"The vuvuzelas have finally quietened," writes David Holdcroft, SJ, the regional director of the Jesuit Refugee Service in Southern Africa and former director in South Africa, in Eureka Street today; "64 games, three million spectators, one million visitors and 40 billion rand (A$6 billion) later, the World Cup has been proclaimed a triumph. But it seems not all South Africans were winners."
Holdcroft goes on to describe how, at a time when South Africa struggles with 25% unemployment, street businessmen were prevented from selling goods during the World Cup. He also notes the growing reports of violence toward migrants and refugees, who in the last six weeks have been steadily leaving for Zimbabwe based on "rumors and threats that they would be kicked out as soon as the World Cup was over.... All are afraid of a repeat of the May 2008 xenophobic attacks that left 62 people dead and 100,000 displaced."
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