Malawi’s Catholic Commission condemns Xenophobia in South Africa

Malawi’s Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP) says it is saddened and shocked by the resurgence of xenophobic attacks in different parts of South Africa. This is contained in a statement issued over the weekend and signed  by Malawi’s CCJP National Secretary, Chris Chisoni.

Chisoni has called on South Africans perpetrating the hatred and attacks on foreigners to immediately stop what they are doing. He has reminded South Africans that, “During the fight against the Apartheid regime of South Africa, most black (freedom) fighters got support from a number of African countries. The operations for the liberation movement were launched and planned in most of these African countries. The cooperation and the inter-dependence of southern African countries (with South Africa) cannot be over-emphasised nor can it be easily dismissed,” he said.

Chisoni states that currently South African companies are exporting South African products into many African countries. “As such most African countries are a market for South African products. Such economic linkages can neither be wished away nor overlooked,“ he added.

According to Malawi’s CCJP, the reappearance of the xenophobic attacks on foreign nationals in South Africa is becoming a worrying trend.  CCJP  has since urged the South African Government not to pay a blind eye to the problem.

Thousands of Malawians live and work in South Africa as do many African migrants and refugees. As of last week, the Malawian government was planning to repatriate its citizens from South Africa following an outbreak of the xenophobic violence.

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