Press Release

South Africans Bemoan the Presence of Foreigners in their Spaces

“The most recent attacks on foreigners in Soweto and Kagiso that resulted in the deaths of 6 people and the looting of over 70 foreign owned shops, raises critical questions about the security of foreigners in a country that prides itself in the philosophy of Ubuntu. In the latest round of the South African leg of the Afrobarometer Survey, a substantial majority (88%) of respondents reported distrust of foreigners living in their country. This figure, which was recorded in 2011, is five percentage points higher than the 83% who displayed this sentiment in 2008, when the country experienced its worst xenophobia outbreak to date.”

19 February 2015