Preparing for the worst

Rumors of post-World Cup xenophobic violence have been swirling around South Africa for months. Some incidents have already been reported in the local township communities. Now, with only three days left of the tournament, it seems the attacks are inevitable. The office phone has been ringing all day since Monday with reporters seeking an interview with the boss; we even got a call from the New York Times.

Today, several of my coworkers and I discussed what the organization could/should do to prepare. The consensus was that preventive efforts would be for naught at this point. There's nothing we could do before Monday, especially considering our limited funding, to stop anything from happening. There are plans in the works to set up "help desk" offices in four township to address xenophobic tensions, but those will take at least one month (probably longer) to establish and are designed to be long-term investments in the community. They might be effective today had efforts been made to establish these several months ago. They might also be pointless considering how much frustration is here among the poor - people who are tired of waiting for the services they were promised at independence 16 years ago - to be manipulated. Instead, it seems our efforts are better spent planning for response should anything happen. We think we could be effective in terms of monitoring communities and safety sites after any incidents. I have no experience monitoring on-the-ground conditions in at-risk, post-trauma communities. I hope there is no reason I have to learn this skill set now.

There was one reported incident of a Zimbabwean man being thrown out of a train in the Cape Town area. There are four Zimbabweans who work in the office, all of whom are concerned about being targets after the World Cup. There is one woman - quiet, shy, sweet - who is now scared to ride the train to and from work. It is heartbreaking seeing how scared she is and knowing there is nothing that can be done - nothing I can do - to make her feel safe.

And despite having no reason to be, I am also scared.