Today I was going to post about some rug I am making. It seems so trivial for me to do so when all my social media feed is filled with the xenophobic attacks in South Africa. I actually never talk about all the things that happen in the world on the blog because I am too shocked to have anything valuable to say.
Most of the people who read my blog are in the US and Canada so you may not know as it has not been really covered by the western media. This past week some South Africans have attacked and killed immigrants from other African countries. The images of those injured are really bad, I wish I had not seen them. Now other countries are retaliating, I have heard of stations in Zambia not playing South African music and South African trucks being stoned in Mocambique.
It has become one mess and it is so unfortunate. Here in Bermuda we have a community of Africans. Each time I see any one of them it’s like being back home. Sometimes we greet each other before we know each other; even though half the Bermudian population is black, you can tell when you see another African. We speak different languages but we realise we come from the same place. We eat the same food, though we call it different names. Our children have become friends. When we go home, we connect flights in each other’s countries. We listen and dance to the same music. The last time I went home, when I arrived at O.R Tambo, it really felt like home, there were more people who looked like me and talking in languages I could understand.
What is happening now makes me so sad, I have realised that the problems in African countries are so similar. Killing and attacking each other will not solve these problems. If foreigners leave it will not mean you will end up with their job. It is so much easier to destroy while protesting than rebuild.
I have friends and family who live and work in South Africa. Some are even married to South Africans, so I keep thinking what happens to these families when one spouse is attacked for being a foreigner. I fear for them, life is hard enough wothout all this happening.
I do not believe politicians will help this situation at all. It will be up to the people themselves to stop all this. I realise that things might get worse before they get better but I am hopeful.
I will be praying for all the people affected that they find peace. I am also praying for our leaders to be responsible in their words and actions.