The latest xenophobic attacks in South Africa have ignited the long-standing tensions between the country and Nigeria. These are captured in the retaliatory attacks on South African businesses in Nigeria and the diplomatic outrage by Nigerian authorities.



Nigeria also boycotted the recent World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Cape Town. More critical was the temporary closure of South African missions in Abuja and Lagos and Nigeria’s decision to recall its ambassador.



But in the larger scheme of things, xenophobia is a distraction from the leadership role that Nigeria and South Africa should play on the continent on fundamental issues of immigration and economic integration.



READ MORE | <a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="There Will Be Blood, Brother (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/focus/2017/04/01/will-blood-brother/" target="_blank">There Will Be Blood, Brother</a>



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">A constant irritant</h4>



Accurate figures are hard to get. But Statistics South Africa put the number of Nigerian migrants at about 30,000 in 2016, far below Zimbabweans and Mozambicans.



Xenophobia has remained a constant irritant in Nigeria-South Africa relations since the major attacks on African migrants in poor neighbourhoods in Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg in 2008 and 2015. 



But, contrary to popular perception, xenophobic attacks do not disproportionately target Nigerians. Nigerians often exaggerate the effect of violence on their citizens. That is probably because Nigeria has a better organised, savvy, and loud diaspora constituency in South Africa.



Unfortunately, the loudness of the Nigerian diaspora transforms victimhood into foreign policy, generating the reactions that have been witnessed recently. It also plays into the naïve narrative of the “liberation dividend”. This entails Nigerians seeking to be treated uniquely because of their contribution to the struggle for majority rule in South Africa. There were no such expectations from the other countries that supported South Africa’s liberation struggle.



READ MORE | <a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Slave auctions in Libya are the latest evidence of a reality for migrants the EU prefers to ignore (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/current-affairs/2017/12/08/slave-auctions-libya-latest-evidence-reality-migrants-eu-prefers-ignore/" target="_blank">Slave auctions in Libya are the latest evidence of a reality for migrants the EU prefers to ignore</a>



This narrative has taken on an equally economic tinge. South African companies are heavily invested in Nigeria. So, they often become targets of Nigerian ire in times of xenophobia.



The accurate picture is that xenophobia affects all African migrants. These are mostly migrants from Malawi, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and, increasingly Ethiopians, Kenyans and Somalis. Nigerians are affected. But they’re not on top of the list.



The Nigerian responses are understandable in light of the frequency of these attacks. But, it is important to probe the drivers of xenophobia to understand it more deeply.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">What drives xenophobia?</h4>



First, some studies reveal that the intrusion of foreign migrants into vulnerable communities beset by joblessness and despair inevitability produces a tinderbox that sparks violence .



Migrants are easy targets. That’s because they are seen as being better off by the locals. They therefore become targets of people who feel their circumstances have not been addressed by government. It is no surprise that xenophobic attacks have typically occurred in poor neighbourhoods that have been affected by service delivery protests since the mid-2000s.



Second, xenophobia thrives on ineffective policing in South Africa. Barely two days after the Johannesburg attacks started, the national police spokesman admitted that the police were running out of resources to manage the violence. This prompted the Premier of Gauteng, the country’s economic hub, to threaten to also deploy the army if the violence continued.



READ MORE | <a rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Why Nigerian Doctors Grab Opportunities Abroad (opens in a new tab)" href="https://www.forbesafrica.com/uncategorized/2018/10/18/why-nigerian-doctors-grab-opportunities-abroad/" target="_blank">Why Nigerian Doctors Grab Opportunities Abroad</a>



Examples of the police’s inability to maintain order and respond to threats to property and livelihoods are legion. This, in part, forces people to take the law into their own hands.



But the police are sometimes complicit in stoking anti-foreign sentiments. The July 2019 raids on foreign-owned businesses in Johannesburg in apparent efforts to stamp out illicit goods added to the current climate of xenophobia. When some business owners retaliated against the police, some local leaders appropriated the language of “threats on South Africa’s sovereignty” to justify the police response.



Reforms are urgently needed to create a competent, less corrupt, better-resourced, and civic-minded police service.



Xenophobia is also an outcome of a rickety migration and border control regime. Efficient border controls are one of the hallmarks of sovereignty and the first line of defence against xenophobia. Broken borders breed criminality. These include human and drug trafficking. Human and drug trafficking feature prominently in the discourse on xenophobia in South Africa.



How, then, does xenophobia distract South Africa and Nigeria from what should be their leadership on core African issues?



