The Contribution of a community-based organisation in challenging xenophobia through participation: a perspective from Site C, Khayelitsha

Abstract This article investigated the contribution of a community-based organisation; Site C, Action Committee Against Xenophobia in Khayelitsha, Site C, in challenging prejudice against African migrants. The purpose of the study was to explore the contributions of a Community-Based Organisation in Khayelitsha in fighting prejudice against foreign nationals in the country. This is vital as there is paucity or absence of information on the contribution of host communities in challenging prejudice and protecting migrants. The paper explains how SACAX mobilised the community and raised awareness towards the 2010 World Cup. To understand this phenomenon, the study employed mixed-method research comprising both quantitative and qualitative research. The qualitative research utilised in-depth interviews with six purposefully selected SACAX leaders and 10 members. Interviews were conducted with ward councilors and community development workers. Focus group discussions were conducted with 10 community members. The quantitative research comprised surveying 100 participants. Qualitative data were analysed using narrative and thematic techniques, complemented by the descriptive method. Also, factor analysis was used to analyse quantitative data. The study found that though xenophobia is endemic in the country, there are efforts by some individuals to combat it. This reveals that not all South Africans are xenophobic. The study concludes that through civic education xenophobia was nipped in its bud. It recommends the creation of an integrated framework involving all stakeholders involved in refugee management and extending this campaign nationwide to curb xenophobia. It also recommends future researchers investigate the challenges of local integration in South African cities.


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The Contribution of a community-based organisation to challenging xenophobia through participation: A perspective from Site C, Khayelitsha.
The paper highlights how citizens and their communities, as well as community-based organisations, can challenge perceptions about refugees living in host communities. It argues that if communities mobilise and stand up for refugees in countries where the government has not organised awareness programs in their presence to ensure that they are accepted and integrated, they could be protected in these communities.
The absence of such campaigns leaves these refugees without protection, leading to them being called derogatory names or prejudices and the rise of xenophobic attacks like this being endemic in South Africa.
From 1994 to 2008 refugees in the country suffered a series of attacks. During the World Cup, 2010 rumours started resurfacing about forthcoming attacks. These rumours led to community leaders forming an organisation to educate the community against these attacks. The campaign succeeded in changing perceptions as there were no attacks towards the end of the 2010 World Cup. Therefore, these actions prevented attacks and there is a need for such campaigns. legislative frameworks like the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the Geneva Convention of 1951, the South African Constitution, The Republic of South Africa (1998c), and the The Republic of South Africa (1998).
The UNHCR Geneva Convention of 1951, for example states that refugee-receiving nations like South Africa have a duty and a responsibility to protect them. Furthermore, Article 12 of the South African Constitution, Act 108 of (The Republic of South Africa, 1996) notes that "everyone" living within the borders of the country has the same rights as nationals except civic and political rights like the right to vote and to be voted. Besides, The Republic of South Africa, 1998c) explains that these African migrants are entitled to socio-economic rights like employment and education. In addition, the The Republic of South Africa (1998) recognises that all residents living in a community have the same rights as residents.
Judging from the above, therefore, there is a disconnect between what the government and legislation promise, and what African migrants are experiencing in these communities. This disjuncture for Kamugi (2014) is premised on the fact that global immigration policy and refugee management reside with national governments, and in South Africa, it is the Department of Home Affairs (DHA), while local integration of refugees rests with the municipalities. Weissbrodt (2008) reads local integration as a long-lasting solution as it allows migrants to assimilate into the host society, through economic, socio-cultural, and legal processes. Crips (2004) agrees that it is a legal procedure that provides them with rights and entitlements in housing, employment, education, and health in these communities, but its absence means migrants are excluded in the city. Kamugi (2014) adds that though the new government post-1990s, elected on urban, as opposed to campbased refugees through which host cities like Cape Town have to afford openings for refugees to raise resources and stay anonymous without distinction as exiles. However, many African migrants in the city of Cape Town are excluded as they are not integrated, and this is a problem. Maharaj (2009) agrees that this exclusion has led to many refugees relying on civil society organisations (CSOs) for livelihood and security. Hence, CSOs have emerged as the main source of assistance to this group.
To counter these rumours, non-state actors like the UNHCR and CSOs were not certain about how to grapple with these threats. This led to some community leaders creating SACAX to engage the community through civic education and awareness campaigns with the vision to change misperceptions and pre-empt these attacks. To realise this SACAX mobilised state and non-state actors like the city, SAPS, Disaster Management, Law Enforcement, community elites, and the Violent Prevention through Urban Upgrading (VPUU) and CSOs working with refugees like the Agency for Refugee Education, Skill Training, and Advocacy (ARESTA), and Cape Town Refugee Center (CTRC), and international Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) like UNHCR and the International Organisations for Migration (IOM), to counter these threats.
Hence, the campaign was driven by principles of engaging the community through deliberation to counter these misperceptions. Thus, multiple forms of popular mobilisation and public participation, initiated by civil society are at the core of the inquiry. Gaventa (2004) agrees that citizen participation has emerged as an intervention mechanism and as a way of expanding democracy, as it enables citizens to be better represented in political spaces. Also, participation enhances citizen empowerment as they give voice in public policy decision-making, which ensures equity (Benequista & Gaventa, 2012) also CSO deepens democracy as it involves citizens. Gaventa (2004) agrees that civil society enables citizens to develop a stronger sense to claim rights and function more productively in participatory spaces. Cornwall and Gaventa (2002) explained that the deepening of democracy should involve citizens who enjoy legal rights to engage elected and state officials and participate in decision-making on issues that are affecting them.
This study investigates the contribution of community-based organisations in challenging xenophobia. This is vital as previous studies have highlighted xenophobia in South Africa without exploring the role of individuals/organisations in challenging it. This study addresses these gaps and provides both the context and the rationale for this study and raises the question: how did SACAX challenge prejudice in the community towards the end of the 2010 World Cup?

