"My Dear Brother, I was very happy to hear from you after a long time. It is a pity that we are reconnecting under sad and painful circumstances which have prompted you to write an open letter to me. I remember you from our days in Mozambique, when you worked at the Mozambique Information Agency and when you were editor of Tempo magazine and later of Noticias.
I cannot forget the friendship that Mozambique accorded my comrades and to me personally. In fact Mozambique became my second home and it remains my home.
You are in pain as your letter indicates, because of the deaths of Mozambicans and the general attacks on foreign nationals in parts of our country. South Africans are also in pain because of the tragic and senseless killings of all seven persons in the past weeks. These are three South Africans and four foreign nationals. May their souls rest in peace and may their tragic deaths unite us all in the quest for peace and an end to violence.
This is a difficult period for our country and its people. Millions of peace loving South Africans are in pain because they are being accused of being xenophobic which is not true. South Africans are definitely not xenophobic. The actions of a small minority should not be used to wrongfully label and stereotype more than 50 million people.
Since 1994, we have worked tirelessly to rebuild our country and to reverse the legacy of apartheid colonialism. We have made progress in building a society that is based on the respect for the right to life, human rights, equality and human dignity. We continue to build a society free of any form of discrimination. We are doing so because we know the pain of being discriminated against because of your skin colour, language or nationality.
You reminded me of the hospitality and generosity that was accorded to me by Mozambicans during my stay in your beautiful country in exile. We agree that we benefited immensely from international solidarity and friendship during our struggle against apartheid. Our brothers and sisters in the African continent in particular shared their meagre resources with us. Many were killed for supporting our struggle for freedom. The Matola raid in your beautiful country is an example. It is for this reason that we embrace our African brothers and sisters who migrate to South Africa legally. In fact our migration policy is advanced because we integrate refugees and asylum seekers within our communities. They live among our citizens, they are part of us. We are one people as President Samora Machel said after the tragic Matola raid in which many Mozambicans were killed by apartheid security forces.
We built our movements together in the early years of the anticolonial struggle. We shared camps in Tanzania. Umkhonto Wesizwe (MK) cadres fought side by side with the Angolan MPLA and the Cubans to defend Angola’s independence.
South Africa has not changed and has not forgotten such comradeship and solidarity. But like most countries that have emerged from conflict, we have deep-seated challenges.
We appreciate the contribution of foreign nationals in South Africa. They contribute to our economic development by investing in the economy, bringing critical skills and through adding to the diversity that we pride ourselves in. But there are also some complaints or problems that citizens have raised which need to be addressed. These include the increasing number of illegal and undocumented immigrants in the country, the displacement of many local small traders by foreign nationals and that some of the migrant traders operate illegally. There are also accusations that foreign nationals commit crimes such as drug peddling and human trafficking, that they take the jobs of locals as employers prefer them as they are prepared to take lower wages and also complaints about free government housing that is secured by foreign nationals. We have emphasised that none of these grievances justify any form of violence against foreign nationals and that it will never be tolerated by government. We are also pointing out that not all migrants are in the country illegally and not all are involved in criminal activities.
In the short-term we will also improve the implementation of the existing migration policy including tightening controls at the ports of entry and borders and also ensuring adherence to the laws of the country, while protecting migrants and the local population from criminal elements who are taking advantage of the tensions caused by socio-economic challenges. Work has also begun to review the country’s migration policy based on the current and recent experiences.
Our government will rely on the cooperation of sister countries in the continent from where most of the migrants come, as we search for solutions.
We truly appreciate the encouraging messages from the African Union, the United Nations and other regions.
What also gives us strength as government, is that we are working with the full support of our peace-loving population. The peace and friendship marches that are being held throughout the country embody the South Africa we know and the South Africa we are proud of. That is the South Africa which condemns hatred, violence, racism, xenophobia and all other related intolerances.
I invite you to join us my dear brother, as we move beyond the anger and pain, and promote sustainable and inclusive development as well as peace and friendship all over Africa.