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Overreaction</h4>



The weighty issues of creating a humane and just society for South Africans and migrants alike will ultimately be led by the South African government. Outsiders can make some diplomatic noises and occasionally boycott South Africa. But these actions are unlikely to drive vital change.



In fact, the overreactions by Nigeria and other African countries simply undercut the South African constituencies that have a crucial stake in wide-ranging reforms that address the multiplicity of problems around xenophobia.



In the previous instances of xenophobic violence, Nigeria urged the African Union (AU) to force South Africa to take action. But such unhelpful statements only inflame passions and prevent civil diplomatic discourse.



Instead, the best policy would be for Nigeria to engage South Africa through their existing binational commission. Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari is scheduled to visit South Africa next month.



<h4 class="wp-block-heading">Taking the lead</h4>



Rather than the perennial relapse into shouting matches and hardening of rhetoric, it is essential for Pretoria and Abuja to take decisive leadership at the continental level. The two nations must articulate immigration policies.



The newly-inaugurated AU Free Movement of Persons Protocol will not be implemented if South Africa and Nigeria do not join hands to make it a reality. More ominously, migration to South Africa as the premier African economy will only get worse in the coming years. This, as Europe and the United States tighten their borders against African migrants.



Also, without the leadership of its two major economies, Africa is not going to make any traction on the new treaty establishing the African Continental Free Trade Agreement. Ironically, the WEF meeting in Cape Town addressed ways to boost intra-African trade. Nigeria should not have boycotted it because of xenophobia.



-Gilbert M. Khadiagala; Jan Smuts Professor of International Relations and Director of the African Centre for the Study of the United States (ACSUS), University of the Witwatersrand



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Xenophobia: Time For Cool Heads To Prevail In Nigeria And South Africa

