No To Xenophobia
#SayNoToXenophobia
#SayNoToXenophobia is a
campaign that was initiated on social media in response to killings and
brutality of foreign nationals living in South Africa. The goal of the campaign
was to put a stop to unfair treatment, killings and violence towards
foreigners.
The Strategic
use of Social Media
The use of social media and social networks contributed a large portion to the success of
the campaign. The #SayNoToXenophobia trended on social networks and within
time, it hit the media. I saw messages, pictures and videos on Twitter and
Facebook during the time of the xenophobic attacks. The hashtag trended on
Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and other social networks. It trended and raised
awareness to people living in South Africa about the killings and brutality of
foreign nationals. Within time, it had reached the global world outside S.A.
People began
to join the conversation. They shared opinions and expressions. Rich multimedia
was shared from different South African provinces illustrating the brutality and
damage the Xenophobia eruptions had caused. This was a reminder of the
apartheid times to many citizens and it was clear that something needs to be
done.
Advantages of the use of Social Media.
-People were able to raise
and spread awareness about xenophobic attacks.
-Awareness was raised at very
low to no cost, pure human interest.
-People updated each other
continuously about what was happening.
Social media was used to maintain peace.
Disadvantages.
-After raising awareness,
many tourist were afraid to visit S.A
-South Africa has become a
danger zone for foreign nationals.
-This has also portrayed
South Africa to the world as a country that hates foreigners.
-The country’s GDP dropped
due to xenophobic attacks
-Companies with foreign
employees were affected.
-Market sales dropped too.
Research shows that even businesses were affected by Xenophobic attacks.
Research shows that even businesses were affected by Xenophobic attacks.
Recommendations
Public Relations
Practitioners should be able to analyse people’s likes, needs and wants through
such campaigns. They should notice, value the feelings of people toward such
sensitive topics and also respect their opinions. PRPs should learn that it is
not ethical to treat people of a different calibre badly. All humans are equal,
even in the work place.
PRP’s should take advantage
of such bad situations, to learn and try resolve them. They should understand
stakeholders from a wide perspective and begin to conduct their business
practices in a way that they don’t offend fellow foreign employees/nationals.
“We are Africans, before we are South Africans” So why treat other Africans like animals?
“We are Africans, before we are South Africans” So why treat other Africans like animals?
this blog is very detailed in its description of a major issue such as xenophobia it creates an insight into how the matter was handled by the media and the citizens of south Africa
ReplyDeleteIndeed, social media has became the new communication tool. We should try to use it to solve more problems.
ReplyDelete