In Xhosa, Zwelethemba means Land of Hope. It is a small township on the outskirts of Worcester, about 2 hours from Cape Town. On the surface, it is far from hopeful – the township is classic Apartheid – one road in and out, far away from town, bordering an industrial area.

In 2007 xenophobia flared up here, a sort of precursor to the nation-wide attacks the following year. Our story follows Milton, teacher from the local high school, as he responds to the crisis in his community. When he finds his students are being lead on by the baseless rumours about foreigners, he leads his students in a grassroots campaign to educate people about the fragile position these people face and the horrors they are running from at home.

This short film is part of workshop materials developed by Shikaya for the high-school programme  Up2Us.

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