A man called out numbers against the murky darkness of the Libyan night: “400, 500, 600, 650.” These were bids in Libyan dinars during a slave auction. <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2017/11/14/africa/libya-migrant-auctions/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Video footage</a> of these scenes, aired in mid-November by CNN, thrust concerns about the conditions facing migrants at Europe’s borders back into the spotlight.
In response, the EU <a href="https://eeas.europa.eu/headquarters/headquarters-Homepage/35895/joint-press-release-high-representative-vice-president-federica-mogherini-and-president_en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">called for</a> “swift action”, and the French president, Emmanuel Macron, <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/11/29/europe-promises-44bn-marshall-plan-africa-migrant-slavery-libya/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">announced a plan</a> to launch “concrete military action” against the perpetrators. The Nigerian government also said it had begun to <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-migrants-libya-nigeria/nigeria-flies-migrants-home-from-libya-after-slavery-scare-idUSKBN1DT2VV" target="_blank" rel="noopener">bring home</a> some of its citizens stranded in Libya.
Efforts to enable people to escape from situations of slavery, violence and exploitation in Libya are certainly welcome. But they will need to go beyond the short-term perspective that so often accompanies responses to proclamations of crisis. And these new efforts will reek of hypocrisy if they do not also recognise the relationship between existing migration control policies and the vulnerability of migrants using routes into and through Libya.
The story of young men sold as slaves in Libya was the focus of debates at the <a href="http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/11/unsc-condemns-reported-slave-trading-libya-171129065445791.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">UN Security Council</a> and topped the agenda at a <a href="http://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/meetings/international-summit/2017/11/29-30/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">major summit of European and African leaders</a>. Slavery and other abuses are an “abomination” that “can no longer be ignored”, <a href="https://www.un.org/press/en/2017/sc13094.doc.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stated Filippo Grandi</a>, the UN’s high commissioner for refugees.
&#8220;I was arrested and imprisoned in southern Libya… I was sold to a slave trader, along with other Eritreans, Somalis and Nigerians. This person took us to a farm, where we could not leave except to go to work at a construction site and return. We were always guarded by armed people.&#8221;
But stories of forced labour, exploitation and the buying and selling of migrants are not particularly new. I heard them myself in 2015 when I was part of <a href="https://policypress.co.uk/unravelling-europes-migration-crisis" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a research team</a> which carried out interviews with nearly 200 people who had departed from Libya by boat, towards Italy and Malta.I was arrested and imprisoned in southern Libya … I was sold to a slave trader, along with other Eritreans, Somalis and Nigerians. This person took us to a farm, where we could not leave except to go to work at a construction site and return. We were always guarded by armed people.
These words, from a young Malian man, were mirrored by many others who spoke of being held captive, put into forced work or bought and sold. Some were set free once they had gathered enough ransom money, wired over to them by family and friends. Others might be released when their labour was no longer required or if they managed, somehow, to escape. But it was also not unusual to hear people being beaten and even see others die at the hands of their “owners”.
Our project has not been the only one to report such findings. In 2016, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) <a href="http://unitedkingdom.iom.int/abuse-exploitation-and-trafficking-iom-reveals-data-scale-danger-and-risks-migrants-face" target="_blank" rel="noopener">found that</a> 71% of migrants who crossed the central Mediterranean route from North Africa to Europe had experienced exploitation, particularly kidnapping, forced labour, carrying out work without being paid and being kept at locations against their will. In February 2017, <a href="https://www.sky.com/watch/title/programme/ca063fef-330c-4245-b948-1ea2c8a56570" target="_blank" rel="noopener">a Sky documentary</a> described Libya as “hell” for migrants and a <a href="https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=11&amp;ved=0ahUKEwj8svTR7erXAhVBLMAKHc3JABoQFghYMAo&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fglobalinitiative.net%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2017%2F03%2Fglobal-initiative-human-conveyor-belt-human-smuggling-in-libya-march-2017.pdf&amp;usg=AOvVaw05u6HKwEmxNFbm4kHJhYde" target="_blank" rel="noopener">study of trafficking and smuggling there</a> referred to “the extortion economy and new slave trade”.
<h2>European complicity</h2>
Public figures are right to condemn people being sold as slaves in Libya. But their concern has an air of insincerity when they have known about it for years. The EU’s high representative for foreign affairs, Federica Mogherini, <a href="https://eeas.europa.eu/headquarters/headquarters-Homepage/35895/joint-press-release-high-representative-vice-president-federica-mogherini-and-president_en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">expressed her</a> “total condemnation of these despicable acts” but also <a href="http://www.lastampa.it/2017/11/29/esteri/summit-ueafrica-mogherini-i-paesi-africani-facciano-la-loro-parte-riprendendosi-i-migranti-QFifnZX3DQzQcR64Fu5daL/pagina.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">stated</a> that “this is not something that began one month ago. Everybody has known about it for years”.
For officials to say now that violence, exploitation and slavery can “no longer be ignored” belies the fact that these issues were downplayed and pushed aside as the EU pursued collaboration with the Libyan authorities to control migration.
