A meeting is to be held today in Gugulethu in a bid to reduce tensions and “extinguish” a rise in xenophobic abuse of Somali traders by locals.
This comes after a series of attacks in Samora Machel last week in which seven Somali shops were forcefully closed down by local traders. Read the rest of this entry »
Below we have included information about Sunday’s anti-xenophobia meeting. But first, as the Anti-Eviction Campaign, we would like to express our concern over continued misrepresentation of its activists in the media.
An article written a few weeks ago in the Die Burger by Nurene Jassiem entitled Xenofobiese Geweld: Somaliers ‘kry steun’ incorrectly implied that AEC coordinator Mncedisi Twalo felt that Somalians were the cause of strife amongst local businesses. When contacted, they refused to apologise or retract the implication.
This week, Mncedisi was again misrepresented when City Vision journalist Linda Kubeni wrote an article saying that Mr. Twalo is the leader of the local Gugulethu Business Forum. As an chairperson of the Gugulethu Anti-Eviction Campaign, this blatantly untrue statement undermines Mncedisi’s role as an independent mediator between local businesses and Somali traders. The xenophobia issue is a very sensitive matter and such untruths threaten to derail the mediation. As the AEC, we expect an immediate apology and correction. Read the rest of this entry »
Local businesses in Samora Machel, Kosovo and some other areas have been struggling for years. They are now angry and are unfortunately taking out that anger on the poor and also struggling Somalian traders who have set up shop in their communities.
While the Anti-Eviction Campaign was called in to mediate between local and foreign-owned businesses in Samora Machel as it has done successfully in Gugulethu, the local business owners and traders have refused mediation efforts and taken to the streets attempting to evict Somalian traders who they feel are operating to near to their own businesses. They have now forcefully evicted 3 businesses in Samora Machel
The Anti-Eviction Campaign wishes to make clear that it is 100% against the actions of the local businesspeople of Samora Machel and nearby areas in Philippi. The AEC denounces all forms of poor-on-poor violence as unacceptable. Read the rest of this entry »
GUGULETHU and Somali shopkeepers will hold a follow-up mass meeting tomorrowto cement peace efforts following threats to renew the xenophobic violence of a year ago which displaced 20 000 refugees and migrants. Read the rest of this entry »
On the 1st of July 2009, local business and Somali shopkeepers began implementation of preliminary aspects of the deal sought to ease xenophobic tensions between the two groups. The joint committee with the support of the Anti-Eviction Campaign distributed copies of the deal to all shops in the area. Shopkeepers then began to move their shops at least 100 meters away from one another – the deadline for this action being the end of July.
On Wednesday, the 8th of July at 15h30, the AEC will mediate a follow-up mass meeting of local businesses and Somali shopkeepers.
In addition, the local and provincial ministries of economics and tourism added proposals to provide skills training scholarships to a paltry 23 local businesspeople throughout the entire Western Cape. Local in Gugulethu have rejected this proposal as insulting and merely a PR campaign by government. Read the rest of this entry »
July 01, 2009 Edition 1
Caryn Dolley – Cape Times
IN an effort to keep the peace between the two groups, local and Somali traders in Gugulethu today plan to start moving their stores so they are at least 100 metres apart.
It is not yet clear how long the process will take or how many shops need to be moved. Read the rest of this entry »
By Francis Hweshe
The tension could be cut with a knife as Gugulethu traders and their Somali counterparts met to thrash out their differences, finally agreeing to effectively fix prices on basic goods, including bread. Read the rest of this entry »
By Mandisi Majavu – IPS News
CAPE TOWN, Jun 19 (IPS) – “My worry is that my children are going to be slaves because they won’t have anything. These foreign people come to South Africa with nothing, but tomorrow he has cash, third day he owns a shop and fourth day he has a car. Where do these foreign people get this money?”
Small business owners are venting their frustrations on ‘foreign nationals’ – among them many Somalis – who own shops in the country’s townships, causing experts to warn that xenophobic violence could increase. Read the rest of this entry »
TENSIONS between South African and Somalian shopkeepers in Guguletu have eased, at least temporarily.
Local traders apologised to their foreign counterparts after a letter purportedly written on behalf of a group calling itself the Gugulethu Business Forum called for Somali shopkeepers to pack up and and leave the area within seven days.
It is still not clear who was behind the letter, as locals for the most part refused to speak to the media at a meeting yesterday which was attended by Somali and South African traders, the police, the Anti-Eviction Campaign and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees’ Cape Town representative. Read the rest of this entry »
By Caryn Dolley
15 June 2009, 19:57
Source: IOL
Local traders who sent warning letters to Somali shopkeepers telling them they had to get out of Gugulethu by the end of the week have apologised for their intimidating behaviour. And they now say the Somalis are welcome to stay in the area. Read the rest of this entry »
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