An overview of migration in the African continent and why South Africa
In postcolonial Africa, migration has emerged as a growing phenomenon in the continent (Adepoju, 2005). Adepoju (2005) explains that this emanates from the fact that in these countries, the scale of the population and economy is small and the main engine driving economic growth is the private sector, as it absorbs most of the labour force. The authors add that the inability of the public sector to create employment has led to unemployment and many migrating to Europe. Ambe (2016) agrees that this migration pattern or trend to Europe was facilitated by the colonial relationship between these migrants and their colonial powers. He added that by 1990s, due to increased international migration, many western countries imposed restrictions on African migrants, and this trend then suffered a setback, with many of them now turning to alternative destinations like South Africa.
The shift of these migrants to South Africa was due to the end of institutionalised racism, which ushered in democracy. This then begs the question, as to why South Africa? Zimitri (2005) and Abang (2013) aver that the country has an open-door policy on refugees, and a progressive Constitution. Furthermore, the country is highly industrialised with a Gross Domestic Product of $126 Billion (Dlamini, 2002). Hence, it emerged as a destination of choice and a beacon of hope for many refugees, and they started streaming in by air, road, and rail due the proximity.
To address these waves of immigration in 1991, the South African government rescinded the Aliens Control Act of 1913, through which the country restricted African migrants, and started attracting them in large numbers (Abang, 2013). The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development Report (OECD; 2016) reads a migrant as an individual that moves to another country with the intention of staying for a significant period of time, usually for a year.
Subsequently, in 1991 the UNHCR set up offices in the country to assist returning exiles and the government introduced asylum determination processes for individual applicants to enter and stay in the countr (Crush & Williams, 2002). According to the 1951 UN Convention on the Status of Refugees and the 1967 protocol, which was passed by the UN General Assembly, these two conventions define a refugee as any person: [who] owing to [a] well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his (her) nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail (herself) himself to the protection of that country.
Subsequently, African migrants joined host nationals in the informal sector and started trading (Valji, 2003). The turn to the informal sector for Valji was due to the Alien The Republic of South Africa (1991), which restricted business activities to South Africans only. Once the number of migrants started growing, tensions started emerging between them and host nationals. Seekings (2010) suspects that since apartheid kept 70% of Blacks in the countryside and denied them citizenship, as cities were reserved for Whites only. Post-1990s; many Blacks started moving into the cities and ascertaining their rights into these cities only to experience competition from migrants and this was the dawn of tension (Ibid).
For Landau (2004) this tension is premised on the fact that some nationals perceive migrants as coming to steal jobs, commit crimes, and sell drugs. Crush (2001) adds that by 1995 the attitude of some nationals was becoming antagonistic and this triggered the Human Science Research Council (HSRC) to survey the public to understand their attitude towards migrants. The study found that many nationals carry a strong anti-African immigrant sentiment and this is xenophobia.
De Master and Le Roy (2000, p. 425) explain that xenophobia comes from two Greek words (Phobos) for fear and (Xenos) for strange and foreign. When weaved together, xenophobia stands for fear of strange and foreign cultures. In South Africa, Harris concurs that it includes hatred; the fear of foreigners and their culture, and it represents a far deeper implication as he explains that "xenophobia represents a deep fear, deep dislike of the unknown (2002:2)" He adds that this hatred has translated into tension and violence by some nationals towards migrants. Harris (2002, p. 9) explains that the most common form is hate speech or verbal attacks like calling them "makwerekwere" (which in IsiXhosa means people who speak very fast). Besides, Misago et al. (2009) added that there are also isolated attacks on them and their businesses to send a message to them that they are not desired in these townships. There is also structural xenophobia where state institutions (the police, social security, and DHA officials) treat migrants with disdain. Misago et al. (2009) note that the height of this violence was on May 11-29, 2008 which led to the death of 62 migrants including 21 South Africans, 670 wounded and 100,000 displaced. This led to tens of thousands moving into displaced camps where they relied on civil society for food, security, clothing, and medicine for close to 6 months when these camps were closed. Misago et al. (2009) observed that these attacks provided an opportunity for both the state and civil society to challenge xenophobia, paradoxically, little was done as the perpetrators were never prosecuted (Amisi, 2009). Whereas prosecution would have strengthened the rule of law and served as deterrence for any future attacks, its absence created uncertainty (Nkea, 2010).
This uncertainty crept up during the 2010 Soccer World Cup, and the collective memory of the earlier attacks led to the birth of SACAX. Its mediator role between the migrants and the community positioned it as a civil society organisation. White (2004) explains that civil societies are intermediary associational realms between the state and family and are populated by voluntary organisations that are separate from the state and enjoy autonomy from it. This paper seems to suggest that in South Africa since 2010, there have been recurrent acts of xenophobia in Durban, Johannesburg, and Pretoria but none in Khayelitsha. Desai (2015) agrees that on the 14 th of April 2015, there were xenophobic attacks in Durban triggered by comments from the late Zulu King Zwelithini, who said migrants in the area should leave. This led to nationals looting and burning migrant-owned shops. Bruce (2017) explains that in 2017 there were xenophobic attacks in Johannesburg triggered by statements from the then Mayor Mr Herman Mashaba, who accused migrants of peddling counterfeit goods. This led to nationals looting migrant-owned shops in the area. Bruce added that in September 2019 police claimed there were counterfeit goods in migrant-owned shops in Pretoria and nationals looted and burnt them. Despite all these incidents, not a single attack took place in Khayelitsha. This seems to suggest that the SACAX campaign had a positive impact on the community in challenging prejudice, changing mindsets, and preventing attacks.
Apart from these introductory sections, the rest of the article consists of seven interrelated sections. The third section examines the theoretical perspectives of xenophobia. The fourth explains the research method employed and the procedures, and the fifth presents the research setting. The sixth section discusses the different phases of the campaign. The seventh examines the findings and discussions. The eighth concludes the study with recommendations.

