Xenophobia and fallacy of African brotherhood

By William Muchayi

The stench of xenophobia that engulfs South Africa has baffled many within the impoverished continent and afar. Regrettably, few ever predicted the impending inferno but only to be swept in their sleep.

As if that was not enough, the prognosis given by many critics to account for this sad and tragic development is greatly flawed, raising fears that nothing will be learnt from this curse and as history is known to repeat itself, the ugly face of xenophobia is there to stay.

It is a pity that the problem is trivialised by many either deliberately or through sheer ignorance and whatever is the case, the end result is ugly indeed. In what way then is the problem trivialised?

Firstly, architects of Africa’s demise, Robert Mugabe, Jonathan Moyo, Kembo Mohadi, Simbarashe Mumbengegwi, Jacob Zuma, Thabo Mbeki and other neighbouring leaders whose impoverished citizens flock down south have hijacked the xenophobic narrative while exonerating themselves from blame.

Theirs is hypocrisy of the highest order and for them to join the band wagon in condemning the attacks and yet they are the ones who forced their citizens to flee the motherland and only to land in the jaws of South African crocodiles trivialises the whole debate.

Secondly, the debate is watered down as many critics view the xenophobic violence in isolation from poor governance, a problem at the centre of Africa’s demise.

Is it a surprise that even the apolitical Oliver Mtukudzi has emerged from hibernation to condemn the attacks and yet the veteran musician is mum as Mugabe drives millions into exile who are now victims of xenophobic attacks?

Did the musician ever raise his voice when Itai Dzamara got abducted in broad daylight? It is foolish to view the root causes of xenophobic attacks in South Africa in isolation from the plight of thousands of African migrants who perish in the Mediterranean sea and the Sahara desert in their desperate attempt to reach Europe in search for a better life.

Thirdly, to view the xenophobic violence as a product of misguided nationalism on the part of South Africans is pursuing the peripheral and is synonymous with the folly of the proverbial man who leaves his house in flames to pursue a rat fleeing from it.

Indeed, Africa is in deep mud and her problems can only be solved until Africans themselves realise when and where the rain began to beat them. In fact, it is without doubt that the violence being witnessed now was inevitable and it was a matter of when and not why events turned all that ugly.

A closer look at the crisis implicates successive South African governments and their neighbouring brothers across the continent for they have betrayed the aspirations of their citizens who have been reduced to paupers in the post-independence era.

The fabric that glued Africans in the colonial era has disintegrated as Uhuru expectations have remained a pie in the sky. The centre can no longer hold as things fall apart. It’s now brother on brother’s throat as the cow’s milk has dried because it hasn’t been fed by the keeper.

The chameleon Thabo Mbeki has been instrumental in shielding Robert Mugabe when the dictator was on the ropes, gasping for breath in the name of African brotherhood.

Now the dhunamutuna has survived the onslaught and is on the warpath destroying everything on his way as the once jewel of Africa is reduced to rubbles, forcing millions into exile and these are the very victims of xenophobia today.

As if South Africa’s complicity in Zimbabwe’s demise wasn’t enough, three successive South African governments have fought tooth and nail to prevent the Mail and Guardian to have access to the Khampepe Report that documented the 2002 Zimbabwe sham elections stolen by Mugabe.

In this regard, the South African government as the Big Brother in the region has been complicity in subverting the will of the ordinary people within the region, a price being paid now by the influx of immigrants being attacked now.

In addition, a ruling in 2013 by South Africa’s Supreme Court of Appeal, directing the country’s police to investigate alleged crimes against humanity in neighbouring Zimbabwe was never acted upon.

In the name of African brotherhood, Mugabe receives a 21 gun salute on his visit to South Africa with the court recommendation to investigate him ignored.

In this regard, the South African government is as much to blame as their neighbouring counterparts in nurturing fertile ground where perpetrators of xenophobia thrive. Feeble attempts by Kembo Mohadi, Simbarashe Mumbengegwi and Mugabe to repatriate victims of violence back home are not only laughable but an insult to victims.

Are these Zimbabweans caught in the inferno not the same people who fled Mugabe’s stench back home? Isn’t their plight the same as Itai Dzamara’s? For, how can a crocodile shed tears over a sheep caught in a fisherman’s drag net?

Africa has gone to the dogs not by coincidence nor is it by design but because morons on a suicide mission are in control of the steering wheel and the ship hangs by the cliff with the captain asleep.

