Re: [Marxism] SACP on xenophobic attacks

["Ruthless Critic of All that Exists" <ok.president+marxml@xxxxxxxxx>]

The following letter was published in today's NY Times:

<http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/24/opinion/lweb24southafrica.html?ref=opinion>

To the Editor:

I have recently returned from South Africa. During my visit, the first
attacks on foreigners occurred in the township of Alexandra. The
initial reports in the South African press immediately identified
these attacks as acts of xenophobia, a term that is now used, both
correctly and ubiquitously in the American and European press, to
describe the continuing crisis.

I was impressed by the ready use of "xenophobia" in the South African
newspapers, and by the South Africans themselves, to describe the
events in Alexandra. This readiness reveals an immediate understanding
of the root cause, and a willingness to directly confront those acts
for what they represent — a fear of foreigners.

"Xenophobia," however, is rarely used in the mainstream press of the
United States, despite the rising anti-immigrant sentiment that now
exists here and its associated violence.

I despair for my South African friends, and for their remarkable
country, for having to face yet another crisis in the long walk from
the evils of the apartheid era. But I am confident of their ability to
do so successfully, for once again South Africa sets the example in
handling such a crisis: truth is essential for the reconciliation of
competing interests.

Bruce J. Giantonio
Philadelphia, May 20, 2008

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