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A wave of horrifying violence has swept the townships around Johannesburg in the past week, The Globe and Mail's Stephanie Nolen reported in an article Tuesday Xenophobic rage explodes in South Africa.
At least 22 people are dead, hundreds injured and an estimated 4,000 have been left homeless, most of them refugees and immigrants from other African countries.
"The sudden eruption of xenophobic savagery has forced South Africans into a moment of uncomfortable self-reckoning, as the newspapers and TV screens fill with images of ethnic-based brutality of a kind not seen since the darkest days of apartheid, and considered part of the past in this country, which fancies itself to be Africa's beacon of democracy and tolerance."
The attacks began in Alexandra Township and have spread to at least nine other poor, black communities. Foreigners are the ostensible target, although hundreds of native South Africans have also fled their homes in fear, seeking shelter in the yards of police stations and churches.
A police officer steers a child away from clashes between police, foreigners and roaming mobs on Monday in Reiger Park township on the outskirts of Johannesburg. (Gianluigi Guercia/AFP/Getty Images)
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Why is this happening, and why now? We are pleased that Ms. Nolen is online from noon to 1 p.m. ET to try answer your questions about this horrifying convulsion of violence. Your questions and answers will appear at the bottom of this page.
Ms. Nolen is the Africa correspondent for The Globe and Mail. She has reported from more than 40 countries around the world, including two dozen in Africa. She has a particular mandate to cover the impact of the HIV-AIDS pandemic in Africa.
Last year, Ms. Nolen was awarded the PEN Canada/Paul Kidd Courage Prize for her extensive coverage of the AIDS epidemic in Africa. Her book 28: Stories of AIDS in Africa, was a finalist for this year's Governor-General's Literary Award for non-fiction.
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