Now is the Time for Running

Xenophobia denotes prejudice against people from other countries. It sometimes intersects with racism, but not always. Understanding the history of South Africa is crucial when looking at the country’s contemporary xenophobia. Until 1994, South Africa was ruled by a white-minority apartheid government. This government enforced strict racial segregation and privileged white South Africans. During apartheid, Black South Africans were forcibly displaced from their homes and were compelled to occupy racially segregated townships. These townships were underdeveloped, and people were forced to live in poverty, as they were only allowed to hold certain jobs. When apartheid ended in 1994, the economic and social effects of segregation lingered. Black South Africans were still economically disadvantaged, and wealth disparities continued. Many Black South Africans still live in underdeveloped townships today. 

Like Deo and Innocent, many refugees come to South Africa to escape violence in their home countries, while others come seeking better lives and favorable economic prospects. Often, they face dangerous border crossings into South Africa, as they are usually forced to enter the country illegally. The arrival of refugees and immigrants in South Africa has caused tensions between Black South Africans and Black people from other African countries like Zimbabwe. Refugees usually move into informal settlements within townships, where they are viewed with hostility and suspicion by South Africans. Refugees are perceived as a threat to jobs and are thought to be involved in crime, despite little statistical evidence to support this claim. The word used against Deo in this text, k*********, is a derogatory slur used by Black South Africans against foreign Africans. 

In the 1990s and 2000s, several instances of xenophobic violence in townships occurred, and many refugees were beaten and even killed. Attacks on foreign Africans increased dramatically in 2007, and in 2008, there were riots in Alexandra Township. Migrants from Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and Malawi were targeted. In the initial riots in Alexandra, two people were killed, and the violence then spread to other townships across the country. There were widespread reports of property destruction and rape, and tens of thousands of displaced individuals ended up in UN refugee camps, though this was far from a permanent solution. Eventually, the refugee camps closed and migrants were simply told that they had to return to their home countries or reintegrate into South African society. No formal reintegration plan was ever devised by the South African government. In Michael Williams’s author’s note, he describes a photograph “of a man burning to death during the xenophobic attacks in South Africa in 2008” (170). This photograph inspired him to write Now Is the Time for Running. He wanted to use his novel to shed light on the humanity of refugees in South Africa and to promote better cross-cultural understanding.

Even today, the political problems engendered by these events continue. There are approximately 250,000 refugees and asylum seekers currently living in South Africa, and xenophobia remains a major problem. During the 2019 election campaign, President Cyril Ramaphosa blamed migrants for the current crime rates, and riots broke out in Durban. Three people were killed, and many shops owned by foreigners were looted or destroyed.