ADF fears xenophobic attacks on social media

THE African Diaspora Forum (ADF) said it was concerned about xenophobic utterances on social media, especially towards Zimbabweans affected by the cancellation of the Zimbabwean Exemption Permit (ZEP).

The South African government has discontinued the ZEP and appealed to all affected Zimbabweans to apply for mainstream visas. There was also the option of applying for a waiver.

Civil society organisations had taken the matter to court, with over 100 000 Zimbabweans expected to be affected by the discontinuation of the ZEP.

The Zimbabwean community affected has until the end of the year to migrate to normal visas.

The ADF said the latest government decision on the ZEP had once again unleashed a torrent of xenophobic abuse on social media platforms and elsewhere.

According to the ADF, migrants are under constant attack in the country by reactionary forces using, among other things, “virulent hate speech on platforms such as Twitter to incite and promote prejudice against migrants. Their words and actions have tragically led to many killings and displacements of migrants across the country,” the ADF said.

Speaking on behalf of the ADF and the Zimbabwean community, Ngqabutho Mabhena said the diaspora forum was doing its best to counter the xenophobic campaign on social media.

“The ADF has been trying to improve and enhance its presence on social media platforms. The difficulty, however, is that the ADF is against numerous ‘bots’ who seem to be well-funded and well-organised,” Mabhena said.

Mabhena said there was no clear solution to stop the xenophobic campaign against Zimbabweans and other communities. But he said it was important to educate the public about the political and economic matters that cause immigration.

“There is no easy solution. We have embarked on a campaign to educate people, especially South Africans, that migrants do not pose a threat to jobs or are the cause of poor service delivery. We also expect the providers of social media platforms to take action against those spewing hate and unsubstantiated vitriol against migrants,” he said.

In the past, there has been tension between South Africans and Zimbabweans over work opportunities, mainly for low-skilled work. Some South Africans directed their anger at Zimbabweans who were in the country because of political and economic instability in their mother country.

A huge population fled to other countries, including Europe, to find greener pastures.

The Star