNET DOES NOT IMPLY PERMISSION TO SEND UNSOLICITED COMMERCIAL E-MAIL (SPAM) TO THIS OR ANY OTHER INTERNET ADDRESS. RECEIPT OF SPAM WILL RESULT IN IMMEDIATE NOTIFICATION OF THE SENDER'S ISP. ____________________________________________________________________ Get your own FREE, personal Netscape WebMail account today at http://webmail.netscape.com. DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/CTRL.html http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
