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On Xenophobia in Mzansi (South Africa)

I have been thinking some on the xenophobic attacks in South Africa. Some Malawians have already returned home and I hear thousands more are on their way. My take on it? First off, I disagree with those who say, “It’s about time, Malawians always want to develop other countries so good for them this happened, they need to be reminded Malawi needs to develop too, bring them on home!!”

We need Malawians out and about in various countries, to learn some skills that can help us here in development. The wrong attitudes to have are:
1. Jealousy: from people who hate on those working out there and are so happy that the Xenophobic attacks happened
2. Inferiority complexes: By those out there who hate their own identity as Malawians and will take on below minimum wage jobs as long as it’s a job outside the country.

I should say, I was so happy for South Africa’s winning of the World Cup Bid but hey, this just helps me to be more and more concerned about the kind of people that are living in South Africa right now. I mean, Bantu on Bantu violence, really, for jobs?…man (not that Bantu on other races violence is any better.) I lived in Swaziland for some time and I faced some resistance being a foreigner.

Come on Black folks let’s stop this hating, that’s why the White folks’ “divide and rule” theory works on us…

Well, now I’m beginning to think about the Mexicans working in the US en masse…a little voice comes to my mind, “the border crossed us…” I’m not a politician, ahem…Peace to the world!

Comments

Anonymous said…
I stayed in RSA from August 2004 to May 2007.During that period, I heard about a single incident in Cape Town where Somali refugees were attacked by the locals simply because the Somali's businesses were prospering unlike theirs. At that time, I took it as a single isolated incident. But the recent widespread xenophobic attacks now confirm that what had happened in Cape Town was just a tip of the ice berg.

Generally, crime is very high in RSA and that is the reason why I decided to leave RSA even after I was offered a good scholarship for further studies. Now, my fear is that many skilled Africans from neighbouring countries will be shunning RSA and go abroad in search of greener pastures.RSA's economy will suffer and as a result, the other economies in the ripple will also feel the heat.
June 19, 2008 at 7:07 AM
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