Surviving at the Expense of…? A Rejoinder to Loren Landau

April 3 2017 – Michael Onyebuchi Eze.

Three weeks ago, Loren Landau conversed with us on how poor, black South Africans use violence to demand the attention of political elites. In this week’s rejoinder Michael Onyebuchi Eze argues that it is more a symptom of a nation much too stuck in its frozen transition to democracy for it to be able to tackle socioeconomic issues of the poor black population. Race still determines one’s access to capital and resources, and because white nationals and foreigners alike may potentially provide jobs, the violent attacks are mostly directed towards poor black immigrants, for they represent the latest threat to the black South Africans’ social livelihood.