Anti-Xenophobia Peace March, Durban, South Africa

Home » Heartfelt Letters from Nigeria (and Other African Countries) #NoToXenophobia

Heartfelt Letters from Nigeria (and Other African Countries) #NoToXenophobia

The last few days have not only been emotional for many South Africans left reeling after the death of five people in brutal xenophobic attacks…but also for our brothers and sisters across our borders. SAPeople has received an outpouring of messages from (angry and) heartbroken residents of other countries in Africa. Below are some of them. […]

24-02-17 10:03

The last few days have not only been emotional for many South Africans left reeling after the death of five people in brutal xenophobic attacks…but also for our brothers and sisters across our borders. SAPeople has received an outpouring of messages from (angry and) heartbroken residents of other countries in Africa. Below are some of them.

Anti-Xenophobia Peace March, Durban, South Africa
Yesterday’s Anti-Xenophobia march through Durban. Photo: Kierran Allen

Whilst most South Africans have rallied to support the foreign nationals, visiting and donating to the thousands who have been displaced; and have expressed their disdain for xenophobia with over 10,000 people joining an Anti-Xenophobic Peace March through Durban yesterday – the message that most South Africans are UNITED WITH AFRICA is not getting heard loudly enough by those from other African countries.

Anti-Xenophobia Peace March, Durban, South Africa

Perhaps, as has been suggested, because King Goodwill Zwelithini and the government were a little slow to react.

The Zulu king, whose remarks have been blamed for inciting the fresh spate of attacks, has finally called an urgent tribunal Imbizo for Monday which will probably be held at one of the stadiums in Durban. The King claims his words were distorted and he meant only to call the government to action in dealing with illegal foreigners. (A charge of hate speech and violating human rights has been laid against him by Tim Flack of the SA National Defence Union.)

Watch Video – What King Zwelithini Actually Said

South Africa’s Minister of International Relations and Cooperation has also met with ambassadors and diplomats from various African countries today to discuss the SA government’s response to the attacks which occurred in KZN and Gauteng.

But still, the damage has been done.

Here are some of the messages:

From a South African Nandi Mthethwa, now in China, to the King…

Dear King Zwelithini, I’m a typical Zulu girl who left South Africa three years ago. I want to be one of the Zulu’s that fights against Racism and Xenophobia…I don’t know what your contribution in this country is, your job is to sit wherever you are and get married to young girls as old as you are…I don’t blame you, because what you know is where you live and you will never have a global view because what you see is what’s in front of you, people like you cannot accept other people.

Do you know how many South Africans live in different countries? Some of them are illegal immigrants and refugees – they left South Africa because they wanted to support their families. I believe that it is alright to be different. Racism and all the other isms grow from primitive tribalism, hostility against those of another race and Nationality, Zwelithini you are a [words removed] selfish old man. I believe in the law and Justice, but I do think that system of justice has been depraved by the government of South Africa. My request I’ve sent to the International Crime Board to take action. I’m fighting for Black consciousness.

From the rest of Africa…

Andy Law‎, Ethiopia:
We shame on your people who have been acting like animals. One day God will give you the response on behalf of our people. It is inhumane & a crime against humanity.

xenophobia-law

Leopold Ouedraogo, Burkina Faso:
Honte a vous qui brulé vif les autre africain
(Shame on you who burnt alive the other Africans.)

Aman Elias, Ethiopia:
Remember we Ethiopians taught you how to be free from colonization. But you do not allow us to live in your country. Big big shame on you South Africa.

Berima Amo Snr‎, Ghana (now in the Netherlands):
There are no black foreigners in Africa. Same as no white foreigners in Europe. The fact that South Africans call other Africans foreigners is unfortunate. And to barbarically kill them is even more outrageous. How Zuma became president is beyond me. He has no backbone in my opinion. I pray that the next SA president won’t be chosen based on who was imprisoned on Robben Island.

