Pan-Africanism and Xenophobia

Gwen Lister (The Namibian)—A ‘United states of Africa’ will in all likelihood remain a distant dream in the foreseeable future, but even if it became a reality, it would be meaningless unless Africans are able to treat one another with the respect and dignity they deserve, especially when it comes to refugee communities.

In the Namibian context, the one person of note who’s spoken some sense on the matter of Pan-Africanism and the recent wave of xenophobia that has erupted in South Africa is former President Sam Nujoma.

On the occasion of Africa Day recently, in a television interview, Nujoma spoke about the need for tolerance among Africans, and I would add that this would have to be prerequisite for a ‘united Africa’, which is well-nigh impossible under present circumstances! Pan-Africanism is, of course, an ideal, and Nujoma has always been an adherent, and consistently so.

There are many Pan-African poseurs, as I’d call them.

Those who pay lip service to the concept while in reality they are narrow-minded nationalists.

Pacon’s waffle on Africa Day was meaningless.

How can they pretend support for Pan-Africanism when they cannot even be bothered to put some kind of statement together to condemn the xenophobia, not only in South Africa, but elsewhere on the continent.

‘Good’ Africans, don’t earn this title by keeping silent about some of the atrocities on our continent.

Quite the contrary.

If they were as loyal as they claim, they would make a point of dealing with the issues on our continent which are causing mass exodus of groups from one country to the next.

How absurd Pacon sound when they call for ‘one Africa, one nation’, and yet turn a blind eye to the violence that unfolds with regularly in various countries on the continent? Yet they’re still stuck on saluting Africans who fought for liberation from what they call the "joke" (hopefully they mean ‘yoke’, for occupation was hardly a joke!) of colonialism, rather than calling upon Africans to treat one another with respect and dignity, and to cease the rule of dictators which fuel both inter- and intra-national wars.

It is an irony that Nujoma himself is the Patron of Pacon, and while his plea on Africa Day for tolerance was deliberative and rational, Pacon’s own statement showed a singular lack of thought.

What was also remarkable here in Namibia, with a ruling party that supports the principle of Pan-Africanism and an organisation whose salaried personnel are supposed to be working towards that goal, that they couldn’t get their act together to organise a proper Africa Day rally in the capital.

Their alleged support for ‘one Africa, one nation’ therefore doesn’t ring true, for they too, are preoccupied with narrow, national interests.

If anything, they should be warning about the risks of the xenophobic attacks which have characterised South Africa of late, spilling over into the rest of our sub-continent.

The Law Society of Namibia took the initiative to state in a press release, condemning the xenophobic attacks: "Also to be condemned is the bad governance, violence, gross violations of human rights and attendant economic deterioration in various parts of Africa which have resulted in wide spread violations of socio-economic rights and an increase in the injustice of poverty.

We urge governments of Africa to ensure observance of good governance and the enjoyment of the fundamental rights of their people".

Africa Day was a time to celebrate the African cause and the liberation from injustices of the past, but ironically it was marked by black-on-black violence, totally contrary to the spirit of ‘Africa for Africans’ that most pretend to support.

More accurately, it is African leadership which has failed fellow Africans by not taking care of their own people.

It is they who should be accountable, and so the answer does not lie in people turning on immigrants as if they were the cause of the problem! Let us in Namibia practice the tolerance that Nujoma called for.

We have in our country many Angolans, with Zimbabweans and others in smaller numbers.

Let us try to turn the African tide and make them welcome, as their countries welcomed us in the struggle years.

That, in the absence of a united Africa, is what the spirit of Pan-Africanism is all about!

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