Theoretical perspectives/explanations for xenophobia in South Africa
The first theory is relative deprivation, which Gurr (1970) avers that economic want and poor living conditions provoke feelings of hatred, which leads to protests triggering violence. Morris (1998) agrees that during apartheid, many South Africans were optimistic that its demise would usher in a better life for all, but this vision has remained elusive as there is growing poverty and inequality in the country. This has created desperation, and some have turned their anger and frustration toward migrants. They argue that if migrants never came there would have been enough jobs and business opportunities for all (Tshitereke, 1999). Relative deprivation is interwoven with the earlier mentioned view that there is a gap between their earlier aspirational projections of a better life for all and their present realities of poverty (Charman & Piper, 2012). Morris (1998) adds that relative deprivation can be linked to the scapegoat theory in which some South Africans turn to blame migrants for societal ills like unemployment, crime, and Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDs) and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). Morris adds that apartheid isolationism has played a role since the country became isolated, and the sudden arrival of migrants was abrupt as many are not familiar with Black foreigners.
The above is tied to Harris's (2002, p. 6) "biological-cultural" hypothesis, which is linked to the strangeness in hairstyle and dressing which places migrants in a position of "otherness" where nationals perceive them as different. Neocosmos (2006, p. 3) links these prejudiced attitudes to nationalism and nation-building, which connects it to a shift from emancipatory nationalism to a "nativist" state-based nationalism and the frustration of the Blacks in the periphery. Harris's (2002) thesis on the apartheid/post-apartheid transitional period advances the argument that since many expected changes in their living conditions, rather their arrival, and the media's inability to position them politically led to them being called derogatory names like "aliens" in the country.

