Protest against xenophobia in South Africa
SOUTH AFRICA—We have just arrived from a school where we mobilized the masses for communism. The day went well. We discussed whether the problem was “white monopoly” or capitalism. We also discussed whether immigrants made life in South Africa harder or whether it was racist capitalism. And we discussed whether we should see ourselves as black people confronting oppression or as part of the working class of the world who need to unite against racist capitalism to build a communist world.
It was a positive response from other students that we engaged. We talked about the International Communist Workers’ Party and we also invited them to come to join us on May Day, international workers’ day. It was a good day, especially when people are able to listen to you and have a debate about ICWP.
Comrades raised the point that the problem is racist capitalism. We managed to pull some of the students to come and join us to be part of May Day. Also, some people gave us their numbers to be in contact with them. Hopefully we will hear from them; we will call them soon.
We were able to sit down with the students, to engage with them, to find where they stand. We talked with them for about an hour. They expressed a lot of nationalism, this hatred of white people, this distorted version of history that has been used by the African National Congress and other political parties including the Economic Freedom Fighters. When they talk about “white monopoly,” this is really capitalism. It’s just disguised, because they talk as if capitalism is only wrong when it’s done by white people, but its right when it’s done by black people.
So our mission today was to try to drive home the point that whether it’s capitalism as practiced by a black person or a white person, its still capitalism because it exploits the working class. It creates divisions within the workers themselves. It also exploits workers from other parts of Africa. That’s what most of today’s discussion was based on.
We also talked to some people about the issue of immigration. Their view is that if you come from another place outside of South Africa, they see you as some one who has come here to use South Africa’s resources, or to perpetuate crime and all that. They made some valid examples but it doesn’t stick up as all of it. Some think that their lives started to be worse when people started coming from other places.
So that’s where we were able to struggle, to explain to them that these problems that they see today are not something that came up out of the blue. These are things that have been institutionalized by capitalism and its institutions as racist and sexist exploitation. As long as capitalism is in power, it will exploit the working class.
People were able to ask questions. We were able to create a discussion among the students. Some of them agreed with us; some disagreed. The challenge was to break down the nationalistic view point. Some people tend to think there can be no help for South Africa coming from any other place but South Africa.
Another thing was that when we were discussing with them, some people actually say there is no future in capitalism. But they feel so hopeless that they don’t want to engage in discussions that may provide solutions. They have more of an individualistic viewpoint.
We asked them what was primary—to do these things as black people being oppressed or to see it as the working class being oppressed. We explained that we have to fight as a united working class all around the world because capitalism is all around the world. We have to fight it alongside workers from all other countries to defeat capitalism
We need to build communism everywhere. We need to show that communism is our only alternative to racist capitalism. Communism will eliminate exploitation. The masses will plan, produce and distribute everything to meet our own needs.
The capitalists divide immigrants and native- born to exploit all workers and keep themselves in power. In communism, no worker will be forced to immigrate to look for a job. But all workers will be welcome everywhere to contribute their ideas and labor power to produce what workers need.
