A demonstration against immigrants and foreign-born people living in South Africa turned violent as police greeted the protest with riot control tactics Friday, according to multiple reports. More than 100 people were arrested, the South African government announced in a tweet.
Rubber bullets, water cannons and stun grenades were employed by law enforcement during the planned march in Pretoria, which seemingly centered on xenophobia. Xenophobia has been defined as "fear and hatred of strangers or foreigners or of anything that is strange or foreign."
Many South Africans have complained that immigrants — namely Nigerians — were taking their jobs, as the country has been hovering around an all-time high for unemployment. The rate of jobless workers in South Africa stood at more than 26 percent as of January, from when the most recent data was made available.
Some immigrants have been blamed for working in black market industries, such as drug dealing and prostitution. Others had their homes and businesses robbed and looted this week.
Bruce Wright.
Full story at IB Times.
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