Research methods
This study employs a mixed-method research design, which for Fishler (2014) comprises both quantitative and qualitative research to ease the collection and analysis of the data needed to enhance our understanding of how community-based organisations challenge xenophobia.
The qualitative research utilised in-depth interviews with 6 SACAX leaders and 10 members. Furthermore, interviews were conducted with the Ward Councilor, Community Development Worker, the VPUU, and ARESTA. Focus group discussions were conducted with 10 community members. Before any data collection phase, the researcher requested the subjects to sign a Consent Form. This was to ensure that there was ethical clearance in the data collection process.
The quantitative research comprised of surveying 100 participants and 88 responded (Table 1), 48% or 55% of the participants were male and 40% or 45% were female. Secondary qualitative data were gathered using documents relating to migration, migrants, local integration, and xenophobic experiences in the country. This was done by identifying the literature based on the objectives of this study as stated earlier.
The data were analysed using the thematic procedure of the content method of qualitative analysis. The various themes were developed according to the context of the variables of the study. The details given for each specified dynamic were analysed using a triangulation of thematic and descriptive techniques aided by the Excel program. The themes were then coded and then entered into the SPSS for analysis.
These steps were used because they facilitate the collection of comprehensive and consistent data from many respondents (Neuman, 2011). The combined rationale is needed in this study because understanding the xenophobic challenges in Khayelitsha and their implications for local integration requires the collection of both qualitative and quantitative data sets from the community.

Presenting the research site
Khayelitsha Township is about 26 km from the Central Business District of Cape Town (Seekings, 2010). He adds that the area is bordered in the north by the N2 highway and by the False Bay coast to the south and Mitchell's plain to the west. Khayelitsha (in IsiXhosa means "new home") and is the largest township in Cape Town with a population of about 400,000 people (Seekings, 2010). The area was created in 1980s due to the housing shortage in the city, and these conditions were aggravated by the Group Areas Act of 1966 which preserved the area for the coloured population of the city only (Ndingaye, 2005).
By 1985, about 5,800 people had been moved to the area, and they were later joined by newcomers from the Eastern Cape. By 2010, the population of Site C was 100,000 (Bidandi,200). Thompson et al. (2012:5) explain that the average income of the household in Site C, Khayelitsha is between R1, 499, and R2, 000. Ndingaye (2005) explains that the majority of the dwellings in Site C are sustained through state welfare, and this suggests the area is poor and hence fertile ground for violent competition between host nationals and African migrants. It was in this community that SACAX organised its anti-xenophobic campaign.

The SACAX campaign to challenge perceptions in the community
According to Mr Qondela 1 of SACAX the campaign was to create awareness in the community on the status of migrants as refugees and to educate the community about African history and geography. They also explained why these migrants left their countries and their rights.

The first campaign in schools
The SACAX campaign started on the 23rd of June 2010, as Mr Qondela explained that since some residents are working, and others are not, some are schooling, and others are not. SACAX then designed a program that ensured everyone is engaged. They agreed to work with the schools during the week and to reach out to the adults in the public spaces during the weekends.
Mr Qondela again explained that "though the formal areas of the township have schools, the campaign focused on the informal areas, which have high levels of poverty, unemployment, and crime." He added that they used the Life Orientation period to engage learners. He adds that they started by explaining to the learners the UNHCR Geneva Convention of 1951 which explains the rights of refugees and the country's responsibility to assist them and the South African Constitution of 1996 and The Republic of South Africa, 1998c) which supports the inclusion of all in the country.

The second campaign
The second phase of the campaign was on the 27th of June 2010, and their focus was still on the schools. Mr Nkwenkwezi 2 expanded that the SACAX leaders had shifted to the The Republic of South Africa (1998) which argues for the inclusion of all in the country. The SACAX leaders further ask, "why African mgrants are the targets, whereas Chinese and Pakistanis, and others were never attacked?" Further, they lectured the learners on refugees' rights as elaborated in The Republic of South Africa, 1998c as SACAX members explained to them their rights. Mr Mbetha adds that these lectures are crucial to youths as they do not know African history. Pamphlets were distributed for these learners to take home and share with friends, families, and neighbours.

The third campaign
The third phase of the campaign was on the weekend, Saturday the 10th of July 2010. Mr Mbetha 3 explained that this phase was intended to target adults both those working and the unemployed, since during the week they are busy. He notes that the campaign was extended to main public spaces like the Caltex Garage on Saturday mornings, and to the Kuwait Taxi Rank in the afternoon and in the evenings it was moved to the Thembani Shopping Center. Mr Qondela notes that some community members thought that Congo and Somalia were on other continents and not on the African continent.
Hence, there was a need to educate them that these Africans are victims of wars. SACAX also had artists who played live music, and dancers wearing T-shirts clad "SAY NO XENOPHOBIA" and "WE ARE ALL FOREIGNERS." During these sessions, they distributed leaflets and T-shirts." SACAX also organised football matches, and during these matches, the players wore SACAX T-shirts, and after the competitions, they had to take the shirts home to sensitise their friends and families on this campaign.

