Call for prayer against xenophobia in South Africa

A wave of xenophobic violence has hit South Africa, leaving several dead and thousands homeless. Malawi is planning to repatriate its citizens while “Zimbabwe has also condemned the attacks, blamed on locals who accuse foreigners of taking their jobs,” according to the BBC.

In a letter to its ministers and congregations, the Uniting Presbyterian Church in South Africa (UPCSA) states, “The hopes of establishing rapport after the 2008 spate of violence against the foreign nationals have been dashed by the recent harsh expressions of anti-foreign citizens, which has become increasingly common in some of the communities in South Africa.”

In an official statement the Uniting Reformed Church in Southern Africa (URCSA) “urges all fellow South Africans and people across the globe to acknowledge “others” in their difference, to welcome strangers even if their “strangeness” sometimes threatens us, and to seek reconciliation even with those who have declared themselves our enemies.”

South Africa President Jacob Zuma has condemned the violence and has set up a team to respond to the situation.

Dennis John, a local pastor and camp volunteer spoke to BBC and said, “It is sad because we are Africans. We are supposed to take care of each other. It is criminal the way we treat our own.”

The URCSA cites the Belhar Confession in its statement, noting, “The Bible is full of accounts of people who are on the move, who are strangers, immigrants or refugees, and who have nowhere they can call home. Jesus was also a stranger, without a home, with nowhere to lay his head. Jesus expects and demands that his disciples will care for strangers.”

The URCSA says that “the Church must witness against all those who selfishly seek their own interests and harm others on ground of their nationality. We have an imperative to serve as the voice of the voiceless. We should speak out, judge righteously, and defend the rights of those whose rights are being inflicted upon.”

In its statement the UPCSA condemns the attacks, saying “These tendencies contradict the spirit of Ubuntu and the vision of a rainbow nation. They also dent the image of the nation in the international community. Above all, they are contrary to a situation where more than 80 per cent of South African citizens claim to be Christian.”

The UPCSA calls for its community and Christians around the world to “to care for the displaced and other victims of this violence by extending hospitality and by sensitising communities about the need to live in peace and harmony with all.”

• Read the UPCSA message [PDF]
• Read the URCSA statement [PDF]
• Read the South African Council of Churches update [PDF]

Please join us to pray for our sisters and brothers in South Africa, regardless of country of origin, that this spate of violence will end, that the “other” will no longer be a victim but a guest, that hope may replace fear and frustration and that God’s grace can bring reconciliation.