By Munya Dimairo
I often observe events as they unfold before airing my thoughts and position, particularly on sensitive and complex issues.
This approach has its own flaws, but it works for me sometimes, especially when you are avoiding exposing your lunacy so often. What works for me does not always work for others. This is how complex and diverse we are as humans.
Widespread reaction to xenophobic scenes (some call it Afrophobia which is not quite the reality I suppose) in South Africa (SA) provoked me to respond after some days as an observer and also listening too.
Let me start by putting the record straight on my position on xenophobia. We all have different views on many issues, but use of violent means and lunatic butchering of others no matter where they come from is uncalled for –it’s barbaric and deserves condemnation from all angles.
I suppose this is what most people agree on, but not all –that is why heinous organisations like IS and Boko Haram exist. Nonetheless, my observations which could be wrong is that when barbaric acts like these happen; we tend to overreact from the extreme right, throwing tantrums and lose our focus on key issues.
I believe complex issues such as xenophobia and terrorism demand a bird’s eye view. Addressing the root of the problem is paramount if we are to solve multifaceted and complex challenges of our generation we face today.
To date, I haven’t come across an author who dissected the positive and negative implications of human migration like what Moisés Naím did in his book “The End of Power”. It’s a masterpiece. By the way, I am not acting as a salesman on his behalf.
It’s human nature to focus much on positive implications of human migration such as skilled labour gains and economic growth which are well known. However, we tend to overlook the consequences. As a result, we are often ill-prepared to tackle associated emanating challenges. I will try to take a stepped-up approach to explain my point here.
People migrate for many reasons which are common knowledge. Moreover, net migration is unidirectional in nature. I mean people often migrate from poor resourced to high income countries for their survival.
The collapse of (unrest in) States such as Syria, Libya, Afghanistan, Iraq and Yemen is an example and has been the main catalyst to mass immigration for the past few years. Unfortunately, this trend is bound to continue for some time to come.
It is very easy to focus much on countries at war and ignore hot spots suffering silent consequences. For instance, for the past 10-15 years, SA had experienced drastic changes due to migration of people such as from other SADC countries.
On a positive note, skilled migrants from Zimbabwe say have been contributing to a highly skilled labour force, economic growth accelerated and SA became the economic power house of Africa. On the downside, SA government took the eye off the ball –they did not plan for the obvious long term consequences.
What are these consequences? Pressure builds up on social services such as housing, education, transport and medical care in an already burdened under sourced society. Formal and informal employment opportunities become scarce by each day.
I differentiated informal employment from formal for a reason. Majority of Africans make a living from the informal sector. In my local Shona language we used to call it “kukorokoza or kukiya kiya”. I am not sure what they call it these day.
It does not matter whether you are educated or not –these pressures on issues above causes friction in communities, although the latter are the most vulnerable. This friction builds up over time –it is like pumping a balloon continuously. Releasing air pressure from the other end is vital –otherwise a point of maximum elasticity will be reached.
This is the analogue to the xenophobic events we are witnessing in SA. The situation is complex and volatile in low income countries without a welfare system to act as a safety net for its citizens during hard times.
In the African setting, you have to take care of your own problems regardless of the situation which is quite the opposite in the Western context. In Ndebele they call it “Indoda Iyazibonela”, in Shona “Umwe neumwe anozionera ega” and in English “each man for himself”. In such as society pressure can easily build up over years if adequate action is not taken to relieve the situation.
Who is responsible?
Well, this is a very tricky question which I will try to answer, but I refuse to put all the blame on a single player. Please do not misinterpret this as condoning heinous acts of xenophobia. NOPE!! First, the SA government is a key player with the responsibility for planning and providing services, and security for its residents.
Well, I deliberately avoided “citizens” for a reason. The SA government knew about the building pressure and tensions in the community for long, but they chose not to act –in a polite way they did not do enough to remedy the situation.
Failure to do so meant that it was a matter of time before hell broke loose. In a way, it is like forcing people to take matters into their own hands in a radical way. This is human nature when we are squeezed into a corner. It becomes survival of the fittest applicable to all living organisms. I’m afraid to say this, but it is the reality. My point is adequate planning to accommodate growing population is required by any government.
Second, I will touch the aorta of the problem. I’m trying not to be too critical of African governments –why am I lying to myself? Actually, I’m tempted to do the opposite. Irresponsible, unaccountable, uncaring, power mongering, corrupt to the core and vampire regimes who do not have a heart for their own citizens are the chief culprits.
They have milked their own countries to unprecedented levels and literally forced out their citizens to look for life elsewhere at all cost. They are even prepared to go to war fighting against the wishes of their own people to keep them in power.
Ironically, the same heinous regimes launching silent “citizenophobia” (err, I kind of made this one up by the way) are the ones condemning the SA government as if their hands are angels. Hang on –what a bunch of hypocrites! You wonder what their brains are made of.
Ok, I am being too emotional –my point here is irresponsible governance is one of the key factors contributing to xenophobia in SA today. As a country you can try to be accommodative as much as you can but there is a limit in terms of how far you can go given finite resources and opportunities.
It is very easy for us to blame the SA government and protest by burning SA infrastructure in our own countries but we are losing sight of the real problem.
Instead we exacerbate the situation. Some are calling for a boycott of anything South African. Really? Are you serious? The same folks who are leading that campaign cannot even contemplate to do the same for anything produced by their oppressors who are milking, squandering their resources and forcing them out of their motherland.
Moreover, for instance, SA played and are still our key partners for our existence today in Zimbabwe. Lest we forget that we are even using their currency. I just scratch my head in disbelief, but at the same time admiring our diversity in our thinking and the way we react to events. Diversity is something I cherish –otherwise the world would be a boring hell. However, it comes with a penalty.
Last but not least, understanding the historical perspective is fundamental here. It is very surprising that South Africans WHO ARE BEHIND these xenophobic attacks are very short sighted. They are forgetting how African countries, especially in the SADC region played pivotal roles sheltering and supporting them during the Apartheid era.
Our memories are very short indeed. What happened to our brotherhood principles during these past struggles against colonialists? Watching African brothers killing each other makes me sick and shed tears of frustration and anger given what our forefathers went through.
By the way, I totally condemn killing of humans regardless of race and colour – we are all human beings. Whatever level of anger or disagreements you may have on issues, the use of violence is BARBARIC. All of us need to create a platform and an environment for sober discussions and dialogue on issues affecting us.
This is a complex issue which may take weeks or months to exhaust. However, I have just focused on very few issues which I believe are key. The bottom line is all these issues are somewhat interconnected and cannot be addressed in isolation. What does it mean?
The blame game, throwing tantrums and retaliatory measures won’t solve the problems we are facing on xenophobia. Otherwise, it exacerbates the problem leaving a painful and permanent scar on our African continent.
What is needed is coordinated effort among African countries to sort the situations out. Everyone has a stake to play. Blaming the SA government and its citizens alone is a bit insane and misses the point and many pieces of the puzzle.
Disclaimer: Views expressed here are solely my own and no conflict of interest to declare. I am more receptive to constructive criticism and debate on related matters.
Munya Dimairo is a Research Fellow in Medical Statistics with interest in Political Science and Human Thinking. Can be contacted on [email protected] (twitter: @mdimairo)
