Home Affairs and Police officials to attend church-sponsored xenophobia meeting in South Africa

By Tererai Karimakwenda
26 May 2006

A coalition of church groups from South Africa and Zimbabwe has organised a conference to try and fight xenophobia and expose government officials to the burning issues that are causing problems between the two communities. On Saturday the Zimbabwe Pastors Forum and the South African Council of Churches are hosting what they are calling a civic dialogue in Johannesburg. Titled “Zimbabweans and the New South Africa,” they say they want to promote harmony between South Africans and the approximately 4 million Zimbabweans who now live there.

Pastor Steven Chiadzwa told us there is a need to build trust so the two communities can live together. He said: “ This is a dialogue we use to try and build trust between the two communities of Zimbabweans living in South Africa and the South Africans, because of the issues of xenophobia mistrust where South Africans are starting to point fingers and say Zimbabweans are coming to take our jobs, demanding lower wages, salaries. They are starting to fight in certain areas and certain townships.”
Pastor Chiadzwa said these parties need to co-exist because with the situation in Zimbabwe there is no way they are going to avoid it. He said people are going to continue to leave Zimbabwe for South Africa, because of the crisis.

The pastor said they had invited officials from the labour union Cosatu, the Zimbabwe Consulate, Lawyers for Human Rights, and the SA Human Rights Commission and the police. There will also be time for discussion amongst participants in small groups to answer questions like “Do they take our jobs? Do they cause crime? Do they disrespect us? Do their police harass us?” Chiadzwa hopes the officials who work on relevant issues such as jobs, crime, and asylum applications will not only share their perspective but bring some solutions to top government officials in order to change policies that are working against achieving peace.

With the motto, “Sharing Experiences, Building Trust,” the dialogue will include individuals sharing their personal stories. Chiadzwa, who is chairman of the Zimbabwe Pastors Forum, said: “It is crucially important both for Zimbabweans and for South Africans to hear each other’s stories. Only through this sort of personal encounter, facilitated by religious leaders, can the growing rift within the new South Africa be healed.”
The dialogue will take place at 1pm on Saturday, 27 May at Coronationville Methodist Church, New Lands, Johannesburg. A Day of Prayer for Zimbabwe will follow it on June 3rd. This is the second in a series of dialogues concerning Zimbabweans in South Africa. The next dialogue will take place on June 24th.