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The Thought Show: Xenophobia in South Africa

Factual: Life Stories

Xenophobia in South Africa

30/04/2015

BBC World Service - The Thought Show, Xenophobia in South Africa

More Or Less looks at the numbers behind claims fuelling xenophobia in South Africa

More Or Less looks at the numbers behind claims fuelling xenophobia in South Africa, BBC Trending has the silencing of feminists in China, and the Why Factor on anthropomorphism.

In More or Less Hannah Moore and Charlotte McDonald look at some of the numbers behind often cited claims  fuelling xenophobic attacks in South Africa – that migrants are stealing jobs, and that South Africa receives more asylum applications than any other country in the world.
Plus, the Tanzanian parliament has passed an act that could make publishing certain statistics a crime. The government wants to impose higher standards on its National Statistics Bureau – a positive aim. But some journalists and researchers are worried about a clause preventing people communicating what the government deems ‘false’ statistics. With Justin Sandefur, research fellow at the Center for Global Development.

BBC Trending asks whether the ability to discuss feminism on Chinese social media has been quashed or whether the arrests of five feminists – now released - have empowered people to continue the feminist discussion, in spite of the censors. BBC China’s Vincent Ni joins Mukul Devichand. And in Iceland, folk musician Gylfi Aegisson objected to local authorities in the town of Hafnarfirði who are planning to introduce LGBT sex education into schools. Some people found his comments to be homophobic after Aegisson set up a Facebook group urging people to 'protect children'. A gay rights lobby group took offence to his views and created new hashtags using his comments starting an Icelandic Twitter trend. We hear from Árni Grétar Jóhannss from Samtokin ’78 and radio presenter Adolf Erlingsson from Radio Iceland.

And in stories, cartoons, advertisements and our everyday lives, we project human thoughts and emotions onto animals—and claim their strength and style for ourselves in the brand names of cars and cosmetics. The Why Factor asks why we do we do that, and what do we get out of it? Can we ever know what animals really feel? Maria Margaronis meets the furry fandom, who put on 'fursonas' and cartoon-like animal costumes to meet and socialise and neuroscientist Bella Williams explains how to read a mouse’s facial expression.

(Photo: Image: A South African holds up a sign saying 'stand up against xenophobia'. Credit: Mujahid Safodien/ AFP/Getty Images)

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