Xenophobia: Nipping A Monster’s Growth In The Bud

By Nnaemeka Oruh

One of the things I have learnt, first as a student of literature, and then as a literary critic, is that incidents (especially those brought about by human action) do not randomly occur in isolation, but are rather linked to other incidents. Thus an incident would either be a result or cause of another incident. For instance, the man or woman who becomes a terrorist does not just wake up one day to become one. Several incidents (including indoctrination) would have combined to create in him the mind-set of a terrorist. It is simply human nature.

*South African President, Jacob Zuma and President 

Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria 

Recently, we have all been inundated with information, pictures, and even videos of the xenophobic attacks in South Africa. The world stood, mouth open in shock, at the despicable level of inhumanity, hatred, and incivility being displayed by Nelson Mandela's children. Children, who just a few years ago needed the support of their African brethren to be free from segregation. The fact that some of them (law enforcement agents inclusive) stood by and watched without offering any help to the victims as their countrymen beat up, torched and killed several foreigners show a certain unspoken solidarity with the actions of their people. Which goes to show that these few who perpetrated those despicable acts are somehow representative of the core feelings of a larger section of South Africans. The question that any discerning person would ask though is: are these xenophobic acts random, spur-of-the-moment acts? Or are they a consequence of the blossoming of a monster whose seed was sown long ago?