It is imperative that the department of Home Affairs as well as the Department of Foreign Affairs intervenes to stop these violent attacks on these individuals. It is the considered opinion of the Minority Front that Education is KEY.

Our people must be informed that there are various scenarios where foreign nationals, find themselves in South Africa, are concerned.

It must be noted that there are business people who participate in the economic activities of our country and do so by complying with legal requirements. They possess legitimate documentation to either own business, gain employment, study or even remain citizens in our country. They comply with taxation regulations and make a meaningful contribution toward the economic growth of our economy. As a government, we must ensure that the rights of these individuals, as enshrined in The Constitution of South Africa are protected.  In this case we must recommit to a non-racist and non-violent democratic society.

We must also be aware of the fact, that there are those who come into our country seeking asylum because of the unstable political climate within their own countries. As a nation we must not forget that during the dark days of apartheid it was our neighboring countries in which our people sought asylum from the persecution they encountered.

We must also be reminded that there are those who come through our boarders as refugees because of natural disasters and other elements that threaten their well-being and safety.

We would be ignorant, if we failed to acknowledge that there are those who enter our country through poor border control or just through illegal means. These individuals must be apprehended and deported. This will ensure that we keep somewhat accurate records those making entry or exit from our borders.

This demands the immediate intervention of various government departments, particularly the department of Home Affairs.  We must ensure that we conduct a census of all foreign nationals within South African and either deports those who are here illegally; or provide them with some status that grants them protection from the current xenophobic violence we are experiencing.

Mrs S Thakur Rjabsni, MF Leader stated that we must bring awareness on the reasons for which these persons are in our country and ensure that we are peaceful in our interaction instead of promoting violence and instability. More needs to be done in terms of taking this message to our communities so that, local people understand how to deal with matters of discontent and who to report these to, instead of taking the law into their own hands and bringing misery to so many men, women, children and babies.

Jonathan Annipen

Minority Front

Spokesperson