Somalis under siege in South Africa

A spate of murders over the past two months has left Cape Town's Somali community, especially those who run businesses in townships, fearing for their lives.

The Somalis claim 40 traders have been the victims of targeted killings since the attacks started in August.

Cape Town police however, say they are only aware of 20 such killings in the past 10 months.

While police initially insisted the killings were part of South Africa's high crime rates, beleaguered Somalis are convinced they are being targeted, pointing out that the perpetrators often did not touch money or other valuables belonging to the victims.

Police have in recent weeks admitted that xenophobia rather than criminality could be behind the attacks.

Often the perpetrators walk into the township shops run by Somalis and simply fire at the owner before fleeing the scene.

Unfair competition?

The xenophobic nature of the attacks against the Somalis was clearly illustrated in August when a group of about 200 locals attacked Somali-owned shops forcing them to flee the seaside township of Masiphumelele.

The action forced the provincial government to intervene to restore calm to the area.

Township businessmen, who are alleged to be directing the attacks, claim the Somalis are attracting their customers by offering cheaper prices and forcing them to shut up shop.

The situation seems to have improved following meetings involving members of the provincial government, the local community and the Human Rights Commission.

Security Minister Charles Nqakula has admitted that police do not have the exact figures on how many Somalis have been killed over the past two years.

In reply to a parliamentary question from Tony Leon, leader of the opposition Democratic Alliance, Mr Nqakula said obtaining such information would require too much time and resources.

"This attitude displays a monumental indifference to the plight of the Somali community, members of which are coming under attack on an almost daily basis," Mr Leon said in a statement.

Street patrols

It has been calm recently in the sprawling impoverished township of Khayelitsha where several Somali traders were killed in August.

Nash Mohammed, a Somali refugee, who has been in Cape Town for two years, says he had lost two family members over the past year and feared for his own life.

Speaking at his shop which blends in with the corrugated iron shacks of the area, Mr Nash says he feels safer now than he did last month when several Somalis were killed in townships across the Cape Town area.

"The local community here have formed street committees and they patrol the area, especially where there are Somali shops. We get along very well with the community. The problem seems to come from a small group of gangsters who are targeting Somali traders," he says.

A sign of how much a part of Khayelitsha he has become is that Mr Nash converses with his customers in the local Xhosa language.

"They have even given me a local name, Bongani and a clan name of Radebe," he says.

"We really don't have a problem with the Somalis in our area," says Nkosinathi Present, who popped in to buy some maize meal, by far the most popular product sold by Mr Nash.

"It seems to be the businessmen who are angry with the Somalis but if they have a problem why can't they talk it out? The Somalis are skilled businessmen and perhaps they can help the locals," she says.

As the Somali death toll climbs, police say they have arrested and charged nine people in connection with 20 murders.

It may seem a small percentage of the official figure of 18,500 murders committed in South Africa last year, but it is little comfort for a community who feel they are under siege.

Mutual rights

Since the advent of democratic rule in 1994 refugees from developing countries, especially Zimbabwe, Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola and Somalia as well as Pakistan and India, have flooded to South Africa in search of a better life.

South Africa, with a population of more than 44 million, officially has nearly 30,000 refugees and 100,000 asylum seekers but unofficially there are believed to be more than five million illegal immigrants in the country.

The refugees have not always been welcomed, especially in poorer black communities, since they were seen as competing for the same scarce resources and jobs.

Many African refugees have been victims of xenophobic attacks, much to the embarrassment of the government, many of whose members were offered a safe haven in exile by African countries during the anti-apartheid struggle.

Roll Back Xenophobia, a UNHCR-funded advocacy body, in partnership with government and non-governmental stakeholders, is about to embark on a campaign to reduce tensions between local communities and refugees and make both sides aware of their mutual rights and obligations.