Action Support Centre condemns Pastor Henke’s hateful speech
Posted by ZDN on January 21, 2010
Press Release – 20 January 2010
ACTION Support Centre, Solidarity and Transformation Agenda Desk, condemns Pastor Frank Henke’s xenophobic comments released on page 4 of the Cape Argus on 18 January 2010 and the Independent Online.
His words: “We will braai them and turn them into KFC. There’s no place for them,” are not only hateful and hurting to the people of Zimbabwe, including many other non-South Africans and the people of South Africa but also entrench xenophobia by promoting violence. Such comments, especially from the church leadership, cannot be tolerated in our country.
Necessary steps through relevant organizations such as the South African Human Rights Commission are being taken to make sure Pastor Henke withdraws his words and apologizes to the residents of De Doorns and the country at large.
In fact he must apologize before legal action is taken against him. Churches must discipline individuals like these and continue preaching the gospel of Ubuntu.
We also condemn labour brokers that are operating in the area and in most of the wine farms. To the people of Stofland and Ekuphumuleni may understand and collectively deal with the challenges bedeviling your communities. Let us not allow colonial borders to separate us. We are all victims of the same systems, capitalism including labour broking.
The challenges we face are real and the challenges non-South Africans are facing remain genuine as well. Let us share the little that we have and deal with xenophobia that continues to haunt us.
We salute organizations that are providing assistance to the residents of the camp in De Doorns like PASSOP and others, and agree that much more still needs to be done. The integration discourse must be informed by wide consultations at grassroots level. The media remains critical to our work and we appeal to you as well to cover success stories rather than focusing on only on the negative.
It is clear that nothing stands in the way of a new wave of xenophobia and therefore steps in the right direction are required.
Opportunities exist for communities, organizations, provincial and national governments to learn lessons from the xenophobic violence, find common purpose and deal with xenophobia.
Time for expressing horror and shock has passed. Effective dialogue, analysis, studies and literature on the subject must feed into broader responses to xenophobia.
Community intelligence and peace clubs must be established, isolation of those bent on campaigns of violence should be encouraged. Our isolated energies must be harnessed and short-term responses must be complemented by medium and long term responses to xenophobia.
We are one! We are one Big African Family!
Issued by ACTION Support Centre
For more information contact:
Sipho Theys
Cell: 082 500 811
Philani Ndebele
Cell: 076 942 3565
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01-22-2010
5:29 am
Lionel Nyoni
Africans are a peace loving people generally and open their houses to strangers .If this is not the case in South Africa then you are not Africans .You all must not forget the sacrifices those very same people you want to braai made for South Africa. They took you in when you had your problems and now you turn against them. I would be ashamed to be a South African who try to hard to be different than other Africans.
02-02-2010
2:38 pm
nicholas bantu
Mandela spent 27 years in jail to free you South Africans. It was with the help of your fellow Africans and now in their time of need you turn against them. Shame on you.