CONTROVERSY AND JUSTICE
Part 2
Did you know that former South African President, Nelson Mandela, who died an icon, celebrity and symbol of peace integrity and justice, was once referred to as the devil and terrorist?
He sadly was referred to as the devil, bearing number 666! Like other freedom fighters, he was hunted like a criminal for defending justice and calling for inclusive democracy.
We hear of a shift in emphasis from political diplomacy to economic diplomacy – at least in Zambia. Well, this is a very good line and we must follow it through by promoting intra-African regional trade, among other forms of cooperation. Certainly, reactionally postures and counter-revolutionary elements should and cannot be part of the package of a successful strategy.
I would be happy if we worked towards liberating our minds from self in icted pain and hatred. This is because, I am convinced that our minds are still “occupied” and in need of surgical operations that may lead to total and meaningful liberation. Self in icted pain comes about when we adopt dangerous policies, poor attitudes and reckless behaviors that make no sense, whatsoever. Senseless and reckless behaviors only produce complications.
For instance, we are quite happy to stigmatize fellow Africans who look or speak differently from us. We deliberately knowingly or unknowingly refuse to deal with real and critical issues, such as the falling education standards and primary health care on the African Continent. How can it be a sin to be born with a dark skin? How can it be a sin to be an African of foreign or direct extraction?
It is contradictory that, while dark skinned people have been looked at from all manner of comical perspectives, there is a deep liking for their potential, including demonstrable achievements.
For instance, Africa, is referred to as the “motherland” by some African Americans and African descendants in the Caribbean and South America (There are many other pockets, elsewhere) is reported to be potentially very rich.
The big question is that although many have been talking about potential of Africa; – backwardness and begging appear to be the unnatural surnames of our continent.
I do not know all the details about the Chinese involvement in Africa and the rest of the world. What is clear to me is that, China is helping to unlock Africa (through infrastructure), in the midst of terrible and hostile misinformation. The argument that China could be dealing with its large population is not only mischievous and speculative but problematic and arrogant. So, China is exporting its undesired people. Really! That is cheap.
Big populations become a problem and an issue if you are disorganized and deficient in discipline. Populations must be managed.
Have we incisively and interrogatively looked at the foundation of giant countries like Australia? What about the global powerhouse, the United States of America? Here in Africa, to what extent have we taken keen interest to examine the population contours and profile of Mauritius, Madagascar, South Africa, Ethiopia, Egypt, Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia?
On the extreme end of bullish behavior, it is not in question that some countries, in the West, had issues with Colonel M. Gaddaffi (the President of Libya, then) Did Gaddaffi have to disappear from mother earth in a barbaric manner, as recorded? What is the difference between State sponsored political extra-judicial killings, and the legally managed death penalty, which human rights defenders call “when the State kills”? Is the killing of Gaddaffi not suggestive of establishing a nasty precedent for Africa and the World?
We can go on and on. Let’s look at the unfortunate and barbaric incidents of killings and attacks that made South Africa, infamous recently. For avoidance of any doubt, what was happening in South Africa is so disgusting so much so that defending it, would not only be a waste of time, but a clear indication that one does not fully understand the meaning and import of “people power”. WE THE PEOPLE! So goes many Constitutions, deriving their power from people – the real MASTERS and givers of power as per Constitution.
What happened in South Africa can happen to any country and containing (stopping) it would be as problematic, as the South Africa government found it. I have said before and now I repeat emphatically: “the seeds of our destruction were sown in the past”.
It is irresponsible not to seek to understand the depth and extent of the apartheid machinery. It took international efforts of civil society and governments, to dismantle it and allow civility to replace the stubborn apartheid machinery, crafted by evil architects. These architects are the real source of hate, anger and destruction of life and property. So you see what fellow human beings can do? Produce anger and danger in small packets.
I hold the view that criticizing South Africans for the attacks on “foreigners” in the country is not completely accurate. To the extent that it is the duty of the State to provide for security of person and property, raising issue with the South African government is correct but as indicated above, it would not yield much. May be temporal relief! It would play the same role that a pain killer plays. (In the case of Diplomats; they must be seen to be doing something; as the Media reports their work. I wish we could all come to a point where we appreciate the complex nature of the problem).
Do you remember the “Black on Black” violence in South Africa, shortly before the land mark election of 1994, when black South Africans first voted This violence was traced to apartheid hostels, which without exception were all occupied by black Africans and grouped according to ethnicity! Do you also remember the era of Neck lacing, where tires were put on the neck of a suspected informer or sellout?
What about the SOWETO uprising of 1976 – where the first live bullet was fired and killed young Hector Peterson, during the time of William De Klerk, as Education Minister then? (De Klerk was the last White Prime Minister under the racist regime but I can confirm that he was simply serving and heading a racist regime. He was moderate!)
The list of nasty episodes, all the way from Sharpeville massacre is long and as complicated as the struggle was. Mozambique lost a President in an Air crash, where the Zambian Ambassador, HE Cox Sikumba died. The list of the dead runs into millions. But, the oppressor has never given up. The new tactic is about fronting black faces in the legitimate cause of opposition politics.
The History of the Southern African Liberation struggle which seized the entire African continent and the World is well documented and I will not seek to repeat it here. Suffice to say, discrimination, stigmatization, superiority and inferiority complexes, were real and to imagine that a combination of all these vices can disappear in about 25 years, represents reverse and problematic optimism.
While attacks on Foreigners are real and as I have indicated that the vice is unacceptable, criminal attacks on South Africans are on the upswing.
It is not strange for a South African to be hijacked on a daily basis. Rape and other forms of Gender Based Violence, have become very serious problem in that Society.
If it took Cuba and Angola to fully exploit the outcome of the battle of Quito Kunavale; and it took the Frontline States to Host and support the African National Congress of South Africa (ANC-SA) – of course in varying degrees (Some countries were quite indifferent to the South African plight). More important, it took the then Organization of African Unity (OAU) to rally all Africans in driving out the last bastion of racist white oppression out of Africa!
But I must state that while the Southern African struggle was impressively supported by most Africa, not all African countries took up the challenge.
More important, there are well documented Western countries, who supported the Liberation of Southern Africa, impressively. The Nordic Cousins, stand out for their social programs. In short, the records are there to show the nature and profile of the struggle and consequent assistance by the international community.
Perhaps, on a sad note, we must record that the struggle, ended in the manner that we knew. But; it has now taken a different profile and route. We must be relevant to the new dynamics in order to arrest the internal hemorrhage. It is this new profile where I expect the South African government to wake up and engage with all the African regional trading blocs as well as the African Union and probably others.
We have unfortunately hurriedly dropped our guard and gone into an artificial comfort zone. No, we should not do that, because the stakes are very high. Civility and Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) must be our guiding campus, supported by the relevant parts of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights.
My reading of the situation is that the violence, wrongly referred to as Xenophobia, is actually a wakeup call. Are all the Foreigners black? The man who was arrested/jailed for killing Chris Hani, is White, from Poland!
We tend to sprint and then relax. We can do better.
See you next week.
It is irresponsible not to seek to understand the depth and extent of the apartheid machinery. It took international e orts of civil society and governments, to dismantle it and allow civility to replace the stubborn apartheid machinery, crafted by evil architects.
It is contradictory that, while dark skinned people have been looked at from all manner of comical perspectives, there is a deep liking for their potential, including demonstrable achievements.