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Violence,
labour and the displacement of Zimbabweans in De doorns, Western
Cape
Forced
Migration Studies Programme, Wits University
December
01, 2009
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From 14-17 November
2009, De Doorns, a farming area in Breede Valley Municipality, Western
Cape Province, was the scene of violence that resulted in the forceful
displacement of an estimated 3000 Zimbabweans and the destruction
and looting of their dwellings by their South African neighbours.
This policy
brief provides a summarised analysis of causal factors, police responses
and solutions adopted and/or proposed in relation to this violence.
1 For assessments of the humanitarian support provided to the displaced,
see regular situation reports by UNHCR and CoRMSA.2 Our research
suggests that many current analyses miss critical causal factors
behind the violence and that proposed responses and solutions may
be neither appropriate nor durable. Beyond helping to find immediate
solutions, this report suggests that the De Doorns violence has
broader significance in terms of national patterns of violence against
foreign nationals. There are three reasons for our concern:
- De Doorns
represents the first large scale displacement of foreign nationals
since the xenophobic violence of May 2008;
- The violence
affected a rural farming area whereas the 2008 violence was concentrated
primarily in urban informal settlements;
- It selectively
targeted Zimbabweans despite the presence of other foreign nationals
(e.g. Lesotho nationals) living and working in the same area;
and
- It reflects
the continuing challenge by South African authorities to develop
effective early warning, prevention and disaster response mechanisms.
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