THE DEEP STRUCTURE OF XENOPHOBIA

Before I begin with the main theme of this article, I’d like to comment briefly on a related subject. In the wake of the execution of 8 drug traffickers in Indonesia, a friend sought my take on how the Australian and Brazilian governments tried to appeal to the Indonesian government to temper justice with mercy while their Nigerian counterpart was silent for too long. Out of the 8 convicts, two were Australians, one Brazilian and an Indonesian. The remaining four were Nigerians! In Indonesian law, drug trafficking is punishable by death; so if you can’t do the time, don’t do the crime. Our government should understand however that they must be there for us. That is my response.

It is also very inaccurate to conclude that the majority of Nigerians doing business in Indonesia and other parts of Southeast Asia are drug traffickers. Our sheer population makes us visible in whatever we do – good or bad. And, that is why there is this myth around the success rate of Nigerians in Diaspora that makes them easy targets for racists and nativists. The situation in South Africa is just one of many.

Despite the atrocities that some in Kwazulu Natal have committed against their fellow Africans, any socio-psychologist who knows his/her onions would have some feeling of sympathy towards black South Africans. All they have ever known is exploitation – political, historical, economic, psychological and cultural exploitation. First they were victims of a land grab. Then they were made to till their previously owned farmlands for the benefit of others, with little access to education. This was necessary for the settlers to create a working class. The blacks were not allowed to compete with them. They were put in mines and made to work for just enough to keep themselves alive. The men were separated from their wives and families and plied with alcohol. They were also segregated and abused by the White supremacists who came to settle on their land. This is the recent history of the South African black man.

After the end of Apartheid, there have been attempts at socio-political reconciliation and integration. But the government and people of South Africa have not paid enough attention to the fact that social and political reconciliation and integration are nothing without psychological and economic emancipation.  South Africans have had Black presidents for over two decades now, yet they continue to be haunted by the fear of domination because they mostly lack the self confidence, knowhow and economic empowerment to compete. They are a scarred and angry.

It is for these reasons that there are so many opportunities in South Africa for immigrants in general. It is Africa’s most sophisticated economy, so immigration is expected, especially from fellow Africans who compete for many of the opportunities in the predominantly black areas. The black South African is again bottom of the food pile in his own land because Africans from other parts of the continent, better suited and more motivated, easily “steal” their opportunities. A people who haven’t recovered from Apartheid suddenly find themselves “serving” yet another set of masters, shows that they still haven’t been properly integrated in the post-apartheid South Africa. It is the same with African Americans in the United States where, despite the recent spate of killings by white policemen, he kills his fellow blacks daily instead of wanting to see his fellow blacks do well. Other blacks kill 93% of blacks killed in America.                      

                    

Hardworking migrants living in parts of South Africa do not deserve the kind of ill treatment their hosts have subjected them to, especially after all the assistance governments of these countries gave to the apartheid struggle, especially Nigeria. This is why the ANC-led government must be indicted. Have their history books been adjusted to reflect the roles that various parties have played in their recent history? How much resource have they put towards the de-radicalisation and education of their masses? The unascertained rationale for the quick glide from love and respect to aching hatred should not be underestimated.

Furthermore, the response of Jacob Zuma to utterances from the Zulu King and his son go a long way in highlighting how important it is to have the right leadership guiding a land to security, prosperity and harmony.  The “Apartheid disease” has eaten deep into the soul of even some of its victims. They should be quickly fished out and made an example of. As Robespierre once said, there should be “no freedom for enemies of freedom”.

South Africans should direct their anger to the government and not against their African brothers and sisters who are only foreigners because of borders drawn by imperialists. Our government’s response here is weak as expected. Meanwhile, Madiba turns in his grave.