The primary objective of European approaches has instead been to stem the flow of people departing Libya by boat. Since the declaration of a migrant crisis back in 2015, the EU has given increasing amounts of <a href="http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-17-2187_en.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">funding</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/aug/11/number-of-migrants-arriving-in-italy-from-libya-falls-by-half-in-july" target="_blank" rel="noopener">training</a> to the Libyan coastguard and to detention centres to keep migrants on Libyan soil.
In the summer of 2017, an emboldened Libyan coastguard then made <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/aug/12/medical-rescue-ship-suspends-work-after-alleged-threats-by-libyan-coastguard" target="_blank" rel="noopener">threats of violence</a> to international non-governmental organisations (NGOs) engaged in search and rescue missions at sea. Soon after, <a href="https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/libyan-militia-chief-admits-deal-with-tripoli-to-stem-migrant-flow-ahmed-dabbashi-brigade-migrant-crisis-italy-538lwtgf5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">an armed militia west of Tripoli</a> with backing from the Libyan authorities – who are themselves supported by Italian and EU authorities – stepped in to intercept boats and prevent people leaving towards Italy.
These policies to stop boats arriving on European shores have had significant implications for the conditions of migrants in Libya. Many of the people we interviewed told us that they saw boats to Europe as the only way to flee. Now, once they are pushed back to Libya, they are held in detention centres, many of which have been <a href="http://www.msf.org/en/article/libya-arbitrary-detention-refugees-asylum-seekers-and-migrants-must-stop" target="_blank" rel="noopener">criticised by international observers</a> as overcrowded, unsanitary places where migrants are exploited.
Research reports <a href="https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&amp;rct=j&amp;q=&amp;esrc=s&amp;source=web&amp;cd=1&amp;cad=rja&amp;uact=8&amp;ved=0ahUKEwix-NuzgOvXAhVoCcAKHSygDxQQFggpMAA&amp;url=http%3A%2F%2Fglobalinitiative.net%2Freport-the-human-conveyor-belt-trends-in-human-trafficking-and-smuggling-in-post-revolution-libya%2F&amp;usg=AOvVaw0csii2EpwQhapmsT-Le4WW" target="_blank" rel="noopener">point to</a> “abundant evidence” which shows that “detention facilities in Libya are the site of sustained criminal activity, as recruitment grounds for smuggling activity but also processing centres for ransom extraction and slavery.” Another report by the NGO Refugees International <a href="https://www.refugeesinternational.org/reports/2017/libya" target="_blank" rel="noopener">noted</a> how often “in Libya the policeman is a smuggler, and the smuggler is a policeman”. Despite this, just a few months ago <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-41071796" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Macron claimed</a> that Libya could be an appropriate place to process asylum requests.
The containment of migrants in Libya is therefore likely to be reinforcing the very situation that Europe’s leaders appear to be so angry about now. Médecins Sans Frontières <a href="http://www.msf.org/en/article/libya-open-letter-european-governments-are-feeding-business-suffering" target="_blank" rel="noopener">described it</a> as “feeding the business of suffering”.
<h2>Moving beyond a crisis</h2>
European approaches to migration across the Mediterranean have repeatedly been shaped by urgent attempts to address <a href="https://theconversation.com/humanitarian-emergency-is-being-used-to-justify-dangerous-measures-to-stop-migration-40734" target="_blank" rel="noopener">sudden crises</a>. But the situation in Libya cannot easily be addressed by such a short-term response. People smuggling has been a <a href="http://www.ecfr.eu/publications/summary/libyas_migrant_smuggling_highway_lessons_for_europe5002" target="_blank" rel="noopener">thriving economic sector for years</a>. The profits from smuggling, exploitation and now slavery provide important funds for different groups around the country. <a href="http://globalinitiative.net/report-the-human-conveyor-belt-trends-in-human-trafficking-and-smuggling-in-post-revolution-libya/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">One report describes</a> migrants as “simply another commodity to be exploited” by the various armed groups vying to control parts of Libyan territory.
An important contribution to finding a longer term solution could come from a newly announced “<a href="http://www.unhcr.org/uk/news/press/2017/11/5a1edc7c4/unhcr-welcomes-libyas-transit-facility-expedite-third-country-solutions.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">transit and departure facility</a>” in Tripoli providing opportunities for people to escape from Libya. They would be resettled elsewhere, transferred to UNHCR facilities in other countries or returned to their country of origin. But so far there are only 10,500 places available – far below the number of places required – and this is little more than the nearly 9,000 returns <a href="https://www.iom.int/sitreps/libya-voluntary-humanitarian-return-vhr-assistance-reintegration-support-stranded-migrants-4" target="_blank" rel="noopener">already carried out</a> by the IOM in 2017.
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/88589/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />After a decade of repeatedly declaring migrant crises and emergencies at their borders, it is time the EU took a broader, longer-term approach. This has to recognise the structural relationship between policies of border control, dynamics of migration and patterns of migrant vulnerability and exploitation. Intensifying border controls without addressing the reasons why people move or providing alternatives is likely to reinforce the dangers that they face.
&#8211; Written by <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/simon-mcmahon-161290" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Simon McMahon</a>, Research Fellow, <a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/coventry-university-1346" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Coventry</a><a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/coventry-university-1346" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> Un</a><a href="http://theconversation.com/institutions/coventry-university-1346" target="_blank" rel="noopener">iversity</a>
This article was originally published on <a href="http://theconversation.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Conversation</a>. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/slave-auctions-in-libya-are-the-latest-evidence-of-a-reality-for-migrants-the-eu-prefers-to-ignore-88589" target="_blank" rel="noopener">original article</a>.

