The South African xenophobia has further upset American Somalis who are protesting in solidarity with their Somali kinfolk in S. Africa. First a protest in Columbus, Ohio and now one in Minneapolis.
They need to tell Obama to put pressure on the Socialist Rainbow Nation he admires so much when he visits later this month. The struggling new government of Somalia doesn’t have much power.
From the Chronicle:
GIN) – Hundreds of Somali-Americans rallied in Minnesota this week to protest the murder of a Somali shop owner in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. The Somali man was killed during a week of riots that targeted Somalis and other African foreigners.
[…..]
At the demonstration in St. Paul, Hali Mahmoud, the dead man’s sister, addressed a crowd of hundreds of Somali-Americans. Speaking amidst tears, she said her 27 year old brother had died a painful death.
The recent outbreak of “hate crime” brought back memories of May 2008 when an explosion of xenophobia or racism against foreign nationals left 62 dead and several hundred injured. It also caused the voluntary deportation of immigrants to their home countries and the destruction of immigrant-owned property.
Analysts link the anti-foreigner anger to high unemployment, a shortage of good jobs, housing and other basic necessities. But thinking this is “poor-on-poor” violence is not sustained by facts, argued David Cote of South Africa’s Lawyers for Human Rights. [Well then what is it Mr. Cote??? These “human rights” types can’t bring themselves to say that blacks could possibly harbor xenophobic tendencies toward other blacks something everyone knows is reserved only to whites. —-ed]
There is a deep mistrust of law enforcement to protect local resident and solve crimes,” wrote Khadija Patel in the Daily Maverick newspaper of South Africa.
“Citizens have little faith in formal institutions and are resorting to violence,” said the director of the Cape Town office for the Institute for Security Studies. “It is very possible that some of the victims may well be innocent.”
Corruption and bad management on the part of the ruling government in S.A.!
“Corruption, bad management and an unclear policy has taken its toll… Daily reports of police officers tearing up refugee papers on the street and making cash demands from shop owners during searches of their businesses lend to the perception that there is no protection for foreigners against violence and persecution.
On Friday in Cape Town, a march of about 200 people was held to protest attacks on foreigners.
Meanwhile, in Minnesota, more than 250 leaders, community leaders and Muslim religious representatives assembled at the State Capitol to remember Abdi Nasir Mahmoud and condemn his murder and the murders of other Somalis in South Africa. Hassan Mohamud, imam of Da’wah Islamic Center in St. Paul pleaded with the Somali government to secure safety and justice for the Somalis abroad.
Forget the new Somali government, just tell Obama to work his magic on the African National Congress—the black ruling party of S.A.!
Photo: The photo of the Imam is from this 2008 story about violence in Minneapolis and the murder of Somali youths by other Somalis.