Xenophobia isn't only a South African problem

I agree that xenophobia is not a South African problem. It is everywhere. I've lived in a few countries and travelled to many and I've never been anywhere that is free of discrimination against one or other group of people.

In the UK refugees and immigrants are scapegoated, using the same arguments and are also used politically – particularly around election times and times of economic difficulty and the media ramp it all up to sell sensational stories. People here also have and do die of xenophobic attacks, though not on the same scale.

It is also institutionalised though steps have been taken to address this and there is consistent activism around these issues. Perhaps where there is greater inequality there is also more violence? Perhaps at times of greater economic uncertainty there is more scapegoating?

My concern about South Africa is personal and I would dearly like it to flourish for the benefit of all.

The economic system in South Africa is brutal and the wealth gap unforgiveable but materialism is driven I think partly by fear of how vulnerable you are if you don't have the means to protect yourself through the Security Industrial Complex that is thriving, so even people who have access to credit are living on that and are more economically precarious than they appear and therefore not so secure in themselves or the world.

The psychological well-being of South Africa as a nation needs attending to on a deeper level than what World Cup mania can deliver. Material NECESSITIES are vital for life but over and above that self esteem is built on deeper things such as shared community, culture and value for all people.

Nationalism runs very deep and people who are living in comfort express the same nationalist sentiments about recent migrants not belonging, though they don't necessarily act on them in the same way that some of the poorest people have but it is all part of the same thing and all share responsibility. (I have more controversial things to say but will save for another posting as I don't want to do harm in any way at a time like this) I think it is a nationalism that runs seamlessly through South African society pre and post 1994 and to me it is a rigid, ugly phenomenon. I live in the UK and since the violence of 2008 I am gradually becoming more and more distant from many of my friends in SA, who are from all sections of society, because our opinions are poles apart on all these issues.