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Words matter, and their definitions matter even more. The attacks, recent and past, on black foreigners by black South Africans have been rigidly defined as Xenophobia.
Let’s unpack this word and by doing so explore the implications its use has on the South African condition and mindset.
The dictionary defines Xenophobia as “ the dislike of or prejudice against people from other countries”. The dictionary definition is insufficient in accurately depicting the condition of black foreigners in relation to poor black South Africans; social ills, economic frustration, reckless leadership and an incoherent education. All these things (and so many more) matter when considering the relationship between the two groups.
From the dictionary definition we also understand that Xenophobia is more of an attitude than action.
The American Psychological Association defines phobias as “... anxiety disorders, lumped in the same class as post-traumatic stress disorder and panic disorder…”. Now this definiton opens up a whole new can of worms. Can it be said that the presence of black foreigners makes some black South Africans feel anxious? Possibly. Then there’s the point of post-traumatic stress disorder which suggests that the violence which is occurring is linked to apartheid.
I don’t understand the connection between xeno and phobia. Phobia means fear. The very same dictionaries describe fear as “ a persistent, irrational fear of a specific object, activity, or situation that leads to a compelling desire to avoid it”. Now surely if you want to avoid something you won’t set out to kill it and chase it away from your vicinity. Phobias create feeling of anxiety, nervousness. The word phobia is not associated with violence.
What has happened (and will probably happen again) in South Africa has not been solely xenophobic (especially since it’s primarily black foreigners who have been targets). It’s so multi-layered and complex, and by limiting our understanding of the situation to just this one term, we are seriously falling short and will never resolve the real issues of violence, anger and hate in this country.
South Africa is a violent nation and it has been like this for many, many years. South Africans are raging with anger and everyone is a target and many are perpetrators (white, black, coloured, and Indian). We need to identify what is making us so angry. We don’t need to talk about Xenophobia or Afrophobia, we must talk about the general climate of fear and violence in this country.
Those men who murdered Emmanuel Sithole have probably murdered many other South African citizens. Why then must we separate the two? The killing of Emmanuel Sithole trends on twitter but the killing of a teenage boy in Langa, on the same day, doesn’t even make news. The logic is illogical.
Sometimes, by defining an event or occurrence or phenomenon with an already existing definition, we run the risk of missing the bigger the picture. I’m not saying xenophobia doesn’t exist. I’m saying that we need to be more mindful on how we use this word in our everyday language and especially in the media.
Why is this overall violence happening? What is being done about it? Who is benefiting from it?
We are trying so desperately to diagnose the situation on South Africa, that we have in effect done so using the wrong words. And until we choose the right words and language, violence will continue to plague, ruin and kill the people living in this country. Then we’ll have a real phobia, Mzansiphobia, because then we will all fear living in this country and those with money will have the option of leaving (avoiding) and the rest of us, well our phobia will kill us.
In essence, xenophobia,in the context of South Africa, is such an empty word, an incomplete description and/or analysis of a situation that haunts and plagues just about every South African citizen: violence. If we made a who-wha about everyday crime and violence in this country just as much as we did when black foreigners were being attacked, there would be less killings of not only foreigners but also South Africans.
