CiZC in anti-Xenophobia march

The Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition today took part in a march against Xenophobia held in Johannesburg. The Coalition mobilized thousands of Zimbabweans residing in and around Gauteng who joined the more than 20 000 marchers who brought Johannesburg to a standstill in a peaceful march from Parktown to Hillbrow and finally to Newtown.

Amongst the thousands drawn from civil society organisations, religious institutions, academia, students' bodies, political parties, business operators and the Gauteng government, the message was sent out clearly, that Xenophobia has no place in modern democratic society.

In particular, we presented the following key messages:

i) Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition says no to Xenophobia

ii) SADC & AU, Act NOW against Xenophobia

iii) Together as ONE in Africa

We wish to restate that with regards to Zimbabwe, as the South African Government does all it can to stop the current wave of xenophobic violence, and ensure safe reintegration of those displaced as well as putting in place a long term lasting mechanism to ensure non recurrence, the Government of Zimbabwe bears the sole responsibility of ensuring that they fix the economy and create a political environment that can safely reintegrate those that choose to voluntarily return to Zimbabwe.