Xenophobia: South Africa vs Germany… An analysis

Drawing parallels between South Africa’s Xenophobia and the benevolence of the German Government and its people towards Syrian refugees: both events happening within 12 months.

By Nomazulu Thata

While it would make sense to an average African to tell him/her that Africans are very kind people, their philosophy of Ubuntu embraces all that is African and all those living in Africa, It is difficult to imagine that Africans are enemies of themselves, their prejudices of one another and themselves is shocking.

Africa is created or perceived as socialist minded peoples who never see other people in terms of economics but humanity, first and foremost, Ubuntu.

Not even 12 months, long ago, it was Xenophobia in the streets of Durban, black Africans chasing other fellow Africans calling them rats and lice. The xenophobic violence that was lethal in nature, was insinuated by the highest institutions of the land of South Africa; the King of the Zulu Nation and the misguided son of Jacob Zuma, Edward and of course some ministers from the African National Congress ANC.

“Let’s deal with our lice and rats in our midst once and for all!” said the whole King Zwelithini. The mob in Durban areas and some other parts of South Africa took to the streets killed seven foreigners and inflicted fear on thousands of them, an experience they will never forget in their life time.

It is those foreigners who left their countries for several reasons, genuine reasons known to them as reason why they would rather they lived rough in South Africa than their lands of birth. Emanuel Sithole died the most painful death at the glare of the international social media, stabbed to death.

The President of South Africa, Mr. Jacob Zuma was quick to say, his death was not because of Xenophobia but it was Tsotsies, (criminals). The good question is, is xenophobic attack not Tsotsi? (Criminal) When did Xenophobia get its elevation of it being better than a criminal act?

The height of this cynicism is that while the President appeared to be quelling Xenophobia, his son was fuelling it on the other hand, giving the impression that it’s coordinated between the father and son.

South Africa to this day remains tense because the average citizen of South African is inherently intolerance of black foreigners in their land. (Zero tolerance) The sick naming of them foreigners as Makwerekwere says it all. “You do not belong here,” and if it was possible, the South Africans would have wanted to say South Africa does not belong to Africa, “we are a first world country after all, what do you want here?” Only Black South Africans and the global white population belong to South Africa and can come and settle in South Africa and not lice and ticks from the North of us, of African origin.”

Parallel to the events that have led Syrians to  leave their country and take hazardous journey to Western Europe is well documented enough to know that the conditions to live under those bombings and daily loss of life and human dignity compels anyone to  make those perilous journeys, thousands of miles just to reach the Bahnhof of Bavaria, one of the most conservative federal lands of Germany.

When the foreigners arrived at the station, welcome placards were seen in most of the Railway Station: “Wilkommen!” Welcome, or “Wilkommen” has now become the byword for Germans and Germany. The German government, Mama Merkel and the majority of the citizens of German have taken in thousands and thousands of citizens-in-transition and given them shelter, food, drink, place to sleep.

“Are beds enough for all of them,” said Meme Merkel at the Bundestag, it was her main concern. The Germans are saying to themselves, “we know this, it happened to Germany and Germans before; they did not forget what is in the history books.

There were two wars fought on the German soil and beyond that brought millions of citizens on the move, they sought refuge in almost all parts of the Globe, America North and South, Western Europe, North European countries even African countries. Our Holy Father, the Pope, is a son of immigrants from Europe.

Germans have not forgotten that some Germans were refused asylum despite the cruelties of Nazi German that was all evident in the then social media. The Germans know how it feels like to be refused asylum when you need it most. It is on the other hand, easy to argue that while most Germans were welcoming the arrival of the citizens-in-transition, first from Munich, then sent to different parts of German communities, not all Germans accepted this move.

There were demonstrations in some parts of Germany done by Neo-Nazis. If one lives in Germany, one will know that neo-Nazis are a very small number of Germans. The group is small but dangerous and lethal too.

In August 2015, a Zimbabwean woman was nearly burnt to death when a Molotov cocktail hit the house she was sleeping in together with her children in a German town.

The swiftness of the police to fight neo-Nazi attacks against foreigners and putting all judiciary measures in place to quell racism against asylum seekers touched the hearts and minds of many people around the world. It was the Chancellor Dr. Merkel, Mama Merkel herself who said, “es ist beshemend” to still attack vulnerable people who are running away from a war torn country like Syria.

In some parts of Syria, there is nothing decent one can live for, and to still linger and hope for change of government, the best thing was to run away with your life, away from Syria, they did that and the majority of Germans welcomed them.

The majority of Germans love and appreciate Meme Merkel’ policy regarding citizens-in- transition. She on the other hand, appreciates the benevolence of the majority of the German public towards the refugee crisis. The good-hearted people of Germany humbled her. Again she openly outshines her European counterparts even in the European Union.