Slave auctions in Libya are the latest evidence of a reality for migrants the EU prefers to ignore

<h2> Migrant businesses have become an integral part of the economic ecosystem.</h2>
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In the bustling heart of Johannesburg’s Central Business District (CBD) lie a stretch of migrant economies. Microcosms of China, India, Egypt, Turkey, Somalia and Ethiopia have popped up with the smell, sound and feel of home.
As you walk down Commissioner Street, under the highway and past columns of graffiti, The Oriental Plaza comes into view. Designed like a souq, the traditional meandering Arabic market, the plaza sells everything from saris and suits to curtains, pots and incense. The aroma of piping hot samosas hits you as you walk through the gates, the sizzle of hot oil permeates the walkways and there are stains of bright red chilli sauce on the al fresco tables. The savouries are the best in town and the perfect start before you bargain your way through the stalls.
Out of the gates and a street away, Mint Road is an informal extension of the plaza. Stalls selling hot chilli bites and fresh juice border the market. Bollywood heartthrob Shah Rukh Khan and his latest swooning heroine play on small television sets. It’s like stepping into a market in Mumbai or Delhi where Hindi, Urdu and Bengali converge.
The last census conducted in 2011 put the number of immigrants, both documented and undocumented, in South Africa, at just over two million. While some acquired citizenship on arrival, over one million were not citizens in 2011. Immigrants made up 4.2% of the entire population, which stood at roughly 51 million at the time. Of the 4.2%, 71% of the immigrants were from other African countries. Immigrants have created economic hubs across the country.
In a study conducted by the African Centre for Cities (ACC) at the University of Cape Town in 2015, migrants and refugees in Cape Town and Johannesburg have pinpointed the gap in the informal market. By providing cheaper goods and services for the poorer segments of the population and monopolizing niche demands, migrants have made a significant contribution to the population. Most of these migrant businesses also support South African factories, wholesalers and supermarkets and are subject to value added tax. They have become an integral part of the economic ecosystem.
From Shanghai to Mogadishu via Mumbai, it’s an economy built on the search for the African dream in the City of Gold, but it may soon become a nightmare.
Early 2016, Home Affairs Minister Malusi Gigaba proposed a host of new policies to clamp down on economic migrants. The proposed policy would see those like the Somali traders in Mayfair or the Pakistani shop owners in Fordsburg lose the right to work, trade and study in the country. If it all goes through, asylum-seekers could be confined to processing centers near the border, where “their basic needs will be catered for” while they are kept from “integrating into communities”.
For the traders along Johannesburg’s migrant mile, the future is somewhat dim and uncertain. In the pages that follow, FORBES WOMAN AFRICA focuses on the migrants who became entrepreneurs despite all the odds they faced.
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<h2>The Chaudry Women</h2>
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The once lively market on Mint Road in Johannesburg now houses stalls selling DVDs and sunglasses stacked next to each other like clones. The smell of fried corn in butter wafts through the streets even as competing Bollywood beats drown each other out. In a small corner of the market, the Chaudry family are an unusual sight. Aisha Chaudry and her sisters Asimah and Amina own one of the only stalls run by women.
Kaniz-Fatima and her husband Yawar-Abbas Chaudry came to South Africa in 1991 on their honeymoon and decided to stay for good. The couple from Karachi, Pakistan, started their business in Fordsburg 15 years ago as one of the first stalls in the square.
“My parents would come here at five after work. It was full and crowded, it was just like a playground for us,” recalls Aisha.
With rows of Basmati rice, snacks from India and Pakistan and spicy corn, the Chaudry family set themselves apart from the rest. After starting as an informal market, the City of Johannesburg decided to build a structure around the market in the late 2000s. For a year, business was impossible. The stress of trying to make ends meet took its toll and Yawar-Abbas died before the business could bounce back.
“Before, we didn’t have to work hard, business just came. Now we work twice as hard for half the money. Things changed and all the stall owners weren’t a family anymore,” says Aisha.
For the daughters on Mint Road, things are changing and everyday life has become a struggle.
“We’re here every day and every evening. My sisters are still in school and I want to be a teacher. Who knows how long we’ll be here,” says Aisha.
It’s not uncommon in migrant economies for children to man stalls.
For these families, it’s all about survival and making it to the end of each month.
They maintain a cheery disposition but business has certainly taken a dive in the last decade. What once were great economic hubs are now plagued by crime and urban decay. On either side of the square, people are closing up shop.
“Business is okay,” says Aisha, unconvincingly.
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<h2>The Last Brothers On Commissioner Street</h2>
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Commissioner Street is the former China Town. As you walk down the deserted street with locked doors and bright red signs, there are two shops at the end. The Pon family has run a supermarket for 73 years and a firework shop for 20. The brothers, Walter and King, work across the road from each other. For a fleeting moment, until a taxi blasting the latest Cassper Nyovest song zooms by, you’re transported out of Johannesburg.
