Online immigration debate
Bloggers from all corners took part in a live debate on embracing immigrants in the Nelson Mandela Bay community on Wednesday.
The Herald and Weekend Post hosted the debate, chaired by veteran journalist Paddi Clay, as part of The Friendly City Project.
It featured opinions from prominent Mandela Bay community members Mamisa Chabula-Nxiweni, Nomkhita Mona, George Irvine, Odwa Mtati and Janet Cherry.
Clay opened the discussion by asking if the fewer outbreaks of xenophobic violence in Nelson Mandela Bay earlier this year were because there were fewer foreign nationals in the community.
Mtati‘s response highlighted that the majority of foreigners are not dispersed throughout the city, as in Johannesburg.
Instead, they are concentrated, or perhaps isolated, in one or two areas, away from the rest of the community.
Clay then asked if separate areas should be demarcated for different groups.
This provoked a lengthy discussion amongst the panelists. Their views differed slightly, but all agreed integration was key in embracing foreigners.
Cherry said: “We need to promote integration and service delivery instead of isolating immigrants.”
Chabula-Nxiweni said immigrants could at times provide scarce services that South Africans could not competently render.
Mtati, on the other hand, said effective policing was necessary to ensure all perpetrators of crime were dealt with accordingly. “Criminals mustn‘t feel South Africa is a nice place to live,” he said.
Mona pointed out that immigrants were often forced to leave their country. “We should treat them with dignity … they need to become part of us.”
Chabula-Nxiweni said: “They should accept and understand they‘re in a country that‘s not theirs; they‘re in a land with different laws and practices.”
There was an overwhelming response from the online environment, as many shared their views and commented on what the panelists were discussing.
Some respondents blamed foreigners, especially Nigerians, for the high crime rate, for their contribution to drugs, hijackings and prostitution.
However, one respondent pointed out that not all Nigerians were responsible for crime, with some of them contributing positively to the region.
Another asked if people were only made aware of the criminal element. “How many law- abiding Nigerians are in our city?”
One blogger said: “We are no longer able to discipline our children anymore thanks to them. Foreigners entice our kids with money to do drug dealing and prostitution.”
The media also came in for blame. A respondent, from the UK, asked how The Herald felt about contributing to such a sensitive debate and wondered if this was the main issue raised by its readers.
Another asked why white illegal immigrants were referred to as foreigners and blacks as illegal immigrants, and said the media was responsible for creating labels that sent xenophobic messages.
The home affairs department also came under fire. Saying the department could not deal effectively with South Africans, a respondent asked how it could then deal with foreigners‘ issues.
Some respondents said foreigners could not be blamed for everything. “We are the ones giving the Nigerians the market. We should stop buying drugs from them. Let‘s clean up our acts first before we point fingers at other people.”
Others said that addressing the problem efficiently should start with South Africans, and that foreigners could not be expected to respect the country‘s laws and cultures if citizens themselves did not.
Roderick Chimombe was unable to participate as a panelist in the live debate, but gave The Herald his views. He does not believe crime starts with foreigners, but with the community.
“South Africa belongs to all who are staying in it … foreigners should be integrated into the local communities.”
Online immigration debate – give your views
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