The final campaign
The final phase of the campaign took place on the 28th of August 2010 at Intlanganiso High School. Mr Qondela added that for the campaign to reach all members of the community, they needed to bring the community to a final rally. This brought the city, community elites, SAPS, LE, DMD, CBOs, CDWs, SANCO, VPUU, ARESTA, CTRC, UNHCR, IOM, migrants, and Youth groups. Mr Nkwenkwezi added that this rally brought 1000 people, and they distributed T-shirts to all, and all persons were now wearing white, red, and black T-shirts clad in "SAY NO TO XENOPHOBIA." They were holding banners reading "SAY NO TO XENOPHOBIA" and they handed out leaflets written in IsiXhosa and English. He added that the fliers had the UN and UNHCR insignia explaining why they left their countries. Mr Qondela addeds that after the opening prayers, many speakers took turns condemning these attacks. To demonstrate their support for the campaign, they marched from the school through Njongo Avenue to the O.R. Tambo Hall, distributing leaflets to all.

Findings on the campaigns
This section inquires on three issues of the campaign. The first is what the campaign achieved in terms of changing perceptions; the second is whether it was participatory and, finally, whether it prevented the outburst of xenophobia at Site C, Khayelitsha in the build-up to the World Cup.

Perceptions of the participatory nature of the campaign
This section explores whether the campaign changed how community members in Site, C, perceive migrants, who work and/or live in the area post-2010. This is vital in that the change of attitude would usher in an era of tolerance and peaceful co-existence, as many host nationals initially in the 1990s, were apprehensive of these migrants. Morris (1998) concurs that they were perceived as being responsible for some societal ills that the township was facing. Harris (2002, p. 5) point out that their "biological-cultural" traces made them strange and this placed them in a position of "otherness" where host nationals perceive them as different. This was an issue that this campaign set out to address through civic education and awareness creation.
When asked whether this campaign had changed perceptions, the SACAX leadership replied that: "The campaign enabled SACAX to form coalitions and networks with many agencies in the community and the City and they jointly confronted the xenophobes and changed perceptions in the process" (interviewed September 2012).
The findings reveal that the campaign changed the way the community perceived African migrants and refugees living in the township.

Changing perceptions in the community of African migrants
To understand whether the campaign achieved its intended goal, which is in line with the research question and the problem statement, which posits that African refugees are not enjoying their rights as set out in the UNHCR Convention, the South African Constitution, and the Refugee Act.
The study noted that the absence of civic education was the driver of xenophobia and, therefore, the introduction of civic education ushered tolerance in the Township.
The next theme was on the indicator of the success of the campaign. The CDW explains that: His greatest joy was that African Migrants in the community are enjoying their rights as set out in the South African Constitution, which seeks to treat them as South Africans. This can be seen as many Migrants operate their businesses and live freely in the community and others are married to South Africans (interviewed September 2012).
The study found that most African migrants and refugees enjoyed their socio-economic rights as host nationals and there was no violence. Therefore, the campaign was a success.

Perceptions of the indicators of the successes in preventing the outburst of violence
This section seeks to explore whether this campaign preempted violence in the community. This is crucial as the objective of the study was to understand how SACAX challenged prejudice in the community towards the end of the World Cup. The research problem is that post-1994 there had been an increasing number of African migrants but the DHA or CSOs have never conducted campaigns to explain to citizens the Rights of refugees. Hence, CSOs were able to organise these campaigns to change perceptions of refugees.
When asked how this campaign preempted attacks? The Head of Advocacy at ARESTA explained that:

Attacks against Migrants are an ongoing challenge and these deliberative efforts by SACAX changed perceptions. Hence the campaign engaged the community through deliberative methods to change their views on migrants (interviewed September 2012).
The findings reveal that through deliberation, xenophobic attacks were averted in the community.

The perception of the economic operators on how the campaign changed perceptions
To interrogate how the campaign changed perceptions, the study engaged the economic operators in the community. Misago et al. (2009) agree that xenophobia is associated with the microeconomy of these communities. Charman and Piper (2012) define xenophobia as violent entrepreneurship pitted between migrants and nationals as their businesses are impacted.
The researchers conducted a mini-survey involving 100 businesses in the community to gauge their attitudes on whether they substantively changed perceptions of migrants. Though this might not be a representative sample, it may lend some insights into the different economic activities and the different perceptions of refugees. The survey revealed the different economic activities in the community from 2010 to 2012. It reveals that Eritreans, Ethiopians, and Somalis operate spaza shops, or food retailers. Cameroonians operate auto parts, car repairs, and clothing. Ghanaians operate shoe repairs and hair salons. South Africans operate liquor and spaza shops.
The four main themes that emerged were business competition and the extent to which this competition affects businesses, the xenophobic attacks of 2008, and its aftermath, and whether this campaign substantively changed perceptions of refugees.

