Editor's note

Foreign nationals who run small shops in suburbs close to Johannesburg have been subjected to another bout of violent looting. The most recent outbreak of xenophobia has left people asking why these kinds of incidents keep recurring. Loren Landau argues that part of the answer lies in the way in which the issue of migration is framed – and how stories about migrants are told. Described as “victim journalism”, the problem isn’t particular to South Africa. Unless it’s addressed, negative attitudes towards migrants will persist.

The world’s understanding of oceans is massively influenced by a colonial narrative: firstly, the idea that seas were simply vast unoccupied spaces, and secondly that only the movement of people and goods across oceans warranted serious recording and analysis. A new project is trying to undo these limitations by bringing together global south scholars from different disciplines. Isabel Hofmeyr explains.

Thabo Leshilo

Politics + Society Editor

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Four people died in the latest violence and looting to hit shops owned by foreign nationals in Soweto, Johannesburg. Sowetan/Thulani Mbele

Xenophobia in South Africa: why it’s time to unsettle narratives about migrants

Loren B Landau, University of the Witwatersrand

Framing xenophobic violence as a question of immigrant victimisation invites divisions between neighbours.

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