Foreign-Owned Stores Attacked Near Johannesburg

JOHANNESBURG — South African president Jacob Zuma may have appealed for peace, but as opposition leader Julius Malema of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party delivered a blistering attack on his former ally, laying the blame squarely on the president’s shoulders for the ongoing attacks against foreign nationals in the east of Johannesburg, there were reports of more violence and looting targeting stores in the center of town. Citing several examples throughout the corruption- and scandal-ridden two terms of Zuma, Malema declared that the president had shown the people that peaceful resolution does not exist. “You’ve lost control of the country,” he said. This is not the first time that foreigners have been attacked, however. Previously Malawian, Nigerian, Mozambican and Zimbabwean workers, who are accused of stealing jobs from South Africans, have been the victims of past violence. At least 62 people died in 2008 from anti-immigrant attacks in South Africa. This time, the targets also included Somali and South Asian nationals, like Pakistanis and Indians, who run shops in towns like Benoni on the East Rand. The overnight escalation of the most recent violence in the Johannesburg CBD, where many shops are owned by Pakistanis and Indians, has alarmed many. Ironically, while these

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