The first theme was, is business competition real?
The first theme was, is business competition real? Fifty-three of the 88 respondents answered yes, while 12 indicated No, and 23 did not respond. So business competition is real, and the struggle for market share might be a driver of violent confrontation between migrants and host nationals or xenophobia. Charman and Piper (2012) read this as an economic rivalry pitted between these two.

The next theme was the extent to which this competition affects businesses
The second theme was the extent to which competition affects businesses. The researcher engaged 43 South African businesses, and they responded to the question, 39 responded with a yes, while Somalis and Eritreans did not respond to the question. The yes response by South Africans is indicative that this economic rivalry negatively impacts their businesses. This view is shared by Charman and Piper (2012) who substantiate that this rivalry harms businesses.
Further, 26 of the 43 nationals blamed migrants for the competition. According to 15 South Africans involved in the spaza shops, they suspect that Somalis were selling goods cheaper than host nationals. When pressed for details, 20 of the South Africans indicated that they were working with Zanokhanyo, which is a local conflict resolution committee that is searching for solutions to this conflict. Contrariwise, of the 23 Somalis, who responded, 18 stated that the Somali Retailers Association was addressing these issues. This implies there are mediation efforts and platforms to address this violence (Misago et al., 2009) to ensure that refugees and host nationals co-exist in the Township to ensure there is durable local integration of refugees.

The next theme was the impact of the attacks of 2008 and their aftermath
Of the 88 participants, it emerged from the surveys that 62 were operating in the area when the 2008 attacks took place. Out of the 88 participants, 80 answered that they were scared at this time to help someone else, while four said they helped the victims to the hospital. Another six said they assisted the victims in safe areas.
A further 85 of the 88 participants explained that they felt sorry for the victims of the 2008 attacks. Notably, out of the 43 South Africans, who responded, 40 indicated that they did not experience any issues. Conversely, 18 of the 23 Somali participants revealed that they were attacked and three indicated that they took their merchandise out of the shop before the attacks. Significantly, all participants reported having their shops looted, and they knew of someone affected by the attacks. All 88 participants answered that the attackers had weapons. This is indicative that these attackers were prepared to harm or kill their victims who were migrants.

Did these campaigns change perceptions of African migrants?
Many participants felt that the campaign had a positive impact on how they perceived migrants. Interestingly, though the campaign took place in 2010, and the study was conducted in 2012; therefore, most of the participants relied on their collective memory of the attacks. Hence, errors of judgment are bounded. Yet, the aura of the campaign looms large in the Township, as one participant indicated that he still has a graphic memory of it. Despite its duration, the findings are vital as xenophobic attacks are an ongoing challenge in the country as there have been recurrent waves of attacks.
Of the 88 participants when asked whether the campaign substantively changed the way they see and work with migrants in the community? Sixty replied yes, the campaign has enabled them to understand things better about migrants. While 10 said no, they do not think the campaign made any significant difference in the way they view them. A further 4% did not respond. These are just recollections of the perceptions of the campaign 2 years later. All participants reported hearing rumours of another wave of attacks in the city of Cape Town and Site C.

How the campaign changed perceptions of African refugees
The SACAX campaign was initiated to conduct awareness campaigns in the township. This was because the SACAX leaders suspected that the causes of xenophobic attitudes in the township and in the country are due to the absence of these campaigns. To ensure that the campaign reaches all organisations mobilised and formed coalitions and networks with many agencies in and out of the community, they jointly challenged prejudice and changed perceptions.
Through this campaign, SACAX was able to educate the masses on who refugees are. Why are they in South Africa? What are their rights? What national and international legislations support their stay in the country? Which international organisations support refugees? By explaining and answering these questions, SACA was able to introduce new discourses in the community, which paved the way for further discussions and enabled many community members to start interrogating some of their actions and inactions as Africans. Many community members started realising the real challenges that these migrants were facing in these communities.
These dialogical approaches using civic education were able to improve communication, dialogue, levels of tolerance and relations between African migrants and host residents, and it substantively reduced prejudice in the community. The SACAX campaigns revealed that these migrants are all Africans and should not face challenges living with other Africans in townships. Especially as SACAX leadership explained to these communities that these migrants are running away from the wars in Africa like in Congo, Sudan, and Somalia. In most cases, many South Africans are not familiar with these stories due to Apartheid isolation (Morris, 1998).
In many cases, these stories resonate with many South Africans, who themselves had been in exile and who benefited immensely from the generosity and hospitality of African countries. Throughout these campaigns, perceptions changed as it emerged that the DHA had never conducted them. This is in line with Dean et al. (2019) who agreed that these campaigns changed perceptions of refugees in Croatia. Mehta (2018) adds that this has worked in Germany on the integration of refugees. Hence, civic education campaigns in Khayelitsha led to tolerance, which substantively reduced the xenophobic tension in the community.

