XENOPHOBIA IN BOTSWANA In last Fridays Morning Breakfast Show on Gabz FM,one of the topics of discussion was the tragic story of a one Gift Ncube who was shot by his employer. The programme host raised the question of whether Batswanas response to Gift Ncubes plight(including raising funds for him) shows that they are not xenophobic. My personal experience as a foreign expat has shown me that although not all Batswana are hostile to foreigners, far too many of them are. These xenophobes may be a minority but they are certainly vocal and powerful enough to have themselves heard and and exert a considerable amount of influence. Xenophobia is not a problem that is unique to Botswana,however. I met a Kenyan sometime ago who told me of hostility he experienced in my country,Uganda in the 60s. As a child I did my primary school in Kenya and I witnessed some xenophobia there. I spent more than seven years in The Russian Federation and could not avoid noticing that some Russians dislike foreigners - particularly if they (the foreigners) are Africans. Who hasnt heard of the infamous anti-foreign orgy of violence that exploded just across the border a few years ago in South Africa? I could go on and on. Botswanas xenophobia has some unique characteristics; First, until the recent Gift Ncube incident, it never gained expression through violence. Perhaps it has now reached a turning point. Secondly, Botswanas xenophobia appears to have the complicity, if not tacit approval of the State. Allow me to elaborate. Anyone who has served in a Botswana Government institution, like a hospital would have experienced this.It often takes the form of subtle or blatant unfair discrimination against migrant workers. For example do you know that in some,if not all,government hospitals e.g. Sekgoma Memorial, Mahalapye District,expatriate health workers are denied hospital accommodation on the grounds that they are non-citizens? There is one exception I know of : a specialist colleague got a house next to the hospital(I dont know how),but it was not long before the hospital administration/housing committee began demanding his eviction from the premises.He actually begged them to reconsider and managed to have his way only after the hospital superintendent (a Motswana) put his foot down and stood on the side of this doctor. Other examples of institutionalised discrimination of legal migrant workers include how some social services are for them restricted or denied e.g. expats pay for education of their children in government schools, free anti-retroviral therapy is not offered to foreign legal residents-unless they are married to a Motswana(Citizen of Botswana). I have a friend who has served the government for several years. His daughter needs an expensive life-saving operation, which government would have paid for had he been a Botswana citizen. Never mind that he is a skilled, productive, tax-paying and law-abiding individual. One would have thought that a nation that is supposedly eager to attract and retain skilled people, who could help turbo charge its development, would exhibit a more welcoming attitude towards migrant workers - but no. I have a number of colleagues who after serving in Botswana have moved on to other countries and the number one factor motivating them to move on is what they see as the unwelcoming and even hostile attitude of Batswana towards migrant workers- not the poor remuneration. Of course this may be an over generalization, but like they say, there is no smoke without a fire. Its not just foreigners who realize this. One of my former supervisors, a native Botswana citizen, warned me to watch my step,because as a foreigner I could be easily be targeted for victimization. He should know, because although he is a native Botswana citizen, he has at times been mistaken for a foreigner.One time a patient sued him, but immediately withdrew the case when she realized he was a citizen! Even this piece has been hard for me to write as it violates a fundamental rule for survival in Botswana as a migrant worker that was laid down for me by a senior Ugandan colleague 12 years ago : keep your opinions to yourself. As an expatriate in Botswana, you are here to be seen and not heard! he claimed.
Posted on: Sat, 29 Mar 2014 06:54:35 +0000
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