Xenophobia | Between Two Cultures

–– Ntumba Katabua

The audio version of this article is available here: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

Genesis 4 records the world’s first murder. Brother against brother. Xenophobic attacks and acts of intimidation against African and Asian migrants in parts of South Africa have surfaced again. Xenowatch reports a total of 697 deaths in South Africa over the last 30 years, related to xenophobia.

The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines xenophobia as a “fear and hatred of strangers or foreigners or of anything that is strange or foreign.”

Sociologists and politicians often trace xenophobia back to rivalry over limited resources such as jobs, housing, and social services. Here are three reasons this symptom-level sociological analysis offers an unsatisfactory explanation:

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–– David de Bruyn

The audio version of this article is available here: YouTube, Apple Podcasts, or Spotify.

Recently, a contestant in the Miss South Africa pageant withdrew because of widespread hostility to her parentage. Chidimma Adetshina, who was born in Johannesburg began receiving widespread criticism and hostility because her father is Nigerian and her mother is Mozambican.

Hostility to foreign African workers and migrants has long been a South African problem. Widespread unemployment has made South Africans resentful of the millions of Africans who have made South Africa their home, often beginning businesses or occupying paid positions. So-called xenophobia (fear of foreigners) is often touted as a problem in South Africa.

How should Christians view those who leave their nation and settle elsewhere?

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