Why Xenophobia Happens In South Africa

There is no section in any of our education system talking about how Nigeria and Zimbabwe provided a safe haven for some of our leaders.
Somali nationals argue with police during clashes in Pretoria, South Africa, February 24, 2017. Police fired tear gas, water cannon and rubber bullets to disperse rival marches by hundreds of protesters in Pretoria on Friday, after mobs looted stores this week believed to belong to immigrants.
Somali nationals argue with police during clashes in Pretoria, South Africa, February 24, 2017. Police fired tear gas, water cannon and rubber bullets to disperse rival marches by hundreds of protesters in Pretoria on Friday, after mobs looted stores this week believed to belong to immigrants.
James Oatway / Reuters

Over the past few years South Africa has going through heavy traffic of xenophobic attacks of foreigners who are looking for a better life in the country and it seems as though it is getting worse every time.

Xenophobic attacks usually surface at the beginning of every financial year because South Africans are looking for job opportunities in order to put food on the table.

The government in power doesn't seem to be doing much about these horrendous attacks of foreigners that are making a successful living for themselves in the country.

These are some of the reasons why these attacks happen:

- South Africans aren't educated at school level of what other African countries provided for our country during apartheid. There is no section in any of our education system talking about how Nigeria and Zimbabwe provided a safe haven for some of our leaders.

This means that some South Africans do not know why we're helping out other foreign internationals. Ignorance takes over and we hurt natives who helped our fight for freedom.

- Graduates, new job opportunity seekers and people who are looking to get on with their lives feel the brunt of not getting a job because a foreigner who works just as hard or harder then them gets the job post ahead of them.

- Some foreign drug lords live in South Africa and make business from selling illegal drugs to young kids and therefore local people feel they need to take care of these people if law enforcement act too slow.

Education at a very young age implemented at school level plays a vital part in how you see foreign internationals, more especially other African brothers.

In the current system we learn a lot about America and how great they are. We aren't taught much about how amazing other African countries have been towards South Africa over the past few decades of struggle.

Some of our people don't know so, we just do things according to emotions we feel.

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