A Fanonian perspective on the May 2008 xenophobic violence in South Africa : a case study of the Tshwane Municipality

Abstract

The research on xenophobia in South Africa is underpinned by the relationship described by Frantz Fanon between violence and oppression present within the structures of domination. This research addresses the colonial structures that manifested themselves within the oppressive modes in societies. It employs a Fanon analysis of the xenophobic violence of May 2008 and serves to provide an understanding of the experiences of a particular condition and of how a broader invisible context plays an important role in what society sees and assimilates. The question can be asked: Is it safe to say that the xenophobic attacks were racist, or was it mere bigotry? An analysis based on the writings of Franz Fanon coupled with a psychological account of the participants, affirms that the xenophobic attacks revealed that the previously colonised or oppressed black people in South Africa reacted with regard to the assimilation of the master and its slave narrative and dialect. Theories of oppression and slavery posit that patterns of colonialism reoccur and manifest themselves both internally and externally within society. A serious debate is necessary to question whether the incidents came at a time that South Africa should have reflected on society’s interaction with foreign immigrants.