No need to worry

It has come to my attention that my post about xenophobic violence in South Africa might cause some people to worry about my safety here. After rereading it, I realize it's a bit dramatic. The reality is that the first part of the last line rings true: I have no reason to be scared for my personal safety here.

Historically, xenophobic violence has been committed by members of the impoverished communities and targeted against other impoverished Africans. And the violence is physically isolated within those communities. As a white American living in a wealthyish suburb of Cape Town, it is unlikely I will see any xenophobic violence other than through photos in the newspaper.

The apartheid strategy of divide (literally, the city and townships in Cape Town are divided by mountains) and rule set up a very structured approach to separating the white population (today it's more honest to say upper/middle classes, though still majority white) from the black and coloured populations (today, the poor). I do not expect to be impacted by violence because the apartheid structure, the aparthied landscape, still lives. If it weren't for media coverage, or the fact that I'm volunteering with an organization concerned with the wellbeing of immigrants, I could easily go about my day without knowing anything about what is happening in the townships.

So far there have been several reported incidents of violence - approximately 35 Somali-owned shops were looted and around 110 people were displaced by a mob throwing rocks. Based on what the boss told me, the police responded swiftly and safety sites were set up for the displaced until things calm down. I think the South African government will do everything in its power to stomp out any violence. It would be stupid to let all the goodwill earned from hosting a successful World Cup go to waste. The government has had plenty of time to prepare for such attacks and it has experience dealing with it from the 2008 outbreak. It should know how to react and it would be stupid for it not to.