Xenophobia
As each day goes by, the Earth, a planet with a 6,356 radius, shrinks within itself to become smaller. Echoes from the north poles now take minutes to get to the south, and the far east isn’t as far anymore. This is all thanks to the power of connectivity. In the early days, our interaction with each other was first sponsored by the backs of horses and camels, then came railways whose ends joined sisters cities, after which we had airplanes. Today, we have the internet that has broken all human barriers to reaching each other. In addition to these, the metaverse is coming with overwhelming promises. Indeed, the future is bright for our collectively shared “Global village” dream. However, there is a but, it is called Xenophobia.
The concept of Xenophobia refers to unjustified hate, prejudice, and aversion towards foreigners or people of different cultures. It is that simple in definition but horrid and grim in action. The foundational block for xenophobia is often the fear of losing social status and identity. This fear drives people into developing protective mechanisms against foreigners who they believe are a threat to them. Xenophobes build boundaries, separate, and segregate; in worse cases, they steal, kill and destroy.
Although it is not exclusive to Africa, recent events in history have shown that Xenophobia is predominant on the continent. Countries like Nigeria and South Africa are also often in attendance when xenophobia is discussed. For instance, as early as 1969, the Aliens Compliance Order was enacted in Ghana to eject Nigerians who had “become annoyingly enterprising, with their sharp business acumen.” Nigeria retaliated in 1983 and 1984 with compulsory expulsion of aliens, which mainly affected Ghanaians and led to the popularization of the Ghana-must-go bags.
In 1978, the government of Gabon repatriated Beninese and banned them from coming into Gabon as an expression of her president’s prejudice towards the Benin republic. The Angolan government, in 2004, also expelled Congolese from their country because they perceived them as “natural resources thieves.” Congo later returned the favor in 2009. Xenophobia is also manifest in Eastern Africa, between the Kenyans and the Somalis.
South Africa is one country with a reputation for being hostile towards foreigners. For instance, in May 2008, over 62 persons from Malawi and Zimbabwe were killed in Xenophobic attacks. Fast forward to 2015, similar attacks were carried out, leading to the Nigerian government recalling its ambassadors and citizens. Asides from these physical attacks, the South African governments are also notorious for the unjust deportation of foreigners and hostility in their migration process. This goes to show that xenophobia can be subtle, systemic, psychological, and non-violent. All of which are not Ubuntu-like.
At this point, one must be curious about the rationale for the consistent cases of xenophobia and xenophobic attacks in Africa. It could be argued that the presence of xenophobia in Africa can be traced back to colonialism. Most African countries are yet to move past the nightmare that slavery, apartheid, and colonialism were and they will do anything to prevent its reoccurrence. Hence, there is a psychological construct to protect all that belongs to them. There are also psychological makeups such as the desire and preference for ethnic hierarchy. Most ethnic groups in Africa truly desire to be on top of an imaginary ladder and they feel one of the ways to ensure this is via hostility to other groups. Similarly, from time immemorial there has been an unhealthy rivalry and competition between nations in Africa and this breeds xenophobic tendencies.
However, all these theories don’t justify xenophobia and the evils associated with it. Countries across the globe should adjust their foreign policy structure to one that accommodates other countries and promotes unity. They should educate their citizens on the dangers of xenophobia and put sanctions in place to punish xenophobic citizens.
Xenophobia stifles Pan-Africanism, globalization as well as the growth and development of Africa as a whole. Reactionary actions should be taken to end this evil before it ends us all.