Perceptions of the indicators of the successes of the campaign
The Community Development Worker explained that: "the community mobilised behind SACAX to challenge xenophobia, and they succeeded to prevent any violence." According to the Community Development Worker, who works in the Department of Local Government Affairs and who is also a direct representative of local government in the townships in South Africa explained that the community mobilised behind SACAX to challenge xenophobia. He added that this was an innovative approach to address the problem as the community came out massively to listen to SACAX leaders. He explained that SACAX brought fliers and some were carrying the UN and UNHCR insignia indicating that both the UN and the UNHCR supported this campaign address these challenges of xenophobia in the community.
As mentioned earlier, since the 1990s, no such campaign has been conducted. Hence, they went a long way to substantively changing perceptions in the township, as migrants were now seen as fellow Africans and not coming to steal jobs and commit crimes as they were earlier perceived.
The outcome was a change in attitudes, tolerance, and peaceful coexistence. Also, African migrants and South Africans are now working together in auto part shops, electrical workshops, panel beatings, and computer repairs in the Kuwait Taxi Rank in Khayelitsha. Misago et al. (2009) agree that these programs can change perceptions and this could reduce the level of hatred in the community and lead to tolerance and peaceful coexistence between refugees and host nationals. This is vital as Gurr (1970) explains that economic wants and poor living conditions are perceived drivers of violence against African migrants. These poor living conditions created desperation and some turned their anger and frustration toward migrants, arguing that if they never came there would have been enough jobs and business opportunities for all (Tshitereke, 1999). It should be noted that relative deprivation is interwoven with the view that there is a gap between their earlier aspirations and the present realities, which many are experiencing (Charman & Piper, 2012). Many South Africans felt the end of Apartheid was to usher in a better life for all, but this dream has remained elusive. Many are now blaming this elusiveness on migrants and Morris (1998) describes this as scapegoating as they see migrants as the origin of the high levels of unemployment, drugs, and AIDs/HIV in the country. Morris (1998) also identified Apartheid isolationism as a problem as before the 1990s, many Black South Africans were isolated from the rest of the continent and this deprived them of information on the rest of Africa. Post-apartheid they remain ignorant, hence campaigns like these are vital to educating them on issues on the continents like the wars and the rise of refugees. These awareness programs led to tolerance and social cohesion in the community.

Perceptions of the participatory nature of the campaign
Understanding the participatory nature of the campaign is important as a high rate of participation seems to suggest that a greater percentage of community members were involved and possibly understood what it was all about. It is vital in that for perceptions to change in the community, the campaign needs to substantively reach a good segment of the community. This seems to reveal that the campaign was participatory as it involved all segments like youths, adults, men, and women, working-class, and unemployed, refugees, and nationals.
To demonstrate its participatory and inclusive nature, it is worth noting that the flyers were bilingual as they were written in IsiXhosa, a local South African language, and English. This enabled many community members to read and understand the messages of the campaign. The messaging strategy was vital as the logo of the UNHCR was on the fliers that were distributed. These fliers illustrate that both the UN and UNHCR recognise that refugees have rights. Ansell (2012) agrees that deliberation and dialogical strategies create conditions for tolerance, social cohesion, and peaceful coexistence in communities. These efforts can reduce tension in these communities and ensure there is local integration of African migrants in these communities.

The perception of how this campaign forestalled violence
The head of advocacy at ARESTA notes that xenophobia is an ongoing phenomenon so there is a need for long-term solutions. He notes that the program engaged the community through civic education to change perceptions of refugees. It is vital that since the 1990s, millions of African migrants have entered South Africa, but little has been done to educate locals on their presence in the country, and this has emerged as a problem.
The absence of these campaigns and the failure to highlight their status as refugees have led to high levels of xenophobia as they were abandoned to live by their means without any support from the government, the UNHCR, or civil society. This emerged as a problem.
This implies that the SACA campaign for civic education changed perceptions and forestalled xenophobic violence. This was thanks to participatory governance. Fischer (2010) agrees that participatory governance is vital in addressing xenophobic violence as it ensures that all actors participate in decision-making on how their communities should be governed.

