Feature: South Africans say no to xenophobia

Thousands of South Africans on Thursday added their voice to the condemnation of xenophobia violence, with a peace march here in solidarity with foreigners.

Most of the people who took part in the march held placards denouncing the scourge of xenophobic violence that started in KwaZulu-Natal Province and later spread to Johannesburg. At least seven people were killed and thousands displaced.

Crowds of people were in a jovial mood, singing and dancing as they marched to the Mary Fitzgerald Square in downtown Johannesburg to protest against the attacks on foreign nationals.

A large contingent of police officers were out in full force to prevent any disturbances.

After a moment of silence, Methodist Church Bishop, Paul Verryn opened the match with a powerful prayer.

"Allah, Yahweh, the Great One, God Almighty have mercy on us," Verryn said.

"In a country that is almost completely religious, what has been happening... has nothing to do with religion," he said adding that the country was dogged by evils of "hatred and intolerance."

In a thunderous voice he said in his payer, "We say very clearly 'no' in the name of our gods against violence against foreign nationals."

Gauteng Premier, David Makhura concurred with Verryn. He said, "We are united... in action against xenophobia. What brings us together for this one moment is unity," he said.

"We are going to defeat xenophobia like we defeated apartheid."

The march was a clear warning to those perpetrating xenophobia.

Locals from all sectors of the country and foreign nationals from different countries marched hand in hand, with the same voice- -"No to xenophobia".

Andy Mashaile, Chairperson of the Gauteng Provincial Community Police Board, hailed the march as a great success, saying the message has been driven home.

"All of us are Africans. Xenophobia is evil and satanic. We are saying to other nationals from other African countries you are all welcome into our country.

"They must feel safe because we will protect them. We urge our police to do their best and protect all foreign nationals in South Africa," Mashaile said.

Mathias Makhonye, a local South African, said foreigners are more than welcome in his country.

"I am here today because I want to say no to xenophobia. I want to tell people from Africa that we are we are one and we must not fight against each other," said Makhonye.

March Gbaffou, Chairman of the African Diaspora Forum and also a key organizer of the march, said he was impressed by the people's determination to end xenophobia.

"The migrants in South Africa are happy to see that brothers and sisters in South Africa are standing by them to say no to xenophobia. The situation has to calm down, there are still people out there who are embarrassing us, but today this is going to change," said Gbaffou.

Joining the march, Randihir Jaiswal, the Consul General of India, said,"We are very happy that the South African society, government, civil society and business have all come together against xenophobia."

"It is a very strong message, and we welcome it," he added.

"This is a rainbow nation and these are the founding principles of this country. You cannot trample human rights, human values and the very essence of humanity," Jaiswal said.

Organizers said they hoped the march would help change the perceptions of those countries already looking at South Africa as a xenophobic nation.

The march came in the wake of widespread xenophobia violence that has killed at least seven people and displaced thousands of foreigners in parts of the country, notably Durban and Johannesburg. Endi