Thabo Mbeki told us all that we should be ashamed about this wave of Xenophobia. Although I think that this is aimed at those perpetrating the attacks, I am ashamed. I understand that South Africans are upset to see foreigners in jobs when they sit at home, idle. I also understand that government has failed the vast majority of the people that elected it. But this is barbaric!

On the other side it is great to see the community spirit that has developed as people band together to help all of those who have been booted out of their homes. In my idyllic part of the world, thousands of people are camped out in church halls, warehouses, garages and people’s homes. It smacks of a biblical response as normal people reach out and cloth, feed and shelter these people in need.

I am not sure how this is all going to end. It is all very well to say, we are sorry and all is well where you live, please go back. If I was a foreigner and had been forced to flee my home, would I be comfortable going back at all? I am sad that we have not seen South Africans living in the same areas standing up and saying, don’t worry, we will protect you – come on back! You can almost see why foreign communities tend to stick together, think of Italians in Brooklyn and South Africans in Sydney, because there is safety in numbers.

I am encouraged by the on the ground response to this crisis, that makes me proud to be a South African. For the rest I hang my head in shame.

I propose a new national anthem – an old Depeche mode song, off the once banned 101 album:

People are people so why should it be

You and I should get along so awfully

So we're different colours

And we're different creeds

And different people have different needs

It's obvious you hate me

Though I've done nothing wrong

I never even met you

So what could I have done

I can't understand

What makes a man

Hate another man

Help me understand

People are people so why should it be

You and I should get along so awfully

Help me understand

Now you're punching and you're kicking

And you're shouting at me

I'm relying on your common decency

So far it hasn't surfaced

But I'm sure it exists

It just takes a while to travel

From your head to your fist

I can't understand

What makes a man

Hate another man

Help me understand