Grace Kim Reviews Welcome to Our Hillbrow by Phaswane Mpe
Verdict: carrot
An interesting choice by Grace Kim to review Welcome to Our Hillbrow – a 2002 book by Phaswane Mpe whose Brooding Clouds was published in 2008. But what motivated it?
The headlines were shocking, and the images more so: “Mozambican burned alive in South Africa: police.” “Pregnant refugee ‘kicked repeatedly.’” “‘Mob ignored screams not to kill my husband.’” “Zimbabwean shacks burnt.” “Slaughter of the innocents.”1 The year 2008 would prove to be a year marked by hatred and violence—May and June would be particularly unforgettable. The rest of the world watched in increasing horror as report after report from South Africa revealed the shameful ways that South Africans were treating their fellow Africans, be they legal or illegal residents. Yet, as many woke up to the fact that, yes, xenophobia is an issue in South Africa, the more shocking aspect of these events was that this was nothing new. These specific attacks were abominable not because of their novelty, but rather because of what Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Aziz Pahad referred to as their “unprecedented savage[ry].”2 As the novel Welcome to our Hillbrow shows, xenophobia, the foreigner, and related issues have long been issues of concern for the average South African.
Book Details
- Welcome to Our Hillbrow by Phaswane Mpe
EAN: 9780869809952
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Apr
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