Stories of hunger and xenophobia, not again 'Africa'

There is a reason why Africa is in quotes up there. The Africa referred to in the title is the lazy media construct that bundles the continent with the most diverse cultures, languages and number of countries as one homogenous unit. This branding rides on the cases of conflict, disease and poverty things that also happen elsewhere but just in different shades. News coming on ‘Radio Africa’ lately has been following the same old tired script with cases of hunger in parts of Kenya and Uganda, deadly skirmishes in the Democratic Republic of Congo and armed bandits wrecking havoc in Kenya’s Baringo area. The more disturbing tale was from South Africa with its now perennial xenophobic attacks on hardworking Africans. The fact that these cases keep recurring is proof that nothing concrete is done to address the causes. A relative of mine working with a multinational had to ask her bosses to move her to another country a year ago for the same reasons. Ironically the South African goons that vandalise or rob shops of hardworking Somalis, Nigerians or Congolese always tell their victims to go back to ‘Africa.’ Not only is it geographically wrong to say that while in South Africa, it is also an oxymoron when you are talking about South Africa under Jacob Zuma. In other words there is nothing much that makes the place special today. And besides, was it not just recently that many South Africans were seeking refuge in different African countries including Madiba himself? Immigrants anywhere in the world are compelled to work hard and this sometimes leads to envy from locals. However it should not be an excuse for criminality. Events in South Africa are now being used as an excuse by Nigerians to also vandalise South African businesses like MTN Nigeria. This is a very deadly path we are getting ourselves onto my brothers and sister. So many businesses can be traced to other countries and if we are to go on revenge paths like what is happening in Nigeria we risk losing everything that has been done in attracting investments from outside our borders. South Africa already has a reputation as one of the countries with strict visa policies for Africans, being a place where you can be killed just for being a foreigner only makes it worse. The South African government has to do more to contain these xenophobic attacks but more importantly it has to do so much more in fixing the socio-economic embers that fuel this situation. A lot of work has to go into addressing the system that created these inequalities in the first place. The xenophobia is South Africa is not so different from the tribalism that is much closer home especially in Kenya where the political games rely on it to keep people in a perpetual fear of invisible enemies from who they need protection. And this protection is to be expected from top politicians who double as tribal kingpins. With the election date drawing closer by the day, the language used at the political rallies ought not to be that incites people. These tales are what keep the tag of the stereotypical Africa hanging around our necks for years at a time when we should be creating new paths to prosperity by solving these issues and focusing on real developmental concerns. While others are discussing how to open up the skies to facilitate the growing aviation potential of the continent others cannot be killing each other because of tribe or nationality. The recent African Aviation conference held in Kigali had many echoing what we already know, the need to open up our skies and make air travel accessible to more people instead of having it as this luxury for the few who can afford it to pay for what is mainly exorbitant airport taxes. This industry is also very key when it comes to opening up the tourism potential of the region and in this regard we also need to do more by setting up airfields closer to key tourism spots to ease access to these places. The great news of the week was the announcement that Kenya’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) has now been granted Category One status by the US Federal Aviation Administration opening way for the possibility of direct flights between Kenya and USA. This is exciting news for a region when you consider that it is likely to result in less delay for tourists or horticultural produce. Expansion of Entebbe Airport and the construction of a new one in Rwanda are good developments too. ssenyonga@gmail.com www.ssenyonga.wordpress.com

Opinions

Stories of hunger and xenophobia, not again 'Africa'