Foreigners cannot steal your jobs - there are too few of them

Oxfam South Africa manager Isaac Mangena wants to dispel the myth that migrants steal jobs from locals.

"Migrants make only 2.8% of the 55.7 million South African population‚" he said succinctly.

Across Africa‚ he noted‚ "the majority of them make a valuable contribution to the host societies‚ often bringing skills contributing by paying taxes and sharing their rich cultures". Oxfam SA is part of an international confederation that works in 34 African countries including SA‚ which currently hosts about 1‚2 million refugees and migrants from countries including Somalia‚ Nigeria‚ Zimbabwe‚ Mozambique‚ Malawi.

Mangena said: "We witness first-hand the many reasons which drive many African migrants to flee their countries in search of opportunities for survival and a life of dignity. The reasons include persecution‚ wars‚ violence‚ poverty and related socio-economic hardships."

"...Now is not the time to succumb to fears based on distortions and untested claims‚ including that 'all foreign nationals steal jobs and are engaged in criminal activities'.

"South Africans should remember that the migrants that are being hurt and attacked are among the world’s most vulnerable people that include women‚ children‚ and men‚ who came to South Africa for a safe place to live‚ and to work and are trying to rebuild their lives after often fleeing unfathomable violence and loss." Oxfam South Africa condemned the recent violent attacks on foreign nationals both in Tshwane and Johannesburg‚ as recently as Monday night‚ when foreign nationals were attacked in Jeppe‚ and George Gogh‚ east of Johannesburg‚ and several shops owned by migrants looted.

 "These tensions have been simmering for some months now‚ and we believe government‚ working with communities and civil society‚ could have done more to prevent the explosion seen over the last few days‚" Mangena said.

"Ridding communities of xenophobia and building social cohesion cannot be a reactive‚ one off show event. It must be systematic‚ with structured ways to monitor tensions and intervene timeously and at the source of the tensions."

Oxfam reiterated its call on President Jacob Zuma and the Home Affairs department early this month for the SA government to increase the number of refugees in South Africa's resettlement programme. The organisation also called on the South African Police Service to do more to do more to detect possible attacks on migrants and to ensure they protect migrants and their property.