By Takura Zhangazha*
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
(UK) recently witnessed at least 100 000 anti-immigration demonstrators in
central London. This was at a rally titled “Unite the Kingdom.”
Having lived briefly in Edinburgh, Scotland (which is still
part of the UK) I had sometimes witnessed such events around anti-immigration
sentiment. But being back home in
Africa, I had never witnessed the same at such a ridiculous scale.
The numbers alone were astounding. Never mind the messages about what the protest
leaders were referring to among other things as “re-emigration”. Or simply put their desire to have immigrants
to their country deported back to where they originally came from. En
masse.
Obviously this is not going to happen in the short
term. But as a Zimbabwean and knowing a
great deal about our own Diaspora (Diaspimbi) there, I was not only worried but
shocked at the levels of racist hate that was spewed at the march. And in empathy, I felt that this is now a
different UK.
This was also something I had some private social media
conversations with colleagues that are based there. They assured me that it was a ‘once-off’ demonstration
and that they are relatively safe. Mainly
because of where they stay and that in general its not really expected to be
that far reaching.
In responding to this perception, my guiding principle was that one
cannot cry more than the bereaved. They
know their circumstances and understand the racial nuances of the march much
better than I can. Not only because they
live there but also because there is no black Zimbabwean in the Diaspimbi in
the global north who has not experienced racism. Be it at work or in their social lives.
But to have it so loud and so brazen in a multi-cultural
city such as London was a bit of a shock. Even in the aftermath of the reprehensive
shooting of a conservative influencer in the United States of America (USA)
Charles Kirk. And while that country’s
president, Donald Trump, has been busy accusing the ideological left of
fermenting political violence. While
doing so himself.
What is apparent is that we need to discuss more seriously
the emerging nodes of racism that are happening in the global north against
people of colour. And in particular against
people that are considered black.
This must be done in at least three parts.
The first being that we have to acknowledge our own geo-political-economic and social complicity in the re-emergence of this racism in European and North American capitals. And I hate to say this.
Historically, after the advent of colonialism
we have, as Africans, been in awe of the lure of the global north and its
colonial capitals (London included). We have been drawn to these like moths to
the candle light. Both as part of the
legacy of colonialism and its political economy as well as part of our own inferiority
complexes that for example Franz Fanon and Steve Biko aptly described in their
works over and about anti-colonialism/racism.
In the second instance, as Africans we are now faced with a
cultural struggle to liberate our minds in the contemporary. I am making this point on the basis of the
fact that in that anti-immigration rally in the UK, there were people of colour
that were clearly for the racist narratives.
I am not sure for what reasons but their presence merely reflected not
only a desire to belong and escape their realities but also their cultural
naivety. Or even their fealty to the hegemonic
narratives of being ‘othered’ and therefore wanting to belong more than the
owners of the narratives and the countries in which they want to be found
in.
In this we need to realize, as Africans that unless we
discuss the lure of the global north and internally deal with our own challenges
of poverty and unemployment for young people this will be a perennial reality. Moreso
if we do not deal with the evident desire of many young Africans to leave the continent
for Europe or the Americas via either the Sahel, the Mediterranean sea or the
Atlantic ocean.
We are in a very difficult situation in which our own people
do not have confidence in their own countries offering them better lives. Even without understanding the colonial legacies
of capitalism and how it still relies on migration and its bright lights
syndrome that we learnt of in geography classes.
We need to ‘look deep in our hearts’ as the great Lesotho band “Sankomota” once sang, and realize that racism as it is occurring against black and brown colleagues in the global north, is also a result of our desires to want to be there.
With a false
assumption that there is a ‘universal equality’ of all human beings. That myth
has been debunked by this age of Trumpism wherein we are now being made aware of
our African status in world affairs after South African president Cyril
Ramaphosa’s visit to the White House.
In the third instance we need to remember that progressive global solidarity remains important. Beyond race and racism. I know a great many number of progressive comrades and colleagues from the global north. They are in what can be deemed an existential crisis where they are also struggling to understand this emerging racism in their societies of origin. Almost like asking themselves, "How did we get here?" With their stronger rightwing governments (apart from Spain).
Be they religious
or secular ideologues. But they have to
deal with their emergent forms of domestic/nationalist populism based on either
race or re-affirmations of national belonging.
Which include racist notions of ‘othering’.
What is apparent from the UK’s “Unite the Kingdom” rally and
its thousands of supporters is that the internal racial dynamics of our former colonial
power have significantly changed. Even if we assume these are temporary but
they are increasingly real in the media, social media and everyday lived experiences.
Race and racism are regrettably back in the fore of global
consciousness.
*Takura Zhangazha writes here in his personal capacity (takura-zhangazha.blogspot.com)
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