| THE Bishop of Natal, the Rt Revd Rubin Phillip, has described as “deeply disturbing” the wave of xenophobic violence in South Africa, part of which he witnessed last week (News, 23 May).
The Bishop went to Cato Manor police station in Durban, where hundreds of foreign nationals, whom he described as having been “flushed from their homes” on the Thursday evening, had taken refuge. In an email message sent from the police station, he wrote: “Many of them have been badly injured, and I have arranged for them to receive treatment. All of them are scared about what might happen to them when they leave this place; so I am trying to get our Anglican parishes in Durban to provide them with shelter.”
The churches would also undertake to feed the displaced people, and St Cyprian’s was already arranging meals, the Bishop said.
Two thousand mostly Zimbabwean refugees were given shelter by Bishop Paul Verryn at the Central Methodist Church in Johannesburg. Bishop Verryn was the first white minister to be placed in a black township by the Methodist Church, and fell foul of Winnie Mandela when he preached against apartheid and police brutality in South Africa 20 years ago.
Traumatised refugees were reported to be encamped head to toe throughout the building. A Scotland on Sunday report from Johannesburg said that doctors from Médecins Sans Frontières, who regularly run a small clinic from the church, had also been treating gunshot wounds, head traumas, wounds resulting from beatings, lacerations, burns, and other injuries related to the violence. Mobs had twice tried to storm the church to get at the terrified migrants.
The general secretary of the All-Africa Conference of Churches, the Revd Mvume Dandala, a Methodist who was a mediator in the period after apartheid, said this week: “As a South African, I stand truly embarrassed, pained, and anguished about the recent developments in my country.”
Bishop Phillip that said he had sought the direct assurance of the Minister for Safety and Security that he would do everything in his power to ensure the safety of those who had taken refuge.
Church leaders, led by the Council of Churches in Zambia, have warned that the violence could spread to neighbouring countries, and have called on the Southern African Development Community (SADC) to convene a special meeting of the region’s leaders.
Mozambique declared a state of emergency last week, as 10,000 of its citizens living in South Africa fled back across the border. The Foreign Minister, Oldemiro Baloi, warned: “The exodus will worsen,” since thousands still housed in makeshift camps were awaiting transport back home. President Mwanawasa of Zambia has condemned the attacks as not in line with the spirit of African unity.
The Vatican has voiced its support for the migrants, in a message expressing grief over the “tragic events of the past days that caused death, injury, and destruction among many migrants and refugees in South Africa”. The Pontifical Council for Migrants and Itinerant People sent a message of solidarity to the Archbishop of Johannesburg and chairman of the Southern African Catholic Bishops’ Conference, the Most Revd Buti Tlhagale OMI. |
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