The columnist continued: "The big bang may have just happened. It took just two weeks to kill nearly 50 people, displace 15 000 others, and get images of their burning, bloodied and terrified victims into the international spotlight."
Some South Africans who spoke to Ecumenical News International in Nairobi, but did not want to be named, accused supporters of Jacob Zuma, the president of South Africa's ruling African National Congress, of stirring up the violence.
Zuma himself addressed a crowd of thousands in Springs township near Johannesburg, saying that violence would not solve problems of crime, poverty and unemployment, but would make them worse. He was, however, heckled as he urged an end to the attacks. Some people told him that they voted for the ANC, but they got nothing in return.
In South Africa, local church congregations have been in the forefront of efforts to provide refuge and shelter to the victims of xenophobic attacks.
"Many people have fought a brave battle to welcome those who have been made to feel unwelcome. Suddenly, people appeared from all sides to offer assistance," said Robert Steiner, minister of the United church in the Cape Town suburb of Rondebosch, which received more than 100 people of Somali origin in one day in mid-May.
Within hours, without media publicity, but through informal networks, e-mails and text messages, food, blankets and mattresses were brought to the church by members and concerned members of the public.
The following morning, the refugees were evacuated to safety by the police to the Youngsfield airbase several kilometres away. Later that same day, another 120 Somalis arrived at the same church, seeking refuge, and more are expected in the coming days.
Steiner cited the biblical command in the book of Leviticus for the people of God: "When an alien resides with you in your land, you shall not oppress the alien. The alien who resides with you shall be to you as the citizen among you" (Leviticus 19:33-34).
He commented, "At the heart of our faith tradition are stories of those who have been displaced."
[source: www.eni.ch]
