South African Riots Over ‘Xenophobia’ Prompt Backlash Across Africa

Lots below in the comments about overpopulation - certainly a cause of poverty. What causes overpopulation? Religion, the Catholic church (and Islam) in particular. When Popes say that condom use is worse than AIDS they're producing the kind of misery overpopulation causes. "Religion poisons everything" - Hitchens.

Canada knows how to smartly handle immigration.

All of this is catalyzed by over-population, particularly. in Africa. Nigeria which had a population of 45M+ in 1960 now numbers over 200M and is projected to grow to over400M in 2050..with birth rates arguably between 6-7 per family. The result....massive attempted migration to Europe and South Africa, both areas with perceived economies far better than at home. Of course there is pushback...sometimes violent. This problem will never be resolved until the populations, particularly of less developed countries are brought back to economically sustainable levels. Absent that, we will see a breakdown of political borders with a continued 'free-flow' of the economically savaged people to wealthier countries.

Sometimes I think it's pure luck that the US developed and succeeded in starting a new country, one based on rule of law. While initial laws may not have been good (e.g. early slavery) and enforcement not perfect (e.g. late slavery), I can think of no better country when it comes to freedom co-existing with rule of law and diversity. Humans do not appear to be able to create peaceful governments and societies that last. But South Africa is a heartbreak and has been, even after apartheid. Perhaps worse than those times. Greed? Hate? Which comes first? This is not new in South Africa, and it's not isolated to that part of the continent. Seems whether you are white, black, yellow, or something in between, you are still human and struggle with us vs. them.

Over population in respect to available resources. And then this--every Republican administration cuts of family planning aid to Africa. And now we have the Pope in Africa hoping to fill his Catholic coffers once again.

I lived in South Africa for 6 months there is ramped unemployment but foreign nationals still flood the country and take SA citizens jobs. SA needs mandatory military subscription for those who don’t attend college this provides jobs discipline , and. a trained workforce

Africa (and South and Central America) have a population growth which is 40% higher than that of the rest of the world. That puts tremendous pressure on economically challenged countries. This is the root cause of south Africa's immigration problems- not racism or climate change.

South Africans, please be strong enough to see those enterprising other Africans as people who admired your culture and can help your country grow along with the rest of Africa. In the East African Union, we have to get used to the idea that competition, while painful at first, actually makes us stronger. Today Rwandan goods are increasing in quality, thanks to that competition. Now when I bring a Rwandan gift, I feel proud of what we make. Let’s “lift all boats”.

The ravages of capitalism and colonialism continue and transform into new forces, new shapes, and new history .

A Pew Research poll conducted in 2018 showed that 62% of South Africans viewed immigrants as a burden on society by taking jobs and social benefits and that 61% of South Africans thought that immigrants were more responsible for crime than other groups. Can you believe that? sounds almost like Donald Trump and his supporters. Xenophobia has become a worldwide phenomenon. Prior to 1994, immigrants from elsewhere faced discrimination and even violence in South Africa. After the election of Black majority government in 1994, contrary to expectations, the incidence of xenophobia has increased. Xenophobia is not anything unique to white countries like US and Europe

This tension and conflict between South Africans and the migrants who enter South Africa from poorer countries like Zimbabwe has been going on now for several years, and has received precious little attention from the press. A similar situation exists in both Brazil and Colombia, two countries that have absorbed many thousands of Venezuelans fleeing poverty, food insecurity and a collapsing and oppressive government. While it's convenient to blame all of this anti-migrant sentiment on xenophobia, it's also largely wrong, particularly in the case of Colombia and Venezuela, two countries which share a border, a common language, and for the most part a common ethnicity and culture, so much so that one could say that Venezuela and Colombia are more alike than are California and Arizona are to each other. Economic factors, including competition for jobs as well as the specter of greater stress on the social resource net (schools, jails, hospitals, shared public spaces) are the primary driving force behind the reaction to large scale illegal immigration. The political center and left ignore this at their own peril. As David Frum has warned, if reasonable politicians don't take this problem seriously, voters will turn to unreasonable leaders to do the job.

Controlled immigration is good, healthy, and usually well received. But uncontrolled or excessive immigration inevitably leads to a backlash. The anti-immigrant violence in South Africa is unusual, but strong anti-immigrant feelings can be seen in many countries that have had a surge of immigrants. There's a lesson here for those who are calling for open borders in the U.S. and the elimination of ICE.

Nelson Mandela turning over in his grave just like our founding fathers turning over in their graves with Trump.

Keep in mind that as the climate crisis worsens and land use issues arise there will be more of these riots. People will migrate across nations to reach a safe harbor. Those who are barely surviving in that safe harbor will rebel to protect what little they have. Oceans are warming, seas are rising, glaciers are melting, the planet is burning, deserts are expanding. All of this squeezes the existing populace into smaller and smaller land areas. Politicians are maintaining power not by solving problems, mitigating climate effects, creating jobs and increasing food supply but by stoking this "fear of the other" -- creating tribalism and using it to their own ends. The likes of Trump and Johnson are masters of this as were Hitler and Mussolini in the last century. There will be more riots and border wars as those who have something, even barely something, do everything they can to keep out those who have nothing.

People who think "Africans" are a homogeneous group ought to read this. Many of those African nations, created by European colonialists, are home to a variety of people who have different languages, cultures and, even, appearances. There are historical enmities. Unfortunately, ruthless people use prejudices and hate to enhance their power. We in the USA can hardly be smug about how we deal with that universal reality here.

The issue of human migration will only intensify as global warming makes areas uninhabitable. And, from Brexit to mainland European elections, to our own national dialogue, it is obvious that there are so many of us on the planet, that competition for scarce resources will lead to mass unrest, and perhaps wars. Had we kept the conversation of the 1970s about population control going, perhaps we would not have gotten here. How could something so obvious and basic, such as smaller families, have become taboo to talk about? If “political correctness” stalled those talks, then we can blame “political correctness” for a percentage of global warming and the coming civil unrest. These scenarios were what our First Amendment was for. In an open market place of ideas, where there is no self-censuring, we could have continued the robust debate and perhaps kept numbers lower. The sad truth is that humans fare better when we have lower population numbers. After every mass plague, Europe’s economy saw a big boost, throughout the Middle Ages. We should have thought more deeply before we shamed China out of their one or two child policy. The future looks distopian, and it’s our own darn fault (and a special “thanks a lot” to the institutionalized religions for wanting greater number of tithing followers, rather than think about the benefits of lower populations, from fewer plastic bottles, to more available housing, smaller schoolroom numbers, to global warming).