The UK is going to take in 10,000 citizens-in-transition from Syria in 5 years, USA Obama was going to take 10,000 Syrian citizens-in-transition! It is not stipulated when USA will that take place, how is it going to be coordinated, and for how long is USA going to take them, but on the other hand Germany had already taken that number, 10,000 citizens-in-transition within 5 days alone at the German Railway station of Munich, Bavaria!

What does that tell us about Meme Merkel and the German people? This number 10,000 is going to be very significant to gamblers of Lotto and the like!

The world is deeply moved by the way the German government dealt with extra ordinary circumstances, the plight of the Syrian, Afghan and Iraqi citizens in transition. The magnitude of the flow of people seeking refuge, the amount of assistance coming from average population of German people, the competence of the police and the army that was called in to assist in the Munich Bahnhof to coordinate registration first, allocation of duties to all communal lands of Germany, logistics of shelter, food, medicine, housing, education of children and availability of the Christian-German persons to listen to lonely hearts of the Muslim-worshipping-Syrians, the warm care of the German heart, nobody will take that away from them.

Germany has made history and has got its respect in the world order. In the meantime the Pope was in USA saying “do unto others as you would like others do unto you.”

Sure this is the centre-core of the Christian values.

But remembering too of their experiences in the world wars, suffering is not very far from the vein-running of most Germans and seeing suffering; they identify themselves with pain, and acted to alleviate suffering on her/his doorstep by those very values of identifying pain on the next person as their own.

Black South Africans, white South Africans and the struggle for their independence, were all citizens-in-transition over the world. There was a South African at every continent of this Earth, one would also say with equal truth; at every country of this world there was a South African citizen-in-transition who could not go to his/her motherland because of Apartheid policies back then.

It was noble back then to introduce yourself a South African or “I have South African roots.” Free and independent South Africa, the last country to gain independence in the African continent, their values and principles regarding humanness, Ubuntu are found wanting. South Africans have forgotten that they got global assistance of all kinds to be where they are today. Their memories are short and selective.

Countries like Tanzania, Zambia, Angola, Nigeria, and Mozambique, just to name those few countries sacrificed a lot in the struggle for the independence of South Africa. When Nelson Mandela died, it was President Kaunda who insisted and asked the Nelson Mandela funeral committee to say some few words of send-off to his personal friend Nelson; he was not in the agenda of speakers in such an important funeral.

South Africa belongs to Africa and the patterns of developments in that country replicate all shortfalls and serious mismanagement policies that other independent countries north of them have gone through. There is corruption at every arm of the government starting with the President himself who amassed public funds of more than 20 million rands to refurbish his multi-women Inkandla private residence.

Criminality is still not under control in South Africa, Johannesburg is one of the most dangerous places in the world in terms of criminality and one of the most unequal places in the world; a rich South African is rich and a poor South African is very, very poor.

There is also some youthful Julius Malema promising better independence than the one already existing. God bless South Africa.

President Zuma is not a match with Chancellor Dr. Merkel of Germany when it comes to the question of dealing with crisis regarding citizens-in-transition. But President Zuma was quick to say the root problems of Syrian war and its refugee crisis emanate from Europe.

Is that so? But the Arab Spring started on the African soil, was President Zuma not signatory to the resolution that permitted Western countries to bomb Libya and the subsequent death of Colonel Gadhafi?

The absence of the rule of law in Libya has led to thousands of citizens-in-transition drowning in the Mediterranean seas, most of them from Africa, running away from chronic political conflicts of decades that have led to poverty and famine.

What has the African Union done about it, and the 91 year old President Robert Gabriel Mugabe as Chairperson of the organisation and well-educated Dr. Nkosazana Zuma as Commission chairperson for African Union?

One cannot run away from the fact that South African economy is very complex and advanced, only second to Nigeria. With all due respect to the whole President of South Africa, how will it be possible for a country with such a complex economy, who’s President has average academic education, manage to run it effectively and efficiently?

A one-man- one- vote will bring to power Mr. Julius Malema, a youthful politician with scant academic education and a populist genre, God save us all. The South African black majority citizen is poorly educated in politics and the history of the struggle for independence.

To be fair, Thabo Mbeki was an economist and we failed to appreciate him as President! The boastful South African will be colonised again. South Africa will be a colony again.

Painfully the world will look on, will not act or react. Africans have not yet mastered management skills to run economies, not in a thousand years, said Ian Douglas Smith. Was he not right? Zimbabwe’s economy is a scrap heap, once a basket of hope.

Mama Merkel, in Sesotho I would say Meme Merkel and your good government, the good citizens of Germany, the hand that gives is more blessed than the one that receives. To the people of Germany, for their solidarity that transcends borders, danke euch viel mals.

Indeed God bless the Federal Republic of Germany. “Die würde des Menschen ist unantastbar” Her legacy already is “Mother” „Mama“ „Meme“ to millions of people world-wide who indeed see her as a mother because she is a mother indeed.