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Judo helps fight xenophobia in South Africa
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Level up: Congolese coach Rudolph Ngala, of the Dojo for Hope in Alexandra, Johannesburg, South Africa, helps one of his young students to perform an exercise on June 6. (AFP/Marco Longari)
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n a newly renovated white building in the South African township of Alexandra, about 20 children in judogi (judo kit) and others in school uniforms tumble around on a tatami under the watchful eye of a coach.
They are from a nearby primary school and regularly gather for judo classes here in Alexandra township, north of the Johannesburg inner city and in the shadow of the financial hub of Sandton.
The project aims to "use judo as a vehicle for [...] refugees, migrants [and] South Africans to meet together", said Judo for Peace coordinator Roberto Orlando. It's a "platform to be all equal, to learn together and to develop skills and values all together".
Alexandra is one of the poorest, most densely populated black townships in South Africa.
In 2008, more than 60 people — mostly migrant workers from other African countries — were killed in the country's worst outbreak of xenophobic attacks since the end of apartheid.
Fourteen years on, the scourge of xenophobia, which mainly targets black Africans, has not left the township.
From time to time, violent attacks against African immigrants still occur in Alexandra and other townships where crime and unemployment is rife.
