Xenophobia: silent march in city today

[caption id="attachment_79318" align="alignright" width="300"] PHUMULO MASUALLE -[/caption]

STUDENTS from Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University will hold a silent march today in solidarity with the campaign against xenophobia.

Nelson Mandela Bay leaders from civil society, business, the municipality and the province’s premier, Phumulo Masualle, will join the initiative.

The march will take place from the university’s north to south campuses at noon.

“It’s so important that we show our support for our fellow international students and others who have come under attack,” Pedro Mzileni of the South African Students’ Congress (Sasco) said.

“We’re joining hands as different student organisations to demonstrate our abhorrence of these senseless acts of violence against fellow human beings and to show our commitment to a campaign to bring an end to xenophobic attacks,” Student Representative Council president Hlomela Bucwa said.

The students have called on fellow students, NMMU staff and all concerned members of the metro to join them on the silent march.

With 8% of NMMU’s student body coming from 64 countries around the globe, marchers are being encouraged to wear black in a show of support for victims of the recent atrocities. Participating international students are encouraged to wear traditional dress and proudly display their nations’ flags.

“Diversity is our strength. We want to speak with one voice. The students are keen to show how their lives are enriched by interacting with those who come from outside of South Africa,” Allan Zinn, of NMMU’s Centre for the Advancement of Non-Racialism and Democracy, said.

At the end of the march, NMMU council chairman Judge Ronnie Pillay and vice-chancellor Professor Derrick Swartz will accept a banner that symbolically represents the thousands of signatures collected during an anti-xenophobia pledge campaign.

More than 10 000 signatures were collected in a Sasco-led initiative from late last week when xenophobic attacks started around the country.

“We’re glad that this is not about politics, but about something far bigger – supporting and protecting the lives of people,” Zimbabwean student and head of the International Student Association Brian Makamure said.

NMMU students are adamant that the fight against xenophobia will continue beyond tomorrow’s march, with student leaders across the political divide coming together to seek tangible ways of supporting those who have been affected by the attacks.

Tomorrow, Swartz will meet NMMU students at the Student Leadership Conference on leadership and transformation matters.

Masualle will also visit parts of the city to promote an anti-xenophobia message to the people.

-Herald Reporter