Discrimination against Africans in China: It is Our Fault!

by Madi Jobarteh

Indeed, it is serious but not surprising at all. And it will not end here and it is not only in China where Africans face racism and discrimination. In the best democracies of the West discrimination against Africans continue overtly and covertly and institutionalised and at personal level! Everyday! Just look at how US Police love shooting unarmed and nonviolent African Americans with impunity! Therefore, I don’t blame Chinese or the Indians or Arabs or the Europeans who commit this violation against Africans. I am not bothered at all.

I blame ourselves, Africans – our Elites which comprise our elected and appointed public officials as well as leaders in business, academia, media, culture and religion who are in charge of our institutions of governance and development. And I blame our ordinary citizens. We are the culprit! Africans.

Our refusal to uplift our people by empowering them as the Chinese and Europeans and Arabs and Indians did for their people and continue to do so. Our respect and protection will not happen for free. The Europeans or the Chinese did not get power, respect and protection for themselves by favour or charity or free from anyone. They created it, rightly or wrongly. But at the end of the day they have it and it is serving them well.

Until today our political leaders refuse to create and pursue a political and an economic agenda which would have made Africa among the most, if not the most advanced society on earth. We have the means in anyway imaginable. We have the capacity and we have the opportunities. Kwame Nkrumah had addressed the issue of our empowerment, protection and development a long time ago but until today we refuse to listen and position ourselves as we should.

Until today our economic leaders refuse to take a path that would enable them control the economic opportunities and resources around Africa to the total exclusion of companies and businesses from the West and East. Rather they continue to hobnob with our political leaders to continue to defraud Africa by various schemes and in many cases in partnership with foreign businesses. They make super profits yet pay their workers slave wages and flout all labour rules and workers’ rights with impunity.

Until today our academicians in our universities refuse to decolonize our education and create an education system that will liberate the minds of Africans to own and uplift themselves to become the architects of our own destiny as you have in Europe and China and elsewhere! You can find Socrates being studied in an African university but you will not find a subject dealing with Cheikh Anta Diop or Kwame Nkrumah or EF Small!

Until today our media refuse to grow and develop and become independent to hold our governments and leaders and businesses and all sectors of our society accountable. They have failed to expose the damage and plunder by Chinese and European and American companies across Africa! Rather they will always reproduce foreign media sources. European media moguls and governments have created their CNNs BBCs, DWs and RTs. Arabs created their Aljazeera, Dubai One and MBCs etc. The Chinese have their CGTN. In African it is these media stations that you will rather find in our TV screens in our newsrooms, hotels, schools, hospitals and airports because Africa has no CNN or Aljazeera of its own!

Until today our religious and cultural leaders refuse to preach liberation theology and insist on human dignity and self esteem and detach ourselves from the influence and control of foreign religious and cultural centres. Our cultural leaders have refused to abandon those backward, oppressive and exploitative cultural beliefs and practices that reinforce exclusion and discrimination and violence in the African society itself! This is why caste system remains in place while sexual violence and injustice against women remain and discrimination of children is endemic! It is these backward cultural and misconceived religious beliefs that also underpin bad leadership in Africa as they seek to protect bad leaders and prevent citizens from holding them accountable.

Until today our entertainment industry especially in both music and films seek to imitate everything outside of Africa. There is very little content that celebrates the best of Africa. Rather they only seek to picture negativity in Africa! In a country like the Gambia we do not even have a national theatre or a national movie awards while the National Museum remains so neglected. How can such a country develop culture, talent and economic wellbeing for its citizens? Just watch national television stations in Africa and count the many Mexican, Brazilian or Philippino soaps on show! Yet those countries will never show an Africa movie in their home stations.

Above all our masses and especially our youth refuse to wake up. Every day we submit ourselves to bad, visionless and ineffective politicians and political parties in the name of tribe, religion, family, selfish interest and lack of political awareness. Consequently, Africa has been only able to produce and protect horrible leaders and corrupt governments that only generate more poverty, more unemployment, higher taxes, more debt, higher cost of living and more oppression! Yet the African masses continue to support and worship these terrible leaders and governments everyday!

It is because of those corrupt leaders and governments backed by an insensitive, myopic and selfish elite that opportunities and our resources are hijacked by a few with their foreign collaborators such that our people have to flee in droves to China and elsewhere to seek greener pastures only to face disrespect, discrimination and violence!

Who is to blame?

Nobody but ourselves! Who is keeping the Chinese in Africa to continue to exploit our natural and human resources if not our own governments and the elites who control the institutions of governance and development in Africa. After half a century of Independence Africans have no reason to be poor, discriminated and abused. If it happens it is our fault. We are not anybody’s baby to pamper us. We are not special to be given a special treatment. The history of the world is a history of conquest, domination and power. If you fail to empower yourself others will overpower you and abuse you as they wish! This is the fact of history and Africans have lived that experience already for centuries now! Who can therefore tell us about the nature of this world?

Until Africans know and value themselves and reject tribal politics, religious bigotry, backward cultural beliefs and insist on true democracy, good governance, equality rights and justice we will continue to be poor in the midst of plenty as noted by Kwame Nkrumah. In that case we will always be the wretched of the earth just as Frantz Fanon had said.

Death to This Decadent Africa and its Corrupt Spineless and Immoral Elites!