NDERITU: Wanted: An ideology preaching respect for differences

Zulu residents of the Jeppe Men Hostel scream waving batons in the Johannesburg CBD on September 3, 2019 after South Africa's financial capital was hit by a new wave of anti-foreigner violence. PHOTO | MICHELE SPATARI | AFP

The rise of toxic ethnic nationalism accompanied by secessionist rhetoric is often quoted as one of the defining problems of the century.

“When I was growing up, we did not see any kind of ethno-nationalism. We had globalisation” one man, in his late 50s said at a conference last week to loud applause.