Xenophobic Violence

Right: Crowds gather to try and find saftey at a police station

Left: A man beaten by the mobs

Over the past week waves of xenophobic violence have been happening in the townships and squatter camps in and around Johannesburg. It has been horrifying to see the images of violent beatings and even murders that have been committed by South African nationals against immigrants, many of them refugees, from other African countries. It seems that some people here have a very short memory of what it is like to be the ones treated as less than human because of factors outside of their own control. Images in the news here yesterday, though I will spare you from having to see them, showed a man who had been set on fire in the street while the crowd gathered around him laughed. He later died in a hospital with burns to 100% of his body... Unimaginable. One of our assistants told me that as she was coming from a township on Monday morning, people were being pulled out of the taxis to be beaten in the streets. I can't fathom how one person can do this to another...

In my opinion, what is going on largely stems from the huge populations still living in abject poverty here. The native South Africans (and to be fair, it is a small minority who are committing these atrocities) involved in the violence, don't have enough food, and often lack proper shelter, with winter quickly coming on. They are looking for someone to blame for their own circumstances and so are blaming the immigrants who they are claiming have stolen their jobs, homes, and are taking advantage of what little government services there are available to them. Thousands of people have been gathering to sleep in police stations to find some semblance of safety as their homes and businesses are the targets of violent attacks as well.

Yesterday we received a call from the Department of Children's Welfare asking if we had the capacity to take in some of the children who have been displaced by the violence. Of course we said that we would and I have been blown away by the responses of our house parents. Even the parents of one of our homes, who already have 13 boys to care for, have offered to take in another. They had a family meeting with the boys, explained the situation to them, and then asked the boys if they felt that they could help in some way. They boys were in unanimous agreement that they would share their home with whoever would fit within its walls. What an incredible blessing it is for our older kids to be learning in such a concrete way that God has blessed us, and them, with so much, and it is out of that abundance that we are called to give all that we can. They are learning for themselves, that when another human being is suffering, we have a responsibility to step up and do all that we are able. Please be praying for the violence here to end quickly! (And FYI - I am not in an area that would put me at any risk, just to ease your minds Mom & Dad!)