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John Mugisa's Page
Profile
- What motivated you to become involved in peace and conflict resolution?
- I come from Ituri Province in the Democratic republic of the Congo. I experienced conflict and i lost many of my relatives in killings.I was asked many times to join different movements in the Province. I refused to join factions because I knew violence was not the solution to the crisis. I dicided to study conflict resolution in orther to solve conflicts in nonviolent and nonmilitaristic ways.
- Please feel free to provide a short bio about yourself (no more than 3 paragraphs)
- My name is Mwesigwa John Mugisa; I am from DR Congo. I have a (BEd), a BA (HONS) and a MA in Linguistics from the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South africa. Currently, I doing a PhD in Conflict Resolution & Peace studies at University of KWaZulu-Natal. I participated in various seminars, workshops and courses on Non-violence, conflict analysis and conflict resolution and Peace-building. I am very keen and focused on peace-building in its essence. I work on a volunteer basis in Central Africa Conflict Prevention association (CACOPA) as a Program Director.
- Please list the countries and/or regions in which you have direct and significant expertise
- The Great Lakes Region, East Africa and Southern Africa.
- What is your current country of residence?
- South Africa
- What is your current job (and organization) and/or where and what field are you studying?
- Member of Central Africa Conflict Prevention Association (NGO) and PhD student in Conflict Resolution & Peace Studies.
- What is one of your favorite websites in the field? (please provide one answer per box)
- http://Books and academic articles on peace related issues. There a...
- Which are your primary sectoral areas of expertise?
- Conflict Resolution, Conflict Mainstreaming, Humanitarian Relief, Gender, Education, Civil Society
- Which are your primary skills areas?
- Training, Program Administration, Advocacy
- What are some of your current areas of research (if any)?
- Human Security and Peace building
Conflict resolution, management, transformation and prevention.
- If appropriate feel free to list several of your publications
- The Armed Conflict in Ituri and Human Security (ready to be published).
Events
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XVI Annual World Open Space on Open Space
July 23, 2008 at 6pm to July 26, 2008 at 6pm – Fort Mason -
Human Rights Accompaniment Volunteers to work with Colombian Peace Community and Other Partner Organizations Training, NY
July 29, 2008 at 9am – Fellowship of Reconciliation -
Building Justice Across Borders
August 2, 2008 at 9am – Colombia -
Global Call for Submissions: Earth Charter Oneness Book Project
August 15, 2008 from 6am to 11pm – International
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On the 11th May 2008, the township of Alexandra witnessed sharks belong to foreigners being burnt, the properties being looted and some who could not save their lives were either killed or severely injured. The question is why did this happen? News reporters went on the streets to seek what to feed the media. South Africans accused foreigners of taking the jobs and women; that foreigners stay in RDPs houses which are initially built for nationals, they say that petrol and food price hikes are the consequences of foreigners in the country and there are many other reasons.
The plight of xenophobia has been present among South Africans for quite long period now. In many instances foreigners were killed sporadically in different corners of the country. The nickname “amakwerekwere” has always been used derogatively to demonstrate hate to people from other African countries.
Before I go further, let me enlighten the public, especially for those who do not know the categories of foreigners. I classify these foreigners in four groups, that is, migrant workers, asylum seekers and refugees, foreigners from other continents (America, Asia and Europe and a small number from West Indies and Australasia) and members of diplomatic corpse. Migrant workers come mostly from neighboring countries such as Botswana, Lisotho, Mozambique, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, and a bit further Tanzania and Zambia. On the other hand, asylum seekers and refugees come from countries ravaged by civil wars in the Great Lakes Region, East Africa and to some extent West Africa. In the two last categories, foreigners come from different parts in the world, including countries that are already mentioned. I do this just to show which category of foreigners were targeted during the killings.
From the four categories that I mentioned, only the two first categories (asylum seekers and refugees and migrant workers) were attacked. Is it because most of them dwell with South Africans or is it because they are in great numbers in the country, or is it because some do not have proper documentation? There are, inter alia, many questions that need to be answered. My intention is not to single out who was attacked and who was not. I simply want to disassociate facts that will lead us to sustainable solution to the crisis.
If I say irregularity in issuing proper documentation was the cause, who is to blame? Illegal immigrants or those who issue documentation, but first to start how did they enter this country? I do not want to expand on that Deborah Patter with her 3rd Degree programs on e-TV has made a humongous contribution in terms of corruption in issuing documents to foreigners and illegal borders crossing. If the reason was the numeric number, the following question is why are they leaving their countries? What South Africa has done in terms of helping their respective countries to reach conditions conducive to good life that will hold back the citizens of those countries not to invade South Africa? I would be ungrateful not to reckon what South Africa has done to restore peace in countries such DR Congo, Burundi and others. This was the fruit of what politicians call “loud diplomacy.” I understand that the contrary does not work properly. The question of people leaving together can aggravate hatred because it is easy to see “who does what.” This can easily fuel tension due to jealousy and other things. So, it is easier people to turn to one another since they share the same space. Perhaps this is the reason why other categories were not really affected since they leave far way from the majority of shark dwellers.
They say foreigners take their jobs. Many foreigners (mostly refugees) are in informal sector of business. The majority of them earn a living through hairdressing, making and selling women shoes; car guarding and some are vendors on the streets. Government offices are a ‘no-go area.’ Although, their status stipulates that “refugees are entitled to study and work in South Africa;” this does not apply when looking for jobs. In many cases, they ask them “Green ID Book” and not the red one issued by Home Affairs. As for migrant workers, especially Mozambicans and Zimbabweans work in mines and farms with inhumane wages.
They say foreigners are occupying RDP Houses whereas these houses are constructed for nationals. If this is the case; who to Blame? One thing is sure is that they do not invade those properties. Who gave them the permission to stay in those houses?
So far, I have not yet been able to find out the genuine reasons why foreigners are resented in South Africa. I think it is high time that the government invested itself in finding the true reasons of xenophobia. Sending people in camps is not a solution. In Gauteng, neighbors where camps are set are already protesting the presence of foreigners on the ground that these people will enhance crime in their communities. In KwaZulu-Natal, camps are set in the bush. In the Cape, internal displaced people are lodging in porcine.
Re-integration for now seems to be a dream. Mutual trust is disrupted. Foreigners and nationals mistrust one another. Nationals have clearly indicated that they do not want foreigners. On ‘Interface Program’ 65% responded ‘no’ against 35% who said ‘yes’ to a question: “Will foreigners ever be accepted in South Africa.” Last Sunday the question was: “should foreigners be re-integrated again?’ the responses were 33% said ‘yes’ and 67% said ‘no.’ These are the views of South Africans about foreigners. To avoid chaos in the future, it is very important that the government of South Africa took into consideration the views of the people who elected them in power.
To me the solution would be; to reinforce immigration laws, to set up a proper control of borders and issue documents to illegal people, to encourage repatriation and for those that repatriation is not possible to precede to resettlement in other countries meanwhile to government is campaigning and explaining to the nationals why people move from one country to another. This can take up to 10 years from now, and then re-integration can be possible. Healing the wounds process must take place first rather than forcing people into one another. This will fuel tensions and consequences might go out of hand. The government should also look at socio-economical problems of the nationals and address them accordingly. A woman interviewed on TV said, Mandela promised us “free everything.” The so-called ‘free everything’ is not working and she believes that foreigners are the cause why free everything is delaying therefore chasing foreigners would be a solution.
John Mugisa is reading his doctorate in Conflict Resolution & Peace Studies at thev University of KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa) and is a member of Central Africa Conflict Prevention Association (CACOPA).
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