The recent protests and xenophobic attacks against Zimbabweans in South Africa cannot be understood without considering how Zimbabwe’s crisis unfolded.

Having travelled to Zimbabwe frequently before and during its economic collapse, I witnessed a country with a well-educated, welcoming population gradually descend into authoritarian rule, economic ruin and mass poverty.

Under Robert Mugabe, democratic institutions were weakened, elections were widely disputed, farms were seized, businesses fled and the economy collapsed, forcing millions of Zimbabweans to seek refuge in neighbouring countries.South Africa had several opportunities to exert diplomatic and economic pressure on Zimbabwe’s government but instead adopted a policy of “quiet diplomacy” and repeatedly endorsed elections that many international observers questioned.

In doing so, our government missed chances to help prevent the humanitarian crisis that followed.

Today, undocumented Zimbabweans are often blamed for unemployment and social problems in South Africa.

Helmuth Fischer

St Helena Bay