Africa: it’s right here!

ACROSS the country at various events today glasses will be raised to celebrate Africa Day. South Africans will join together in sharing the rich history of our continent – its culture, values, and our collective future. But Africa Day needs to be more than a celebration – it must also be a day for introspection.

We need to ask ourselves how each one of us contributes to a shared sense of African identity, and what we do to make Africa great.

How many of us have done something tangible over the past year to combat the scourge of xenophobia in our country, which targets Africans of other nations resident in South Africa?

Let us not pretend that xenophobia does not exist, but rather make this Africa Day a clarion call to address its root causes, and eradicate this phenomenon from our country forever.

When we see a Zimbabwean, a Somali, a Nigerian or a Congolese, let us not look on them with scorn as aliens to our national fabric, but rather see them as African brothers and sisters who contribute towards making South Africa great.

As they walk the streets of our cities and townships, let us not see them as foreigners, but rather as fellow Africans.

It was the African states which supported us in the very long and brutal struggle against apartheid.

They gave our freedom fighters safe haven, they financed our Struggle, and they fought for us diplomatically at the OAU and the UN.

When we needed them the most, our African compatriots were there for us.

We may face the triple challenges of poverty, unemployment and inequality in our country, and it is true that migrants and refugees put a strain on our already stretched resources.

But as we try to effectively navigate these realities, we cannot turn to the base instincts of violence and discrimination against other Africans who have turned to South Africa for safe haven or a better life.

To celebrate Africa Day is to celebrate those other Africans who live in South Africa, and to make them feel that South Africa is not a part of Europe, but indeed a part of the continent, which welcomes them as they once welcomed us.