My Turn

Message from xenophobia

 

By Dennis Kumwenda

There have been different responses to the recent xenophobic attacks by South Africans on foreigners. Civil society organisations (CSOs) have demanded compensation from the South African government while many citizens have described the attacks as the work of heartless and merciless South African people.

Though I do not support the way South Africans have taken to solve their economic challenges, I find the above responses not helpful. They are fruits of frustration and anger generated by the inhumane battering of our country men; but they do not address the problem.

If one analyses the recent xenophobic attacks with rationality, objectivity and sobriety, one will hear a message defining the role our country has played in the suffering of our brothers and sisters in South Africa. The messages may reveal the cause of the problem and perhaps offer a long-term solution.

We must see the ugly attacks on our people as a mirror that reflects the ugly face of our country and demand its beautification. There is something wrong with our country that forces citizens to trek to South Africa and find happiness in cleaning houses, bathing the sick, cleaning streets, moulding bricks and herding livestock. This thing is abject poverty.

It is the poverty we have created for ourselves with Cashgate, short-sightedness as well as discriminatory and self-enrichment policies. It is the country’s failure to handsomely reward its professionals such as teachers, doctors or engineers which influences the youth not to take education seriously and see working in South Africa as the easiest way to succeed in life. This attitude among our youths is dangerous. It has created laziness in the youth and insecurity in South Africa which has resulted in xenophobia.

It is reported that some Malawians have frankly said that it is better to be victims of xenophobia in South Africa than to experience poverty in Malawi. This shows how bad the economic situation in Malawi is. Therefore, pleading with South Africans not to chase Malawians but to endure the burden of keeping them is not a solution at all. It is just a way of defending this bad situation which is our comfort zone. It is another way of admiring poverty and the evils it brings.

Any crisis should be seen as a new window of opportunities. Therefore, the pain and disgust the xenophobia attacks have created in our hearts must not evoke anger, hopelessness and retaliation in us.  It must not influence us to accept the low path we have chosen and the mentality that it is better to do cheap labour in South Africa and be happy with plenty than to do a noble job in Malawi and live in poverty. Rather, it must lead us to a deep soul-searching and seek ways of restoring the dignity of our citizens. We must go to work outside as expatriates and not as labourers.

Another message the recent xenophobia attacks offers is of love and respect of people who are different from us. Locally, Malawians have expressed similar xenophobic tendencies against foreigners, even our fellow Malawians of different colour or tribe. Some three years ago, shops belonging to foreigners were destroyed in Dowa. While we protest the South African xenophobia, we must deeply heal within our hearts from the dark shadow of our own xenophobia; otherwise, our protest will be useless and unacceptable sacrifice before God.

Coincidentally, the xenophobia attacks have occurred when Malawians are killing fellow Malawian brothers and sisters with albinism. Ironically, we have softly shouted and acted against this savagery, though it has claimed lives of many innocent citizens of this country who are not living in Malawi as illegal immigrants but true citizens. Is the killing of people living with albinism a lesser evil because it is done by fellow Malawians? Are people with albinism less important than other Malawians?

As I appreciate the swiftness with which government has responded to the South African xenophobia attacks, I implore the government to treat the people with albinism with the same urgency and enhanced protection. Money must be sourced to fight this evil. Similarly, CSO’s must also gang up together and protect the people living albinism.

Apart from expressing our anger against xenophobia, let us all realise xenophobia is a symptom of the sickness of our country. Therefore, we must translate the anger into transformative visions and actions that will heal our country. Xenophobia must generate in us a big amount patriotism and sacrifice to build our country and turn it into a land of milk and honey.

We must all say it is better to sacrifice and die for the development of our country than to suffer xenophobia in other countries. If we do this, we shall stop seeking cheap labour in other countries where we are treated as dogs.

**The author works as director for Mbuto Living Theatre, a group that promotes peace and development through theatre.

 

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