Xenophobic Attacks Shame Us All

by Letters Editor · May 23, 2016

By Kelvin Banda OP, Pietermaritzburg – As a young Zambian Dominican scholastic living in South Africa, I received the bad news of xenophobic attacks on innocent Rwandans by some Zambian citizens in the capital city of Zambia with great embarrassment.

Xenophobic attacks begin when citizens of a particular country have a “fear of foreigners”. This is religiously, morally and politically wrong.

As a Christian nation, Zambia is duty-bound to be more accommodating towards foreigners and refugees. Refugees who come to Zambia for whatever reason, political and/or economic, need to be ensured of protection.

Some come from countries where they have been harshly treated, even raped. Therefore they arrive greatly traumatised. Some refugees arrive in Zambia in the hope of finding peace and that they will be treated with dignity. So when they are mistreated, it is against biblical norms: “You shall neither mistreat a stranger, nor oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt” (Exodus 22:21).

As temporary citizens of this world, no one was born from their mother’s womb carrying a piece of land in their hand. We are in fact all foreigners and refugees in this world, even in what we call “our countries”. We were simply born in the countries in which we find ourselves. Mistreating others because of our own unemployment or poverty is not a solution.

“Accusing or suspecting someone of ritual killing”, as your report (May 4) states, did not give some citizens of Lusaka the right to destroy Rwandans’ homes, loot their shops, and injure and kill. These attacks were really a “scapegoating” of some of the tragedies the country is really facing. There is a need to find a workable solution to end this. We need to educate our young minds on poverty and xenophobia.

There is also a need to visit communities and enable them to speak up and voice their grievances or aggressions, so that we can try and find workable solutions.

Wide unemployment should not bring about hatred of our fellow children of God. Take responsibility and become creative.

Solidarity with refugees or foreigners plays an important role in ending such attacks.

I therefore call upon all those attackers in Zambia to ask for forgiveness and mercy from the Rwandans and indeed from God as we are in need of God’s mercy.