Thousands of foreign nationals who fled Wellington homes reintegrated into New Rest community
The foreign nationals were allegedly chased away by angry community members on Wednesday, who believed they were responsible for the death of a local resident.
Gift of the Givers in Wellington, Western Cape on 7 March 2024, to assist close to 2,000 foreign nationals who fled their homes due to alleged xenophobic threats. Picture: Supplied
CAPE TOWN - About 2,000 foreign nationals who fled their homes following xenophobic threats against them in Wellington, Western Cape, have been reintegrated into the community of New Rest.
They were chased away by angry community members on Wednesday after a young man was killed in the township over the weekend.
ALSO READ:
- Gift of the Givers to assist foreign nationals in Wellington after alleged xenophobic threats
The community believed the victim was killed by a small group of foreign nationals.
Ward 5 Councillor in the Drakenstein Municipality Thobani Mooi said following a community meeting on Thursday night, negotiations were successful.
He added that certain conditions were set out.
"The conditions are that the Zimbabwean nationals must apologise to the community of New Rest.
"Secondly, the Zimbabwean nationals must take care of the burial process and burial costs of the deceased."
Mooi called for cool heads to prevail.
"The situation is still volatile, and the police are assessing the situation. Even as leaders of the community, we are requesting the society to calm down, and try to make sure that there's no other blood that could be spilled."
Gift of the Givers spokesperson Ali Sablay said a warning to those attempting to perpetrate xenophobic attacks was given by the area's local taxi association.
"The local taxi association held a community engagement at the taxi rank and issued a stern warning to those perpetrators trying to stir on xenophobic attacks. Gift of the Givers teams worked until late last night with the Drakenstein municipality disaster management teams in delivering humanitarian assistance in terms of hot meals, blankets, and personal hygiene items to those foreign nationals displaced."