XENOPHOBIA: A DENT ON THE BLACK NATION
Xenophobia simply means the 'fear of foreign things or people'. This definition is however not sufficient in itself without being accompanied by spates of violence somewhere in South Africa. The incidents in South Africa makes me ponder on 'how can the resolution to get rid of a 'fear' [by the use of physical weapons and rage] bring about freedom without the proponents [of these attacks] being haunted by that fear on the long run'? Should the 'white man' treat a 'black man' with disdain [just because of the colour of his skin], it becomes termed as 'racism'- the reverse also begets the same conclusion- but it is rather perplexing to see a black man visit terror upon another man [who shares the same skin colour] because he is seen as a threat to his welfare and job security- this reason becomes unfounded when you consider that majority of the victims are entrepreneurs whose stalls are eventually looted, upon the onslaught of the attackers.
Looking down the annals of history; one would see that xenophobia and the inherent attacks are not new trends [as these have been a scourge in some South Africa communities over the two last decades] and these have been escalating rather than subsidizing.
The Motive
People do not just act the way they do; there are certain instigating factors that sway men to gravitate in a particular direction. Bringing it down to the xenophobic activities that thus have shattered the bedrock of humanity; the perpetrators often claim that the xenophobic attack [against Nigerians] is a way of purging their communities of drug lords and their 'ignoble' activities- but when did it become the function of a civil group to take charge of such daunting security task and how can 'evil' purge out 'evil'? Barring this claim and viewing the events- surrounding xenophobia- scrutinizingly, one would see that this is a result of sheer hostility that have been fuelled by some underlying and catalyzing factors: one of such is the tagging of immigrants as 'security threats' by the Parliament in the nation- this might have happened way back but it has surely left an imprint in the mind of some mischievous and 'uncivilized' persons. That other countries [with Nigeria playing the role of a 'big brother'] intervened during South Africa's apartheid struggles, was not a means of creating a leverage for their citizens to seek 'greener pastures' in South Africa but rather a means of ensuring that humanity prevails over insanity and injustice. However, years down the line, insanity seems to be gaining the upper hand in a xenophobic ambience- as the humanitarian acts from other nations in the past appears to have evaded the subconscious of these xenophobes. Another reason- though cryptic- is the lack of creativity and laziness of these 'xenophobes' who feel that their own standard of living would take a boost simply by maiming and/or killing those who are courageous enough to start something up- albeit in another man's country.
The Moves thus far
It will be an eyesore for any sane government or humanitarian group to sit hands folded without doing anything about addressing [and curtailing] these despiteful occurrences. Although it would be quite myopic to assume that Nigerians are the only ones that are being victimized in these attacks- other foreign nationals are not left out- but it is incumbent that the Nigerian government acts to ensure the safety of its citizens- not just at home- abroad. And indeed, there have been protests and moves against the backdrop of xenophobia: recently Nigerian delegates- first, the group of lawmakers led by the leader of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila and then the Minister of foreign affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama and the Minister of Interior, Abdulrahman Dambazau- have visited South Africa in order to forestall the incidence of incessant xenophobic attacks against Nigerians. And from the fallout of the meeting [of the Minister of foreign affairs and his entourage] with South Africa's Minister of International Relations; it is obvious that these attacks- which often occur on broad daylight- have been festering due to security lapses as Nigerian communities do not have easy and on-time access to security operatives that would have helped to quell the emergence and/or escalation of these incidents. This must have been one of the reasons why the Nigerian Minister demanded genuine commitment [towards ensuring safety of foreigners] from the South African government.
To wrap this up: just as it is a dent on the 'black nation', xenophobia is also a dent on globalization since it infringes upon the man's right to live. There are definitely South Africans thriving in other countries and meting out malicious acts at them will only leave our world in disarray; xenophobes need to exfoliate their 'natural' skin/heart and learn how to co-exist peacefully with foreigners. Furthermore, the South African government needs to be at the forefront of the fight against xenophobic attacks- this is not to say that some of the claims [for instance the issue of drug pushing] raised should not be adequately and equitably looked into- and the world- especially the African Union- has got to speak up with one voice against the hostilities [aimed at foreigners] in South Africa.