Le fruit pour la petit . . .

These words were scribbled on a piece of paper which was pinned to a plastic carry bag which in turn was hung on the burgler gate at the entrance to my flat. The bag contained a variety of fruit, for my daughter who was then 6 years old and in grade zero at the Yeoville Community School, a lovely school by all accounts. My daughter is now much older and Yeoville and South Africa are a different place.

The fruit was left at my door, for my little girl by my neighbour Kofi. I will not for as long as I live forget that act of kindness and generosity. Granted, my daughter was then a charming little thing, from the indian guy who ran a small eatery at Time Square, to Bafana Khumalo (a regular then at Time Square) and of course Kofi, they all loved her, they all thought she was cute and all those things 6 year olds are.

Kofi and I were neighbours. We lived in a run down block of flats on Hunter Street; I a young man trying to make a career as lawyer, he a foreigner from Togo trying to make a living in South Africa, a foreign but promising land. When I got to know Kofi I learned that he is a builder by trade, I also learned that he had journeyed for 6 months to get to South Africa. I also got to know his compatriots who either stayed with him in his tiny flat or came for meals - his flat was always full of people and merriment and animated conversations - all in french. I learned a little french from Kofi and his compatriots (granted it was only the greetings and some limited conversation - I have forgotten most of it) they learned some of the local languages from me, they were better students.

Kofi made a living selling fruit and vegetables. By the time we met and got to know each other his stall near where the market is now standing on Rocky Street, was humble but trading and providing him with enough to pay the rent for his flat. Kofi did not have a car. He got up super early every morning and went to the fresh produce market in City Deep on the southern outskirts of Johannesburg, where he bought his stock for the day. He then had to pay someone to transport the stock to his stall on the corner of Rocky and Bezuidenhout. Initially, when he started the business, he told me that he would carry the box of fresh produce on his head and walk back to Yeoville all the way up what is now Joe Slovo Drive. I admired Kofi for this amazing commitment to his own survival and well-being. If only the marauding gangs of thugs could have the same admiration and hopefully mimic what they admirer. Unemployed and marginalised, they blame Kofi.

One of Kofi's compatriots was a school teacher by profession back home. He earned his living by giving private French lessons and I believe he also worked for Alliance Francaise. I do not remember the names of the other guys and what they did for a living. What I do remember is how they were a self-sufficient unit, how they looked out for each other. They looked out for my daughter and I too. This, the marauding gangs of bandits resent.

I wish these guys well, wherever they may be. I wonder whether ever moved out of that run down building, whether like me they moved out of Yeoville to a better part of Johannesburg or maybe moved out of Johannesburg completely. I hope that they have not been attacked by my compatriots or worse still, killed.

Whenever the word foreigner is mentioned, I think of Kofi and his compatriots and the experiences we shared that many years ago.

As I remember and celebrate the human being Kofi is, I am well aware that there are some of my compatriots who resent such resilience and hard work. I am aware of the extent of the resentment, the blood of the foreign brothers and sisters and their children is testimony to that resentment.

Kofi, I hope this note finds you and your compatriots living in South Africa in good health.

Xenophobia? I think not!

There seems to be a general consensus (if the SA media is anything to go by) that what is happening in Alexandra township and what has happened in several other townships around South Africa, is Xenophobia. Xenophobia is apparently the dislike of foreigners. It is this dislike apparently that is the cause of the attack on all manner of ilks of people as is currently going on in Alexandra.

I'm always amazed by how there always seem to be a rush to give a name to all manner of things - events, groups of people, behaviour patterns, etc. What is more amazing is that once a name is given it almost seems that the issue is dealt with or is now easy to deal with because we have given it a name. What this naming frenzy also does is to limit the scope of analysis of what are the facts surrounding whatever issue it may be. The name in question where Alexandra is concerned is Xenophobia. So it should follow (based on the above definition I gave to the word) that once the dislike of foreigner is replaced with the liking of foreigners, that will be the end of the issue - bam!

The facts seem to suggest to me a different scenario altogether. It seems to me that the attacks on the people (I'm not certain whether all victims of the attack are foreigners) is not because they are foreigners. This is at least what some of the residents of Alexandra (some of whom are perpetrators of the attacks or supporters of the attacks at the least) interviewed on television news reports say. The victims are apparently attacked because they are, according to their assailants, involved in all manner of crimes which in turn have made Alexandra an unsafe place to live. Presumably, if the victims were your garden variety law-abiding residents of Alexandra, there would have been no cause to attack them, be they foreigners or not.

It has also been suggested that the victims have and continue to take work away from the locals. This is a difficult one to deal with but similarly all unemployed, law-abiding residents of Alexandra would have been spared the humiliation and pain, be they foreigners or not.

It is in this context I presume that the response of the Minister of Safety and Security was, among others that we should seek to educate our fellow citizens about love and peace among African brothers and sisters. I cannot help but be upset at this but then again, I am not in the minister's shoes which all things considered must be pinching - somewhat. What with the dissolution of the scorpions and so on. Having said that, no amount of education and cajoling is going to make any difference where the marauding gangs of Alexandra are concerned. Let us have a national pause and rewind a little here. Our townships have a history of attacking, maiming and killing those that we do not agree with. We do not even have to hear what they are saying for us to disagree with them, we just have to give them a name and voila! they are fit to be persecuted. The victims have had different names over the years, there were the sell-outs, mazimzim, udf, anc, azapo, inkatha, hostel residents, township residents, etc.

As for the "foreigners are bringin crime to Alexandra", well were it not for the tragedy of the present circumstances I would laugh. From the days of young Trevor Huddleston and even younger Hugh Masikela, this township (affectionately referred to as such) has had crime as an issue to be dealt with. The recent history of Alexander is one so much associated with crime that there can be no basis to suggest that crime in whatever form in Alexandra can be as a result of the influx into Alexandra of people who were not born in South Africa. South Africans of all hues have been happily buying stolen cars, radios, tv's and all manner of things in Alexandra for a long time. In any event honest folks report criminals to the police and report crime to the investigating agencies, they do not turn into criminals in the supposed fight against crime! What is more sad is that in all probability nothing will happen to the perpetrators.

There are of course foreigners who owing to the rather poor law-enforcement track record of the SA police, have made this country their comfortable criminal home. There is of course a lot we can do about crime and criminals. By the way, sending a million men to Pretoria is simply not one of them, and I say this with respect. The attack on the victims in Alexandra is a function of hatred of self. The individuals who carried out and who continue to carry out these attacks in my view fail to take personal responsibility for where they find themselves. They now seek to place blame for their lot in life at the door of the weak and the marginalised. Insofar as there are employers out there who are engaging in unlawful employment practices, honest folks will report them to the labour department and hold the department to account. How else is the rhetoric that foreigners "steal our jobs" sustained?

We are all paying dearly for a believe (made porpular in the 80s) that you could with impunity kill those you do not agree with or those who belong to a political organisation you deem illegitimate. If there is any education to be spoken of dear Minister, it is for the leadership to speak openly about that part of our painful history and how it can be reversed.

Xenophobia? methinks 'tis bad-old garden variety self-hating criminals! Now how about speedy, public and effective prosecution? By the way, does anyone know if any similar crimes have been perpetrated on white foreigners - Lolly Jackson doesn't count, besides I beilieve he is being prosecuted. Go figure.

I guess it is tough being black and foreign.