"In the post-apartheid South Africa, resurgence of xenophobic violence is a symptom of the deep leadership deficit. For the fourth consecutive week now, South Africa is witnessing what many analysts call a "resurgence" of xenophobic violence in parts of Johannesburg and Pretoria, the country's capital city. The reality is that this type of violence is a daily occurrence in the country, although it does not always get media attention. It has, in fact, become a longstanding feature in post-apartheid South Africa." - Jean Pierre Misago, African Centre for Migration and Society, Johannesburg
South Africa is not unique in seeing a "resurgence" of antiimmigrant violence this year. As in many other countries, notably the United States and many European countries, this trend draws on widespread prejudice among substantial sectors of citizens against immigrants seen as criminal and job-takers. But it is also driven by official state policy which employs its own official bureaucratic violence, by the "leadership deficit" cited by Misago, and by even more massive and multifaceted anti-immigrant campaigns such as that currently being mobilized by the new U.S. administration.
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