by Kirk Olivier

Created on: June 26, 2008   Last Updated: November 24, 2010

The reporting of recent violence and xenophobia in South Africa has made world headlines. I too believe that this is a barbaric way of demonstrating frustration, however, one needs to look at the whole picture. Please do not misunderstand my view; I do not for one second condone violence of any kind. The majority of black South Africans live in poverty, since the ANC government took control in 1994; this has become a more serious problem. The president of South Africa, Thabo Mbeki has ignored the problem, possibly hoping that it will just go away. Judging by the way he rules this wonderful country, it is plain to see that his only interest is to line his pockets before the end of his term in office. He turns a blind eye on corruption in his cabinet and does nothing to alleviate the problems in our surrounding countries. He also sits back and allows the influx of illegal immigrants to continue.

As much as I feel sorry for these immigrants, we must be realistic. They cross our borders illegally; a large number of them are criminals, drug dealers, sex traffickers etc. South Africa, although one of the more economically sustained countries in Africa, also suffers with a large unemployment problem. These illegal immigrants surge into the country and take up all kinds of employment that could be feeding the South African families that fought for democracy in this country. Simple jobs like guarding cars in parking lots etc, these were previously filled by desperate South Africans, both black and white. Now the majority of these positions are filled by Nigerians or Zimbabweans.

Unfortunately, some of these guards are the ones breaking into or stealing the vehicles that they are supposed to be looking after. Due to them not being in the country legally, there is no way of tracing them once they have committed the crime and disappeared. The drug problem in South Africa has grown out of control due to these illegal Nigerians. They sell to anyone, no matter what age; they also entice young girls to engage in sexual favors in exchange for drugs. Some of these girls are us young as 8 years old. Many foreign businessmen become victims of robbery and in some cases assault or murder at the hands of these Nigerians when seeking sexual favors from girls who are controlled by these gangsters.

The more serious problem however is that these illegal immigrants also use many of the recourses that could better serve the South African community. Electricity, water, medical etc, these

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