Journal of African Studies and Sustainable Development

Xenophobia in South Africa vis à vis the vicissitudes of the contemporary world contradicts the general belief that Africans are inherently and notoriously religious. It simply depicts them as practicing religion devoid of good moral virtues: For Xenophobia is a gross abuse of the fundamental human rights, especially the right to life and freedom. This work examines the root causes of xenophobia in South Africa by tracing it’s origin. Historical and culture centered approaches were used in analyzing the data collected from both primary and secondary sources. This work employs the theory of ethnic violence in investigating the reason behind xenophobia in South Africa; and the theory of consciencism in exposing the South Africans on how to overcome the psychological elements that spurs her citizens into xenophobic attacks vis à vis wielding the opportunities available to them in the contemporary changing scenes of the world. The study observed that a good number of South African citizens had been traumatized over time as a result of the violence and segregation inflicted upon the majority of the country’s population during the apartheid era. They now feel cheated, dominated again in their father land, suffer from post-apartheid trauma and inferiority complex which provokes xenophobic tendencies over the progress of immigrants in their country. It is realized that if the South African’s should employ the good virtues promoted by religion as all the world religions directly or indirectly promotes good moral virtues, they will overcome xenophobic tendencies and learn to embrace and welcome foreigners, and their edeavours; which in turn will promote their nations economy evenly to keep meeting the challenges of the times.

Open Full Text (PDF)