Xenophobia: It’s a life issue

BY FR RAYMOND M MWANGALA

In April and May 2008 South Africa was the scene of violent attacks on foreign nationals. These attacks were eventually condemned by a wide section of society, both local and international, civil as well as religious, as evil and against the dignity and rights of human beings.

Sadly, these were not to be the last of such brutal attacks. The country has since experienced several sporadic explosions of violence directed at foreign nationals, mainly from other African countries.

Christians together with the rest of the nation need to seriously reflect on the source of such inhuman behaviour and respond appropriately. Are foreigners as evil as they are made out to be? Who really is a foreigner? How come the majority of attacks are directed at fellow Africans? Why is there a constant threat of such violent attacks erupting? How should Christians respond in a manner that is both credible to the Gospel and relevant to the situation?

Dawn M Nothwehr‘s book That They May Be One: Catholic Social Teaching on Racism, Tribalism and Xenophobia (Orbis, 2008) is a very useful tool in the attempt to formulate an appropriate Christian response to issues of racial justice. It can serve as starting point for reflection on the situation in South Africa.

The book carefully discusses the concept of race. Various constructions and definitions of race and racism are explored. Race is a complex concept which has been defined differently in different contexts. Basically, the book shows how race is a social construct that takes many forms. It is not an objective reality.

Apart from colour-coded racism, the book also examines definitions of xenophobia and tribalism (or ethnocentricity), two forms of segregation and discrimination that are closely related to racism.

While tribe and tribal belonging are positive terms, tribalism is a negative term that refers to a “form of racialised relations between groups”, Notwehr writes. It “is an attitude and practice of harbouring such a strong feeling of loyalty or bonds to one’s tribe that excludes or even dehumanises those ‘others’ who do not belong to that group”.

Xenophobia is the fear of strangers that has both “rational” and “non-rational” sources. Therefore, the attacks on foreigners experienced in South Africa may have both rational and non-rational sources.

As a social construct race and racism has been influenced by politics, biology, anthropology, and sadly has sometimes received religious justification. The Church’s teaching on slavery is a good example of this. At best the Church’s teaching has not been consistent; sometimes it has been ambiguous and at other times it has even been contradictory of the central message of the faith—to love all as God has loved us (Jn 13:34).

Biblical data on the question of slavery is also ambiguous. The real task for the Church, however, is not only to assist people in developing their intellectual capacity, character, and spirituality, but also to teach them the skills and strategies necessary to draw on “difference” as the occasion for empowerment of all and celebration of the presence of God’s grace in all people, rather than as the basis for fearful exclusion or even violence, Notwehr argues.

Racism’s fundamental error is its denial of the full humanity and equality of the “other” who is differently skinned or cultured, and of justifying oppressive limits placed on them. Basically, all forms of racism are a denial of the God-image in the other.

“Sadly, due to the Church’s past complicity in racism and its continued status as part of the dominant culture in many contexts, its teaching concerning racism, tribalism and xenophobia is often suspect,” Notwehr writes.

If anything, the violence in South Africa should serve as a sad reminder that the problem of racism is far from being resolved. It is a symptom of how sick society has become.

Ultimately, however, more than doctrines and statements, it is the actions of Christians that are the most influential factors in the fight against the evils of racism, tribalism and xenophobia.

Why do we promote life’s sanctity if we do not defend the right of all people to live in dignity? This has been a constant call of the Church’s social teaching throughout this past century. It is a call we cannot afford to ignore. It is at the heart of the Gospel.

Fr Raymond M Mwangala OMI teaches at St Joseph’s Theological Institute in Cedara, KwaZulu-Natal