You’re in Mainland China adorned with Chinese lanterns, families chatting in fast-paced Mandarin, aisles lined with noodles and dried oyster mushrooms, and shelves stacked with fireworks and laughing Buddhas.
Steel bars cover the windows and security guards man the doors.
One ring of the bell gets you past the first gate, another ring gets you past the second. But the business’ longevity is a big question mark.
“I’m the oldest man to live and work here,” says Walter Pon with a cheeky smile. In its peak days, Chinatown was bustling. Births, deaths and everything in between would be discussed over jasmine tea and prawn crackers. Shops would stay open long into the evening before the men would retreat upstairs to play poker into the wee hours.
“We were the biggest gamblers. We would start these gambling joints every night and play until we were called to bed. Everything was here with some Chinese muti [medicine] for luck,” says Walter.
In the throes of apartheid, the Chinese were in no man’s land.
“Not black enough, not white enough, we were in limbo,” says Walter.
The Group Areas Act passed by the apartheid government in 1950 placed different racial groups in certain residential and business areas. With a tiny population of 10,000, the act didn’t account for the Chinese.
“The Chinese were in small numbers so they didn’t know where to send us. Landlords wouldn’t rent to us so we would get white nominees to rent the shops and we would work for them,” says Walter.
During the 1980s and 1990s, the economy opened up for the Chinese and they were allowed to buy property.
“Apartheid did a lot of damage to the country but what it did was hold the Chinese together,” says Walter.
At the helm of the brothers’ stores is their 103-year-old mother, Shue Chee Pon, who rules with an iron fist and keeps a watchful eye on Walter, 76, and King, 66. Her picture lies above their desks and she checks in with her sons every morning.
They’re the last of their family on Commissioner Street but they have an impressive track record. They boast big names like Winnie Mandela and Jessie Duarte as regulars.
“My kids left. Getting degrees, going overseas – that’s how you make your money now. My mother phones me and asks me ‘who’s going to take over’ and the truth is that there is nobody,” says Walter.
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<h2>The Little Coffee Shop In Little Mogadishu</h2>
<img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone wp-image-32097 size-large" src="http://www.forbesafrica.com/app/uploads/2017/05/Refugee-economy-019-1024x681.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="681" srcset="https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Refugee-economy-019.jpg 1024w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Refugee-economy-019-300x200.jpg 300w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Refugee-economy-019-600x399.jpg 600w, https://cms.forbesafrica.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/05/Refugee-economy-019-768x511.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />
Further up from Johannesburg’s CBD towards Mayfair, a once predominantly Indian area, a new economy is just beginning to take shape.
The women man the stalls, taking time out to chat amongst themselves or to kneel on mats and recite from the Holy Quran. Questions are met with cold stares unless you’re asking for the price of their goods. Rows of shawls and handicrafts are stacked alongside traditional garments in every color with bejeweled scarves to match.
Just past the Shoprite supermarket is Little Mogadishu, three roads of Somali-owned shops and flats. It’s late on a Saturday afternoon and the azan, the call to mosque, fills the air as people hastily finish the rest of their coffee before rushing to pray.
The men convene daily over coffee at Ebrahim Ali’s Qaxwo Coffee Shop. His shop is named after the Somali word for coffee. Heated discussions about sport are conducted in Arabic and Somali over steaming cups of the dark and bitter qaxwo and sickly-sweet coconut biscuits.
In 1991, the Somali central government collapsed when the capital Mogadishu was captured by the rival militia. A power battle began, plunging the country into a 20-year civil war. More than half a million Somalis were forced to leave their country and live as refugees in others.
The Ali brothers ran a panel-beating business in Kismaayo in Somalia. When the civil war hit, they fled to Tanzania.
“I came through the border 16 years ago. My brother and I left Tanzania for a better life when Somalis were being attacked,” says Ali.
With a large local Muslim population and a human rights-based constitution, South Africa seemed like the best option.
“Somalis came here three times. First there was a small community of 400, then more came in 1992 and the rest of us came in 2000,” says Ali.
There are now around 80,000 Somalis in South Africa. It took the brothers four years to get their panel-beating business off the ground again. Although they had made Johannesburg their home, the spate of xenophobic attacks in 2008 hit hard.
Early on a Monday morning that year, Ali returned to his workshop and found everything still locked up.
Frantically, he banged on his brother’s door. There was no reply. When he eventually broke through, he found his brother’s body. He had been strangled and the business looted. With a loss of $57,500 and a heavy heart, he walked away and laid charges against a homeless community who lived near the building.
“Eight years later, the case is still pending. I’m still waiting,” says Ali.
Ali decided to start over but opening another panel-beating shop proved too expensive on his own. Instead, he started small, selling one flask of coffee every morning on the side of the road.
“People were coming here just for my coffee. One flask turned into a big shop,” says Ali. His shop is an ode to Somalia. The walls are covered in traditional artefacts and Somali shillings. Business is a struggle but Ali keeps reminders of home close.
“You must never forget the path you’ve walked,” he says.

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