World Cup watchSouth Africa bracing itself for post World Cup violence

Violence in the outskirts of Johannesburg in 2008; officials expect more after the World Cup ends. // Source: time.com

Experts have warned that in the country’s most deprived areas, there is renewed and growing resentment toward immigrants, who are perceived as taking scarce jobs and resources. There is widespread anger, too, about the 33 billion rand (£2.9 billion) poured into hosting Africa’s first football World Cup while millions of people remain in poverty.

South Africa hoped to make money on the event, but the small number of non-South African who traveled to South Africa — the organizers planned on 1.2 to 1.5 million foreign visitors, but only 256,000 braved the trip — now means that the country will lose close to $1 billion on its investment in staging the event.

An extra 40,000 police officers helped to ensure that the tournament passed off smoothly with few incidents of violent crime, but it is unlikely the numbers can be maintained.

The Telegraph’s Aislinn Laing writes that despite government appeals for calm and pledges that police remain on “high alert” for trouble, many foreigners say they no longer feel safe. Leaflets being delivered door-to-door in some areas, urging action against immigrants from poor countries such as Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Malawi.

In Alexandra, a township in Johannesburg, some residents openly admitted that they wanted other Africans out of the country — a sentiment that saw more than sixty people killed and 700 injured in May 2008 when xenophobic attacks, which started there, spread around the country.

One Zimbabwean woman, 35, who came to South Africa when she was 19 and works as a cleaner in Johannesburg’s affluent northern suburbs to support her two children, said she had been told to be out by 12 July, the day after the World Cup final. “Even if you have a permit, it makes no difference between they won’t give you the time to show it before they hurt you,” she said. “These people are my neighbors but they hate me. It is not right.”

According to the Consortium for Refugees and Migrants in SA (COMSA), the threats towards migrants are made not just by neighbors but by police officers, doctors, nurses and social workers. The group reported one case in which a woman went to clinic to get her baby immunized and was told by a nurse: “Go back to your country. After June there will be no more foreigners in this country. You will all die.”

Laing reports that in some areas, attacks have already restarted. In November, 3,000 mostly Zimbabwean migrants were moved into a refugee camp after they were forced out of townships to the east of Cape Town.

There are now thought to be just 280 people living in the camp as refugees threatened with further violence by locals took up the offer of repatriation by government and returned to Zimbabwe. Those that remain fear they will be killed by Robert Mugabe’s regime if they return.

The Nelson Mandela Foundation urged South Africans to accept outsiders, reminding them of the help offered to them during the apartheid by their neighbors. “We have seen South Africans unite around a common support for African teams during the 2010 FIFA World Cup,” the foundation said in a statement. “We hope that this will lead to greater appreciation by South Africans of our place on this continent and that we will show greater solidarity with non-nationals.”

Minister of Police Nathi Mthethwa said there was no justification for such attacks, which he said were threatened by “faceless criminals who want to create anarchy.” He said: “We want to assure society that our police are on the ground to thwart these evil acts. We took a decision of fighting crime and fighting it toughly and smartly by utilizing all resources and capabilities at our disposal and the results are there for everyone to see.”