Media: Cape Town fears xenophobic flare-up

27 07 2009
GLYNIS UNDERHILL – Mail & Guardian
Jul 26 2009 06:00

Cape Town mayor Dan Plato says the city is on “high alert” to prevent a flare-up of xenophobic violence after seven Somali shops in Samora Machel and Gugulethu townships this week were forced by local business operators to close.

“We are aware of the problems and we are working closely with the South African Police Service and engaging community leadership,” said Plato. “We need to work and live together in peace and harmony.”

Although some of the shops have since reopened, tensions are rising over the lower prices offered by foreign-owned shops and their proliferation close to locally owned businesses. Read the rest of this entry »


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Xenophobia: Local businesses in Samora Machel have forcefully closed down 3 Somalian shops

20 07 2009
Urgent Anti-Eviction Press Release
Monday 20 July, 2009

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 »


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Media: Gugulethu, Somali traders to hold follow-up meeting

7 07 2009
July 07, 2009 Edition 1
Staff Writer – Cape Times

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 »


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Anti-xenophobic negotiations moving along despite interference by certain outside divisive people

6 07 2009
Gugulethu Anti-Eviction Campaign Press Release
06 July 2009

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 »


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Categories : Afrophobia (Xenophobia), Anti-Eviction Campaign, Archives, gugulethu, News & Press Release

Media: Traders to distance themselves in peace bid

3 07 2009

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 »


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Media: Traders agree to ‘price-fixing’

23 06 2009

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 »


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RIGHTS-SOUTH AFRICA: Xenophobia Still Smouldering

19 06 2009

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 »


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Media: ‘You could see the anger in their eyes’

15 06 2009

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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Media: Threats against Somali traders

15 06 2009
15 June 2009
Anna Majavu
Source: Sowetan

TENSIONS in Gugulethu are rising after the Gugulethu Business Forum issued letters to Somali-owned shops on Saturday, warning them to leave the township within seven days.

Somali traders went to Gugulethu police station en- masse on Saturday night to open a case of intimidation against the Gugulethu Business Forum. Read the rest of this entry »


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Media: New threat to foreigners

15 06 2009
By Caryn Dolley
15 June 2009, 06:52
Source: Cape Times

Gugulethu traders have delivered warning letters to Somali shopkeepers telling them they have seven days to leave the area. Read the rest of this entry »


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