Now before we go and get all xenophobic, let's just look at the stats:
Murders in Germany: 0.0116461 per 1,000 people (ranked #49)
Murders in SA: 0.496008 per 1,000 people (ranked #2)
Murders with Firearms in Germany: 0.00465844 per 1,000 people (ranked #21)
Murders with Firearms in SA: 0.719782 per 1,000 people (ranked #1)
Rape in Germany: 0.0909731 per 1,000 people (ranked #24)
Rape in SA: 1.19538 per 1,000 people (ranked #1)
a**aults in Germany: 1.4183 per 1,000 people (ranked #26)
a**aults in SA: 12.0752 per 1,000 people (ranked #1)
(Source: NationMaster.com)
Now we all know that stats can be inaccurate and that they don't tell the whole story, but you can understand why someone who has never been to SA is going to be paranoid.