For those who have died

Today's post is a tribute to the 22 (or more) immigrants who have lost their lives in the past week in xenophobic attacks across Gauteng. I'm not going to write a long post about the events of the past weekend - you can read plenty of horror stories if you search for them.

Whether here legally or illegally, these are human beings; what is being done to them is entirely inhuman. For the first time since I was a schoolgirl and apartheid was still in existence, I feel saddened and heartsore beyond words for my country.

I have met some wonderfully warm and kind people from other African countries working as car guards or selling their craftwork around Cape Town, and it breaks my heart to think that they might end up as victims of someone else's rage.

We are fortunate in the Western Cape that this level of violence has not yet erupted here. I hope with all my heart that it doesn't, and I hope that a solution is found soon to restore calm to the streets of Gauteng's townships.