From ‘‎Prophetic Blessings’‎

Xenophobic Cry
I am an African born in Africa, I am not a
South African
But I`m black; my skin is the same as yours
and I rise and proudly say black is beautiful
and we share this beautiful choclate color, we
are all africans.
When the cries were so hard in South Africa
before getting Independence, as Africans we
united to free south Africa
When your leaders were beaten by whites we
gave them shelter,protection, food and the
hope that indeed freedom is coming tomorow.
I might not be a South African
I cant speak Zulu, cause I am Tonga
I cant speak Zulu, cause Im Bemba
I dont know terms in Zulu
As much as you dont know it in my language
You are right I am a foreigener I was not born
in Gauteng
I am an african I am your brother
Today you kill us like you are killing
cockroaches, you burn us like you are making
a born fire, you axe us like you are
cultivativating yum in Nigeria . We are
nolonger scared of a white skin because black
is the one now cutting our lives short
Where should I go if you beat me and destroy
my property, how will I even run to the border
when my safety is not gurunteed, I do not
even know if I will get there alive
In my country we live with many South
Africans but we do not beat or axe them. They
have better jobs in my country, some run
shops like we do in your country we believe we
are one because we are of the same black skin.
Someone asked me “which is more deadly,
Ebola or A South African?“ Now I can answer ,
an angry South African is
I might be dark in complexion
I might have the foreigner’s looks
Now you, my black brother is acting white
Why should you Black South Africans do this?
What makes you think that you better than
me?
Who told you that Iam responsible for your
unemployment?
Who told you that Iam less human?
If I need to go back to Zambia the country you
call very dirt l
Let all the Tswanas go back to Botswana
Let all the Sothos go back to Lesotho
Let all the Shonas go back to Zimbabwe
And let everyone in African go back to their
home countries and we will remain poor
forever because I believe we need each other
for development, we need to stand by each
other in all situations for we are brothers and
sisters.
Xenophobia is deadly let us kill it by
promoting peace for all. Remember Ubuntu is
a South African term meaning Humanity let us
promote this Ubuntu now.
Let us not be ignorant
Your unemployment is your responsibility
Use your intellect Get up and work
Let education empower you
Seek humanity
Before 1994 you blamed whites
Now you are blaming me
Who are you going to blame after chasing me
away?
Who are you going to blame after killing me?
Iam sorry I was not born here
Iam sorry I cant speak Zulu
Iam sorry for being too dark for your Joburg
Iam sorry for cleaning the toilets you don’t
want to clean
Iam sorry for doing your garden
Iam sorry for repairing your shoes
Iam sorry for protecting your leaders while
they were in Exile
And most of all .Im sorry for building South
African infrastructure Please my brothers let
there be peace and prosperity amongst black
African people.
Let us join hands in fighting Xenophobia all we
all kill each other and become laughing stocks
to the white we were crying about. Why kill
one of your own today of what benefit is it
after taking away their lives.
My heart bleeds for South Africa, I’m sure
Madiba might have been suddened had he still
been alive, I’m sure Kaunda is Crying right now
because some places in Africa have become
firce to go to. Cry African as we act against
this by preaching real love and never revange
we have our continent to protect.

 Nunush Moges, Ethiopia:

ethiopian-poem

Ghislain Ondele Kanga‎, Republic of the Congo:
All the way from Congo Brazzaville, I will like to share the pain with my African brothers and sisters living their hell, right now in South Africa for nothing. All I know, the day will come, the day which every South Africans involved in these attacks will live to regret these actions. Time will tell.
May God help.

From Idiongo Ebong, a teacher from Nigeria:

Idiongo Ebong
Idiongo Ebong

Dear South Africans, I know it hurts you to wake-up to the sad reality that your foods and your houses have been taken away by strangers. Every normal person will react to that in order to take back what belong to him/her.

However, in showing your anger, you have to be very careful. Do not be in a haste to forget what you had passed through for decades; how you once marched as brothers and sisters to defeat the great enemy that had made you prisoners in your own land. You were not rich then, with flyovers and skyscrapers, but you had love for each other and you spilled your blood out of love for your country to make it a home for all.

Dear brothers/sisters, remember that love, which you once shared and show that same love to the blood of your strangers. If you must send the foreigners away, let it not be through a blood-bath. If other African countries see you as murderers, it will be very difficult for you to survive independently in the continent.

We all need each other to survive and I am sure you have learnt of the proverb that says ‘no man is an island’. There were many who stood against Apartheid who were not South Africans but who simply felt that they are blacks so they should stand up for their brothers.

Worst of it all, do not let yourselves be hijacked by aimless politicians whose motives are to destabilize the country and later cry for change. Resist, with all your strength, the sycophancy of the greedy and never consider violence as a solution or a means of attracting attention.

Remember the fate of your brothers in Rwanda, Congo, Liberia, et cetera. They thought guns and machetes would save them but they later regretted dancing to the tune of their political leaders.

In Nigeria, many corpses are in the morgue – corpses of those who thought that being a political thug to a certain politician was the only way for them to survive. In my state, a retired army general has been arrested in connection with election malpractices and his candidate has blatantly denied ever knowing him.

Let us not forget our history or be blinded by wealth or our ambitions; let us rather respect our birth and our situation that we do not have any other land to call our own outside Africa.

Let us come together as one and build for ourselves a continent with love as a pillar of our existence.

Your brother,
Idiongo Ebong

Light a Candle for South Africa

Winsome Jowett‎ from South Africa sent this message: “Let’s all Light a Candle on Freedom Day, and pray or meditate for our beloved country.”

Perhaps we can ask everyone around Africa to join us – on 27 April – by also lighting a candle and praying together.

Thank you so much to everyone for sending us your messages. We are all so saddened by what has taken place. We cry together. And we would like to rebuild together.

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