Nelson Mandela Foundation on Xenophobia

Xenophobia - a word most people had never heard of, let alone knew how to pronounce, until 2008 when South Africa experienced a violent outbreak of xenophobic behavior.

Soon, it became the ugly buzzword used to describe the intolerance of migrant workers and illegal immigrants - the "hatred or fear of foreigners or strangers or of their politics or culture". Attacks on these foreigners highlighted the underlying social issues causing thousands of people to leave their country in search of a better life in South Africa, as well as the response from struggling communities who see the influx of foreigners as a threat to their own income and job opportunities.

The Nelson Mandela Foundation recently facilitated a series of dialogues in an effort to build social cohesion and understanding between South Africans and foreign nationals. The Foundation has just released a book capturing this two-year-long process, its achievements and challenges.

Read more about key principles such as community ownership, inclusivity, mutual respect and fundamental human rights.

Nelson Mandela Foundation Opposes Xenophobia

Read this interesting article from the Nelson Mandela Foundation about xenophobia, a hot topic at the recent “Dialogue for Social Change” seminar in South Africa.

The message from the Nelson Mandela Foundation is it's important that communities engage with one another about the issues they face. The Nelson Mandela Foundation hosted experts and community members to speak about the outbreak of xenophobic violence in South Africa.

The foundation's chief executive, Achmat Dangor, said: "We brought into one room people with a lot of expertise to take this message to communities".

Paul Graham from the Institute for Democracy in South Africa, spoke about knowledge being key to building trust and understanding. He touched on how, when research is conducted into some of the complex issues with which South Africa grapples, there is little feedback given to the community, meaning that there is little they can do to change. Sharing knowledge leads to a better society, he argued.

He said: “In truly democratic communities, we learn that, when we share knowledge and individuals prosper, our experience as a society expands for the better.”