Merriam Webster’s
Dictionary defines xenophobia thus:
fear
and hatred of strangers or foreigners or of anything that is strange or foreign.
The Problem
From 2016, there has
been a growing presence in the media of killings perpetrated by South Africans
against foreigners; especially black foreigners. To a great section of the
world’s population, these killings qualify the perpetrators for the title
‘savages’.
The question is often asked, ‘Why should you kill people for coming
to your country?’ Some have wondered, ‘The world came to your aid against
apartheid and now you feel you don’t need the world?’
These and probably
several other thoughts come to the minds of observers. In the midst of all
these, there are still those who want to know the answer to one question, why
exactly are the locals behaving this way?
From observations and
conversations, it has been gathered that the locals have resorted to this
measure because they feel cheated. They feel they are being maltreated on their
own land and the influx of foreigners is exacerbating their misery. Do they
have a point?
The Beginning
The Dutch began their
invasion of South Africa in 1652 while the British came in 1795. The first
invaders however were the Portuguese who came in 1485. As is the norm with
white conquerors; they enslave their conquered by every sense of the word ‘enslave’.
After decades of animal-like treatment of South Africans (apartheid), the white
conquerors declared an end to it in 1990. The ‘Truth and Reconciliation
Commission’ setup under Mandela in 1995 ensured that the whites remained in
South Africa and maintained ownership of lands and resources stolen from the
locals.
In a nutshell, the ‘Truth and Reconciliation Commission’ ensured that
the natives of South Africa will remain disadvantaged for life.
The natives of
South Africa have remained the poorest people in their wealthy country just
like in other countries Europeans conquered and insist on occupying.
While many
blacks have risen to middle or upper classes, the overall unemployment rate of
black people worsened between 1994 and 2003 by official metrics.
Poverty and
inequality remain widespread, with about a quarter of the population (majorly
blacks) unemployed and living on less than US$1.25 a day.
Hidden Truths
In the media,
westerners want to maintain the idea that all the inhabitants of South Africa
love one another and are living in peace. Soap operas and TV shows have been
created to drive home this idea which has thrived for so long but obviously, it
is failing.
According to demographics in South Africa, white people in South
Africa constitute 8% of the population; ironically, they own 77% of valuable
land in the country compared to 1.2% owned by the natives.
The Conspiracy
This injustice is
possible because the whites have cemented their grip on the country, how?
The whites instigated
mass migrations from other continents and races to South Africa, and are
granting them full citizenship with all the concomitant privileges. This is
means the dominance of the black population was and is still being diluted.
The
repercussion of this is that it will be impossible to ask the whites to leave
the country on the grounds that they are foreigners because for the blacks to
get their country back, they will have to ask all foreigners to leave.
This
will put the natives of South Africa in direct confrontation with the powerful
countries of the world from which the foreigners have migrated. What is going on in
South Africa is not progress in diversity; it is a systematic blackmail of the
local black population.
This ploy has been utilized in at least four other
countries: Canada, America, Australia, and New Zealand. The white occupiers
paint a happy and united picture of these countries but, for the locals, it has
always been a nightmare.
If progress in
diversity is the case then, why are the original inhabitants of these countries
always the poorest people in them?
In Canada, Australia and New Zealand, the Aborigines are the poorest. In America, the Red Indians are the poorest; and in South Africa,
the Zulus and other ethnic natives are the poorest.
Theory has it that the white occupiers who are
usually the richest in these countries more often than not, prefer to employ
foreigners over locals to prevent the chances of the locals becoming
financially formidable enough to fight to regain full control of their land.
Wouldn’t the natives of
South Africa be right to want to stem the in-flow of foreigners to their land?
World media has found it difficult to debunk allegations that South Africans
are being short-changed but any attempt by the locals to emphasize this point
is never seen in good light and this influences the perception of the outside
world of South Africans.
New Government Efforts
On Tuesday 27th
February 2018, the radical left Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) party, who
control only 25 of the parliament’s 400 seats, brought a motion seeking to
change the constitution to allow for land expropriation without compensation.
Crucially the move was backed by the ANC, which controls 249 seats, and was
passed.
Speaking in parliament,
EFF leader Julius Malema said “it was
time for justice” on the land issue. “We
must ensure that we restore the dignity of our people without compensating the
criminals who stole our land,” he said.
In 2018, South Africa
President, Cyril Ramaphosa, announced plans to reclaim land from the white
occupiers. American President, Donald Trump, and whites across the West responded
in hostile words. Rallies in Australia labeled the South African government ‘racist’.
The Way Out
The only solution to
the violence against foreigners in South Africa is the alleviation of the
poverty bedeviling the natives. African countries must join the call for the
end to apartheid in all its forms; including ‘economic apartheid’.
You will
never make progress as a people if you make up 80% of the population of your country
but have access to only 1.2% of the natural resources.
Conclusion
It can never be denied
that blacks are the most disadvantaged people in South Africa and that the
inflow of foreigners puts them at a greater disadvantage. So, the next time you think of calling the
natives of South Africa ‘xenophobes’, put yourself in the shoes of someone who
has been beggared in his fatherland.
As kidnapping and banditry have remained an indaba in
northern Nigeria, reports have confirmed that the district head of Birnin Gwari
central in Kaduna state, Alhaji Abubakar, was abducted today around 2pm on the
high way leading to 
The community of
Maitumbi in Minna, the Niger state capital, have made a call to the Police
command of Niger state pleading for urgent assistance with regards the growing
security challenges in the area. 
Merriam Webster’s
Dictionary defines xenophobia thus: 
