Again we bow our heads in shame as the violence against foreigners continues unabated. Back in 2008, after a month of killing and looting, then president Thabo Mbeki promised the world that this nation would never again be guilty of such violence. But his administration largely refused to recognise that the attacks on foreigners constituted xenophobia.Mbeki blamed "criminal elements" for the attacks on immigrants and denied that South Africans were xenophobic.Today the violence is once again blamed on "criminal elements". It is not called "xenophobia" but "Afrophobia".While the government is engaged in semantic evasions and pointing fingers, people die, shops are looted and homes are burned.President Jacob Zuma's government must see the crisis for what it is.The concerns that have been raised by South Africans must be acknowledged and dealt with, not ignored.But the rights of foreigners must be acknowledged and respected.It cannot be that this democracy, established in 1994 on the foundation of human rights, now neglects the victims of xenophobia.Back in 2008 Mbeki promised that his administration "will act without any unnecessary delay to address all genuine concerns which may give birth to tensions between native and immigrant Africans"."We will work to mobilise all our communities to isolate and defeat the evil elements in our midst who target vulnerable African migrants, subjecting them to violent attacks for criminal purposes and personal gain."Were those goals achieved? Are we going to get the same promises from Zuma?This nation and its government are failing to deal with the root cause of these attacks.We continue to theorise, to argue and to abuse semantics.Meanwhile, the country is burning...