#NOTOXENOPHOBIA prend la rue à Johannesburg
Résumé
#NoToXenophobia Takes to the Streets of Johannesburg: From Government Repression of the Movement to the Rallying for a Legitimate Cause
In 2015, South Africa was struck once again by xenophobic attacks, echoing the similar events of May 2008. This violence triggered major protests throughout the country. The article considers the anti-xenophobia movements that took place during this crisis. This ethnographic study, with photographic illustrations, looks closely at three protest marches held in Johannesburg. The first protest march was a local success that initiated the movement while the third one was a huge national gathering at the peak of the mobilisation. The second one, however, was forbidden the day before and the protesters were violently stopped by the police mid-way into the march. Through a detailed description of this sequence of protests, we can identify three stages to the movement, during which anti-xenophobia becomes successively avant-garde , dissenting and normalized. The cause’s evolution allows us to better understand the State’s differing responses to these marches.
In 2015, South Africa was struck once again by xenophobic attacks, echoing the similar events of May 2008. This violence triggered major protests throughout the country. The article considers the anti-xenophobia movements that took place during this crisis. This ethnographic study, with photographic illustrations, looks closely at three protest marches held in Johannesburg. The first protest march was a local success that initiated the movement while the third one was a huge national gathering at the peak of the mobilisation. The second one, however, was forbidden the day before and the protesters were violently stopped by the police mid-way into the march. Through a detailed description of this sequence of protests, we can identify three stages to the movement, during which anti-xenophobia becomes successively avant-garde , dissenting and normalized. The cause’s evolution allows us to better understand the State’s differing responses to these marches.
En 2015, l’Afrique du Sud a été à nouveau frappée par des attaques xénophobes, faisant écho aux événements de mai 2008. Cette violence a entraîné des protestations importantes dans le pays. Le texte porte sur les mobilisations anti-xénophobie survenues pendant cette crise. Il présente une ethnographie, illustrée de photographies, de la préparation, du déroulé et de la mise en récit a posteriori de trois marches organisées à Johannesburg. La première est un succès local qui initie le mouvement, et la troisième marque son apogée en suscitant un grand rassemblement d’ampleur nationale. Cependant, la deuxième est interdite la veille et violemment stoppée par la police à mi-parcours. À partir d’une description fine de ces séquences de manifestation sont identifiés trois moments du mouvement, au cours desquels l’anti-xénophobie devient successivement avant-gardiste, contestataire puis normalisée. Cette évolution de la cause permet de mieux comprendre le traitement différentiel des marches par l’État.