Xenophobia: Crowd Boos South Africa’s President At Mugabe’s Funeral

Xenophobia – President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa was on Saturday booed by a crowd while giving a speech during the state funeral held for Zimbabwe’s ex-leader, Robert Mugabe, in Harare, the capital, according to the AFP.

At least 12 people were killed in series of violence against African migrants in the former apartheid nation, forcing wide criticisms from across the world.

Speaking at the event on Saturday, Ramaphosa said, “I stand before you as a fellow African to express my regret and apologise for what has happened in our country.”

Speaking at the event on Saturday, Ramaphosa said, “I stand before you as a fellow African to express my regret and apologise for what has happened in our country.”

But unsatisfied with his plea, the crowd went on booing him, disrupting much of the activities for a few minutes before calm was restored.

Following the xenophobic attacks, President Muhammadu Buhari ordered the evacuation of Nigerians affected by the crisis with at least over 180 citizens already airlifted back to Nigeria.

Xenophobia is the fear or hatred of that which is perceived to be foreign or strange. Xenophobia can involve perceptions of an ingroup toward an outgroup and can manifest itself in suspicion of the activities of others, and a desire to eliminate their presence to secure a presumed purity and may relate to a fear of losing national, ethnic or racial identity.

Xenophobia can also be exhibited in the form of an “uncritical exaltation of another culture” in which a culture is ascribed “an unreal, stereotyped and exotic quality”. According to UNESCO, the terms xenophobia and racism often overlap, but differ in how the latter encompasses prejudice based on physical characteristics while the former is generally centered on behavior based on the notion of a specified people being adverse to the culture or nation.

Source – http://saharareporters.com/