The first theme was the issue of business competition
Economic operators have responded that business competition is real and is a primary driver of xenophobic violence, as many South Africans suspect that migrants cross into the country to steal jobs. This has contributed to xenophobia in the country. This perception needs to be changed as SACAX explained that these migrants are victims of wars like in Congo, Sudan, and Somalia.
As mentioned earlier, many local business operators in the township accuse African migrants of selling goods cheaper to destroy their businesses and this was a source of tension between the business community and migrants. Whereas this is the general perception in townships in South Africa, research by Misago et al. (2009);Charman and Piper (2012) disagree with this line of thought as they point out that in the rich suburbs of Cape Town, like in Sea Point, there are no xenophobic incidents as nationals live harmoniously with their migrant neighbours. Scholars attribute these attacks to opportunistic crime, noting that there is no basis for these attacks.
This finding supports Charman and Piper (2012) who read these attitudes as violent entrepreneurship pitted between migrants and nationals as they compete for a bigger market share in the township. This has in many cases led to attacks on migrants and xenophobia.

How this competition is affecting businesses
The findings revealed that this competition affects businesses. This is in line with Amisi (2009) who agrees that during xenophobic violence many shops are attacked, looted, and burnt, and business owners are killed. As explained earlier, Gurr (1970) notes that economic issues are at the forefront of hatred of migrants triggering attacks on their businesses.
As noted earlier, a segment of South Africans argues that if African migrants had never come, there would have been enough jobs and businesses for all (Tshitereke, 1999). In this light, there is a gap between their aspirational projections and the present realities, which many are experiencing. This should be seen as relative deprivation as explained earlier. This is also shared by Charman and Piper (2012) who explain that many of them are unable to own and manage their businesses and many are unemployed, leading to high levels of desperation, hopelessness, and frustration in the townships. These account for the violence against migrants.

The xenophobic attacks of 2008 and their aftermath on the business community
As mentioned earlier, the 2008 attacks negatively impacted businesses. Misago et al. (2009) agreed that migrant-owned shops were looted and the owners attacked. This could be read as resulting from relative deprivation as Gurr (1970) explains that host nationals resort to protest due to frustration since they suffer from economic want and are dissatisfied with the fact that most of these shops are owned by migrants. Misago et al. (2009) agreed that these attacks created fear as many migrants refused to return to their host communities, and 30,000 opted to leave South Africa and return to their countries of origin.

Did this anti-xenophobic campaign change perceptions of African migrants?
As mentioned earlier, the community was engaged in both IsiXhosa and English. The purpose was to educate the community about the origins of these migrants and their plight as refugees. Morris (1998) agrees that this is vital as isolationist theory explains that during Apartheid many South Africans were isolated from the rest of the continent and therefore they do not understand African history and geography. Many South Africans felt that African migrants were coming from other continents and were not from Africa.
Hence, the purpose of these campaigns was to change perceptions and to ensure that African migrants and host nationals live in harmony in the township. The outcome was that during the World Cup in 2010, there were no attacks in the community. To buttress this line of thought of peaceful coexistence in the community, the researchers observed that post-2010 many African migrants from other townships like Delft and Philippi moved into Khayelitsha because of their peaceful coexistence. Dean et al. (2019) who did research in Croatia agree that these campaigns can change perceptions and ensure that refugees are accepted in the townships and the country.

Conclusion
The study investigated the contribution of community-based organisations in challenging prejudice and changing perceptions of African migrants at Site C, Khayelitsha. It found that through civic education and awareness creation perceptions of African migrants were changed.
A key finding of the study is that a community-based organisation was able to stop the rise of xenophobia in a South African township through civic education and awareness campaigns. This study illustrates this as it explains how the organisation mobilised its members, engaged the community, and changed perceptions.
The study also revealed that the principal driver in stopping xenophobia was in the actions of community members. This is evident in that when they mobilised and acted as a communitybased organisation they had the capacity to bring peace and tolerance and to the township.
The study further revealed that research settings are an important component since this is where the action takes place as migrants mostly live in these areas with fellow Blacks. Hence, had the DHA engaged these communities proactively since the 1990s, through civic education possibly, these attitudes would have changed. Their absence triggered attacks on migrants.
The study also found that this was an innovative intervention mechanism for preempting prejudice as the campaigns prevented further xenophobic violence in Khayelitsha during the World Cup 2010 and ushered in tolerance and peaceful coexistence in the area post-2010.