Turning a Blind Eye to African Refugees and Immigrants in a Tourist City: A Case-study of Blame-shifting in Cape Town

Abstract

What role do municipalities play in limiting xenophobia in all its forms and what
should these bodies do in promoting the integration of African immigrants? This paper
analyzes a case study of Cape Town’s policies and programs concerning African immigrants
and refugees following the 2008 xenophobic crisis, up to 2016. Municipalities
as a separate sphere of the government have their own space to address socio-political
problems and to shape local alliances and urban life. Despite being a tourist-led, gentrifying
city which substantially draws on vulnerable African immigrant labor, Cape
Town’s leaders and businesses, however, have no explicit policies or programs to address
xenophobia – a ticking time bomb; and they tend to shift the blame to other
actors. City leaders and employers see African immigrants in an instrumental way (as
mere labor; a financial burden and not as potential citizens). This paper focuses on local
government’s definition of the ‘foreign immigrant problem’ and its poor record of
reducing the drivers of xenophobic conflicts in South African cities, recognizing that
while cities are not the only players, they certainly are the closest to the problem. The
paper concludes that the city needs a proactive, comprehensive approach, recognizing
migrants and their organizations, especially foreign workers, legal immigrants and
refugees, as key city builders, stakeholders and potential citizens in the city. The paper
draws on interviews with city officials, migrants and asylum seekers in the City of Cape
Town.