Locals killed in S Africa attacks
Pastor Dale Morgan
Locals killed in S Africa attacks
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A third of those killed in xenophobic attacks in South Africa last month
were local citizens, the government says.
The BBC's Mpho Lakaje in Johannesburg says gangs of attackers mistook
them for people from other parts of Africa.
Twenty-one South Africans died in the riots, spokesman Themba Maseko
said. He said 20,000 displaced people were still living in fields and halls.
The violence, blamed on unemployment and scarce resources, was the worst
since the end of apartheid in 1994.
Mr Maseko said that a day of national healing may be declared for the 62
people who died.
Non-governmental organisations estimate that about 85,000 people were
uprooted in the violence - many thousands fled to their countries of origin.
'No romanticising'
The government says language played a role in death of the South
Africans as people from the north of the country speak Shangan, which is
widely spoken in neighbouring Mozambique.
These people, they don't even ask where you are from or what you are
doing here - they just kick you, hit you
South African citizen Mpho Seraje
But Mpho Seraje, a South African citizen from the Free State who was
attacked last month in Johannesburg, says appearance was often what
counted more.
"Maybe because of the colour pigmentation one may say I'm from Zimbabwe
or Mozambique," he told the BBC's Focus on Africa programme.
"These people, they don't even ask where you are from or what you are
doing here - they just kick you, hit you.
"They all carry guns; they all carry slash hammers and knives. They even
took our cell phones, money and luggage."
Mr Maseko said the government's policy was to push for the reintegration
of those living in makeshift camps.
"We should not be romanticising the process of reintegration," he told
journalists.
"It's not going to be easy; it's going to require a lot of hard work.
"It'll require dialogue between the communities and the displaced people
and the issue of security is going to be one of the major issues."
He said that the UNHCR has no plans to evacuate any of the foreigners.
"Therefore, reintegration is supported by the international agencies."