May 2008 South Africa riots

2008 South Africa riots
Part of the Xenophobia in South Africa

Map of South Africa
Date12 May 2008
Location
Result 62 people dead,[1] several hundred injured, voluntary deportation of immigrants to home countries, destruction of immigrant-owned property

The May 2008 South African riots was a wave of xenophobic riots starting in Alexandra, Gauteng (a neighborhood of Johannesburg) on 12 May 2008 and then spreading to other locations across South Africa. The violence started when South African residents of Alexandra attacked migrants from Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe, killing two people and injuring 40 others.[2][3] Some attackers were reported to have been singing Jacob Zuma's campaign song Umshini Wami (Zulu: "Bring Me My Machine Gun").[4]

In the following weeks the violence spread, first to other settlements in the Gauteng Province, then to the coastal cities of Durban[5] and Cape Town.[2] Attacks were also reported in parts of the Western Cape,[6] Mpumalanga,[7] the North West and Free State.[8]

  1. ^ Editorial, Reuters (31 May 2008). "South Africa violence toll rises to 62". Reuters. {{cite news}}: |first= has generic name (help)
  2. ^ a b From 'Foreign Natives' to 'Native Foreigners': Explaining Xenophobia in Post-Apartheid South Africa, Michael Neocosmos, CODESRIA, Dakar, 2010
  3. ^ "South African mob kills migrants". BBC. 12 May 2008. Retrieved 19 May 2008.
  4. ^ "What the U.S. press got wrong about South Africa's xenophobic riots". Slate Magazine. 20 June 2008. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
  5. ^ "South Africa attacks reach Durban". BBC. 21 May 2008. Retrieved 21 May 2008.
  6. ^ "Cape mounts relief effort as xenophobia spreads". SABC. Archived from the original on 12 June 2008. Retrieved 23 May 2008.
  7. ^ "Violence spills into Mpumalanga". The Times. UK. Archived from the original on 7 January 2009. Retrieved 21 May 2008.
  8. ^ "South Africa army mobilises to quell mob violence". Agence France-Presse. Archived from the original on 11 June 2008. Retrieved 22 May 2008.