8 September 2008
Cape Town — He was rebuilding his life after the xenophobic violence, but Abdul-kadir Karakoos is now living in fear again after Somali shopkeepers in Khayelitsha were warned to pack their goods and go.
"We were left with nothing after the violence in May. We've been rebuilding our lives from scratch and now we get this thing," Karakoos said yesterday.
The "thing" is a letter from the Zanokhanyo Retailers' Association, hand-delivered to about 100 Somali shops in Khayelitsha, ordering them to shut down their businesses by September 14 while "community leaders" decide their fate.
The letter warns "All Foreign Shop Owners (somalians) (sic)" that they have between August 25 and September 14 to close their shops "until further notice".
"The business, political and community leadership of Khayelitsha is currently engaging with each other in finding a solution for the influx of your shops into our communities all matter regarding your existence in our communities are being discussed (sic)," the letter states.
Meanwhile, the police have vow-ed to act swiftly at the slightest indication of renewed violence and were in Khayelitsha checking up on the Somalis this morning.
Provincial police spokesman Superintendent André Traut said crime intelligence units were monitoring the situation closely.
"We have more than enough staff to deal with this. Any violence will be met by the full force of the law," Traut said.
This morning Community Safe-ty MEC Patrick McKenzie said he would not tolerate any incitement to violence and that he had ordered police to "thoroughly" investigate the actions of the person who signed the letter. "I want us to be proactive with this, not reactive like the last time," he said.
McKenzie also asked his department to send out a team in a bid to "bring people together".
"I want to assure the Somalis in our province that not only will they have the same protection as everybody else, but that they are welcome here," he said.
But the Zanokhanyo Retailers' Association, which falls under the National African Federated Chamber of Commerce (Nafcoc), remains adamant that it will "deal with foreigners who are taking over businesses".
Mandisi Njoli, Nafcoc secretary general in Khayelitsha, said locals could no longer keep up with the competition from Somali stores.
"Local businesses used to have a promising future here, but now they are being outnumbered by foreigners. Their shops are everywhere," he said.
"The locals are being sidelined and also need to eat."
The UN High Commission on Refugees has condemned the letter, arguing that it could jeopardise the reintegration of Somalis into the community.
"These people are still trying to deal with the whole pro-cess of reintegration. We can't afford for them to become in-timidated," said the commission's Oliver Beer.
Xenophobic attacks since May have displaced about 20 000 foreign nationals in the province.
Yesterday Abdulrahim Mo-hammed, who owns two shops in Khayelitsha, told the Cape Argus that his bags were packed and he was ready to leave at a moment's notice.
"We fear for our lives. This is just like Somalia only worse. I am always on standby. I only open my doors for a few minutes when customers come," he said.
Karakoos, who is chairman of the Cape Flats Somali Community, said many Somali shop owners had contacted the organisation after receiving the letter, saying they feared more xenophobic attacks.
"I'm shocked to receive such threats from people who are supposed to be my brothers in business. What they don't understand is that we employ locals, we create jobs," he said.
After receiving the letter, Karakoos called Zanokhanyo Retailers' Association chairman Sydwell Citwa in an attempt to resolve the situation. "When I asked him if we could talk, he told me: 'My friend, enough is enough,' and he hung up."
Additional reporting by Niémah Davids and Henri du Plessis.
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