Ravaged in a foreign land

Around 10,000 Bangladeshis in South Africa are now living in fear after several hundred shops of expatriates were vandalised, torched, and looted by mobs in Free State's Bloemfontein last week.

Bloemfontein saw waves of xenophobic attacks since May 16 after protests broke out there over poor service delivery by the local government there. This was the largest attack on migrants in Bloemfontein in the last 13 years, Bangladeshi expatriates told The Daily Star over the phone.

Although no Bangladeshi casualties were reported, the expatriates are now facing uncertainty over their future and security.

Earlier, xenophobic attacks were carried out on migrants, including Bangladeshis, in Bloemfontein in 2008, 2012, and 2019.

Quoting local authorities, news portal The South African reported that at least 70 people were arrested between last Wednesday and May 16, when the protests began against raw sewage flowing on the streets, poor sanitation, lack of public toilets, unfinished local government projects and public representatives indulging in corruption.

The tragic killing of a juvenile, who was allegedly shot by a security guard, further intensified the protests.

Last Wednesday, Free State Police Spokesperson Brig Motantsi Makhele said officers deployed in Mangaung made several arrests as the looting and vandalism of foreigner-owned shops continued in the area, said the report.

Makhele said protests were also reported in areas such as Soutpan, Dewetsdorp and Zastron and led to the arrests of about 20 people over looting and violence.

According to an estimate of the Bangladesh high commission in South Africa, around 3 lakh Bangladeshis live in that country. Most of them are involved in businesses while a small number of them are professionals.

Anisur Rahman, a Bangladeshi in Bloemfontein, alleged that unruly locals vandalised and looted at least 450 shops of Bangladeshis during the protest. His shop was one of them.

He said some vandals also entered his home close to the shop and ransacked it.

Anisur, from Brahmanbaria, said many Bangladeshis fear repeat of the vandalism and looting.

He said he has been in South Africa for about 11 years, but never faced such a situation.

Ayub Ali, owner of a grocery shop in Bloemfontein, said he along with many other Bangladeshi workers was thinking about leaving South Africa.

"We desperately want to return home at this difficult time. But we cannot do so because Bangladesh is not allowing anyone from South Africa to enter the country since late last month to contain the spread of the South African variant of Covid-19," he told The Daily Star.

Arif Bhuiyan, another expatriate, said all his three shops were gutted in arson attacks on May 17.

"Local mobs targeted shops and shopping malls owned by expatriates. They carried out wholesale attacks and looting. Like me, many other Bangladeshis lost everything they had and became paupers."

He said they have taken shelter at different places and homes of other Bangladeshis in towns near Bloemfontein.

Arif said although the attacks had stopped, looting at night had not.

Sipon Chowdhury said they did not know whether they would be able to reopen their businesses.

"We are not getting anyone by our side. We call upon the local administration and the Bangladesh high commission to help us resume businesses."

Mohammad Hossain, another expat from Bangladesh, said they had to flee from their shops to save their lives as police were too late to the scene.

"All the goods in my shop worth Tk 45 lakh were looted. I fled the shop only with a shirt. I don't know what lies ahead," he said.

Asked about the situation, Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen said law and order in different parts of South Africa has been not good over the years.

"We are working on how to address the situation. We have already asked the Bangladesh high commissioner in South Africa to collect information about the incidents," he told The Daily Star.

Daily Maverick, a news portal in South Africa, on Friday reported that frustration with service delivery failures resulted in 585 incidents of public protest between January 2013 and April 2021, 378 (65 percent) of which turned violent.

The report said over the years, the majority of service delivery protests in the country have been marked by exceptionally high levels of violence and vandalism as people vent their anger and frustration over local government failures.

The xenophobic attacks on foreigners and their businesses are fuelled by the misguided perception that foreigners are reducing economic opportunities for South Africans, it said.

Despite repeated attempts, this newspaper could not reach officials of the Bangladesh high commission in Pretoria over the phone for comments.