The origins of this research lay in the wave of xenophobic attacks which swept across South Africa in May 2008. The report looks at xenophobic violence and community protests together, drawing the links both empirically as one form of collective…
Violence in society is like a crack in a mirror. The crack distorts the image of us, and we become ambiguous. Un-unified. Like the mirror's crack, violence destroys the fabric that unites people, thus eliminating the possibility of togetherness. South…
In recent years, a number of African states – especially those emerging from conflict and periods of serious human rights violations – have adopted or proposed various mechanisms to deal with the past. Rwanda, Burundi, Togo, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Sudan,…
This paper explores the relationship between violence that engenders displacement and the forms of violence that result from displacement. Focusing specifically on Africa's Great Lakes region, the analysis seeks to point to ways in which a transition to stability can…
Being both foreign and female increased the vulnerability of women during the xenophobic violence in South Africa. Xenophobia targets women and children because they are central to making settlement happen. They denote a more permanent move, the laying down of…
On the 19th of May 2008 the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) convened a meeting of all Chapter 9 Institutions as well as NGO's to discuss Civil Societies response to the xenophobic violence. During this meeting the Centre for…