Also missed by both politicians and critics in this discussion of xenophobia is the issue of borders, the argument advanced being that South Africans should be reminded that current geographical borders are a colonial creation and that immigration is a celebration of free movement.

The ultimate goal of this dream is the scrapping of visa restrictions among member states. In as much as the argument appears sound, it has to be acknowledged that it belongs to the realm of the ideal world as opposed to the real one.

Firstly, the influx of immigrants to South Africa and Europe can’t in any way be viewed as normal for those involved in the perilous journey do not have free will but are bound in chains.

It is on record that since January 2014, an estimated 4 077 migrants perished in the Mediterranean Sea which has become the largest mass grave in the world and most of them are Africans fleeing the rot presided over by the Mugabes.

How many Zimbabweans have perished in the crocodile infested Limpopo river in a bid to reach South Africa? In any case, are Africans ready to dismantle colonial borders since they are a foreign creation?

It is the South Africans who will vehemently resist the move. Isn’t it on record that a diplomatic fallout erupted between Pretoria and Lilongwe recently after Zuma’s gaffe in relation to the comparison of South African roads and Malawi’s?

It has to be acknowledged that it’s easier to relax border restrictions between countries whose economies are at par and not when they belong to two extreme ends of the spectrum.

This is a common phenomenon world wide as evidenced by the resistance of Western European countries to let their Eastern European counterparts have free movement past their borders.

Romanians, Bulgarians and Polish immigrants face obstacles to cross borders into Western Europe. In similar fashion, South Americans, Mexicans and Cubans included, face hurdles as they attempt to reach their northern neighbours who are better off economically.

In Ndau, vakuru vanoti dzinonanzvane femu, the implication being that the rich will always be eager to associate with the rich and not the other way round.

The mere fact that Zimbabweans, Zambians, Malawians and other neighbouring countries helped South Africans in the fight against apartheid does not in any way oblige the Zuma administration to scrap visa restrictions across borders within the region.

On this premise, celebrating free movement by Africans across borders on the basis that the boundaries are a colonial creation is absurd and at worst naïve as it does not in any way help in unearthing underlying problems behind the influx of these desperate migrants to South Africa let alone Europe.

That is not where the answers to Africa’s demise lies. In as much as the relaxation of border restrictions can boost trade among member states, it is not in any way a magic solution to Africa’s problems.

In the same vein, the spate of xenophobic violence can’t in any way be detached from the economic plight of desperate South Africans who have to scramble for the meagre resources available with the rest of the immigrants who have flooded the once economic power house of Africa.

With a population of around 50 million people, unemployment officially at 25% and youth joblessness at 40%, it doesn’t need a rocket scientist to infer the impact of immigrants on resource distribution in the country.

In order to justify the attack on foreigners, perpetrators of xenophobia have to dehumanise their victims, hence, the excuse that it is foreigners who commit crimes and rob their jobs.

What is happening in South Africa can occur in any other African state provided the environment is conducive for nurturing such animalistic behaviour.

In 2013, Zimbabwean authorities gave foreign business owners, mainly Chinese and Nigerians an ultimatum to shut down their businesses by 1 January 2014 and hand them over to Zimbabweans or face arrest.

The controversial plan, if implemented could have banned foreigners from owning bakeries, barber shops, estate agencies and a host of other businesses. Bizarrely, it is the same foreign owned businesses and their owners who are being targeted in South Africa.

Regrettably, South Africans appear not be aware of what bites them. This is evident when they greeted Robert Mugabe with loud cheers as the nonagenarian appeared at the memorial tribute of Nelson Mandela at FNB Stadium in Soweto on 10 December 2013.

Similarly, Mngxitama of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) of Julius Malema foolishly praised the dictator, arguing that ‘’president Robert Mugabe is the greatest black statesman alive today in Africa.’’ God forbid! Are South Africans all that naïve to be unable to trace where the rain began to beat them?

A genuine and loving brother is one who interjects when you go wrong but ululates as you shine. By the way, where is Thabo Mbeki and his African Renaissance? Jacob Zuma’s dances become hollow as he fails to realise the root causes of the xenophobic violence but has the guts to dine and wine with the devil without even using a fork.

The Africa rising narrative has become an illusion only celebrated by its evangelists and foreign backers while giving false hope to the hopeless as the continent fast sinks in the abyss.

William Muchayi is a pro-democracy and political analyst who can be contacted on [email protected]