Sincerely yours,
President Jacob Zuma
Tshwane, South Africa
To read the writer's letter, click HERE
51 comments:
Them he shuld have come out to condemn it right from the start..
www.glowyshoe.blogspot.com
Ain't reading that shit, ur country is indeed a Xenophobic country am sure of that
Ubanagum
SO WAT IS IT??U VE TYM TO QUICKLY ADDRES DS BT CUDNT ADRESS D ATTACKS WEN IT STRTD AND WEN COUNTRIES WER ANGRY WIT SA ATTACKS ON FOREIGNERS...OGA DO DE NIDFUL DS AINT TYM FOR STORI...TOMJERRYSWIT
See his head like kerosene mango......this man need to be eaten alive by a puma
See his head like kerosene mango......this man need to be eaten alive by a puma
No wonder he was booed during madiba's funeral.
He should wake up from his slumber
The serial husband should just shove their whole land mass up his unquombothi drinking ass. Bastards all of them
My thots exactly
say no to xenophobia
we are one
DISCOVER THE SECRET OF LOOSING WEIGHT AND BURNING STURBORN BELLY FAT CLICK HERE
SA still has the undertones of Apartheid and Xenophobia is just an unfortunate consequence of the built up pressure.
Yes, they(South Africans) have misplaced anger issues. They should find that reset button for their country, we (other Africans) are not the reason for their misfortunes.
*** mynameisSkelewu
JACOB ZUMA SHAME ON YOU.............
Man u wicked ooo his head like kerosene mango rotfl
Imagine, so he v time 2 reply d open letter bt too busy 2 stop is blood sucking pple 4rm killing innocent foreigners abi, idiot. Ur country is notin bt a xenophobic country simple
He is trying to b diplomatic. D damages has already b done, and no matter he says can not change it.
@daminat S, here is Linda email lindaikejiads@gmail.com
U requested for it via yesterday comment to davido drivers.
U shld have written an open letter wen d attacks started mchew
@daminat S, here is Linda email lindaikejiads@gmail.com
U requested for it via yesterday comment to davido drivers.
Shame! After all he is an instigator of violence...Shame on SAs!
Royalhoyse boy r u stalking me?
Oh welll! Lindaobserve
You're right @oyelaja
Some low thinking was made there...
It's such a shame
what the f****k is this confused from an insane country saying?
if your country isn't a xenophobic nation, then what the bleep is it
Nimelda Said so.........
Your country is if that is what we need at this point...
Zulu Goodwill Zwelithini is the worse...
I love dis words of his "May their souls rest in peace and may their tragic deaths unite us all in the quest for peace and an end to violence".
All d same thumbs up to him, and I wish him well.
Zuma is a drunk
There is a marked difference between this and the rude response to the Nigerian govt. Clearly Zuma has no respect for the Gej.
Yes Sir. Your country is definitely Xenophobic. Please don't start with the diplomatic bull.
BRUCE JENNER: Really? http://misseby.blogspot.com/2015/04/bruce-jenner-gender-transitioning.html?m=1
This should have been said earlier
This man is dumb...he need to be flogged in public
He is more of a confused man. Linda take note!
a.k.a EDWIN CHINEDU AZUBUKO said...
.
To slap this president dey hungry me i swear.....
.
.
***CURRENTLY IN JUPITER***
Dude Zuma sound pained by the Xenophobic ish.
Its not enough to condemn it when necessary actions has not been taken. Do something Zuma.
#TeamBlessed#
If his country is not a Xenophobic nation then what is it
Those small minorities are the problem,it is a small minority of Muslim that are terrorist,I was a small minority that almost wiped the Jews from the face of the earth yes a small minority commits this crimes and the majority keeps quiet letting the minority represent them
How did he prove that.
And he wrote this long
Not long the man wrote to him
But didn't take few minutes to
make speech to condemn the attack
Very fast so it wouldn't get that bad
There is God oh!!
so he has time to respond but cannot secure the affected areas, yes its a minority that's causing the problem which should make it easier to contain
It's too late to apologise.
well said but that action of a minority is affecting a majority of victims
well said but that action of a minority is affecting a majority of victims
Hahahahahahhaha
This doesn't solve anything
Tdbexperience.blogspot.com
we have apologized over and over again,what must we do now.
Jacob Zouma is a big joke, that he's President is even a slight on the nation. Nobody should take him and his country folks seriously.
Jacob Zuma is talking nonsense mtewww!!!
Dis zuma funny sha wit im crayfish head...de reason lik cockcruch
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