In 2008, University of Western Cape’s Centre for Humanities research associate professor Suren Pillay helped coordinate a team of researchers in response to the xenophobic violence which broke out in South Africa.
At the time, the country was in the midst of violent xenophobic attacks - one of the first of many waves in the country - that left more than 60 people dead and drew international condemnation.
Pillay holds a doctorate in Anthropology with distinction, from Columbia University in New York, and has published extensively in the media, including the Mail & Guardian, Cape Times, Ugandan Monitor, Jerusalem Post, and Al Jazeera international online.