Rwanda is being offered a sweet deal that is supposed to end up in a win-win deal for the United Kingdom and Rwanda. If you believe it, we have a beautiful Trojan Horse to sell you. Africans are weary of superpowers’ sweet promises of subsidy or aid to the developing countries. When you negotiate in an adverse disadvantageous relationship, it always ends up in regrets, exploitation and nightmares.
The reason foreigners and foreign investment into Africa have not lifted the economic plight of the masses is because these are foreign mules used to launder African meager foreign reserves and impoverished Africa. Only the politicians and their business cronies benefit from these Foreign Salvation. So watch out, there is a difference between Political and Economic Independence as Nkrumah taught us.
The transfer of migrants and refugees seeking asylum in the United Kingdom redirected to Rwanda must alert Africans. Africans still have the hearts of accommodation and tolerance for strangers coming to exploit the motherland. Unfortunately, the African heart of kindness has been abused throughout history and recently. There is no free land in Rwanda for refugees relocation. Africans take more refugees than other continents without subsidy or aid from the United Nations. Usually, refugees from neighboring countries.
This has led to resentment and even worse, within Africans themselves. Though Africa welcomes and tolerates refugees, it has gotten out of hand. The ugly xenophobia, tribalism and discrimination we see today existed at a smaller scale before but never to this ugly stage. Some migrants come as destitute before establishing themselves over the indigenous people, not only in Africa but in Europe, Asia and the Americas. There is nothing wrong with Africans’ friendliness towards migrants and strangers in our midst. But Africans must watch out based on past abusive experiences.
Once recent immigrants are established, some scorn and climb on those they met in the land for exploitation The oppressors that aid and facilitate their sojourn into Africa also place them in a better situation than the Natives. Usually, immigrants are liberals during their trying times but as they become independent and establish small businesses with generous loans and grants unavailable to Natives, they open businesses generously patronized by the locals. They then gravitate towards the conservatives to protect their interests. There is nothing wrong in political ideologies as long as they are not extreme.
But when you forget where you come from and who prevented you from perishing in the sea since the European explorer Columbus was rescued by American Indians, and later become exploiters of the same Natives. Africans must be cautious because the same refugees accepted into Rwanda today will gain upper hand once helped by Britain to set up in a better situation than the Natives. We see similar circumstances throughout the world where poor citizens are trampled on. This raises the anger, envy and jealousy of the Natives. They wonder why such subsidies, loans and grants were not available to them before strangers.
Another class will be created in Rwanda that would not be different from those created in South Africa. If they have the interest of Rwandans, not British self-interest, they will not be transferring their problems to a poor country that can least take care of it. The incentive to Rwanda will be so short and only to gain initial advantage. But the social and the new class these refugees create will last for generations with a detrimental effect on Rwanda society. The fact that Rwandans are recovering well from their Tutsi-Hutu saga is not an indication that they are ready to take on a bigger problem.
Well, these refugees are not Europeans. They come from Afghanistan, Iran, Middle East and Africa. So they cannot be that exploitative! We have some vivid memories of our brothers and sisters from Asia in East Africa that gave rise to Uganda Dictator, Idi Amin. Most of them claimed to be British citizens, so Idi Amin gave them a choice to either choose Uganda or British citizenship. Of course, they chose the British where their loyalty lied. Forcing Idi Amin to kick them out undiplomatically, became an African embarrassment; unlike the United Kingdom,
It turns out, Britain made it difficult for the Asians to relocate back. If Britain gets the deal with Rwanda and relocates the refugees to Rwanda, another backlash may develop when the migrants start exploiting the Natives with their enhanced class status. This may create another Idi Amin in Rwanda to embarrass Africans as intolerant folks. Africans have enough problems to worry about in each country from Sudan’s internal war to xenophobia in South Africa.
There is nothing new about Europeans going around the world spreading “civilization and religious diplomacy. If the American Indians and Africans have to do it all over again, they would let the explorers perish in the sea and Africans would not have nursed Mungo Park back to life after malaria got him on River Niger.
In America, there were Africans before Columbus. Yet, Europeans that came to America have claimed sole right to determine which groups of new immigrants are rejected or accepted.
The overthrow of Gadhafi in Libya created chaos for Arabs/Berbers fighters. Their chaos spilled into the south of Sahara countries that joined fundamentalists Muslim and Boko Haram. They supplied terrorists recruited by African politicians. While countries South of the Sahara are still trying to recover from the intrusive malevolence of the super powers.
Super powers are trying to prevent the emerging nuclear powers from challenging them in the race for equal and retaliatory strikes as the best means of deterrence. Though Africa just wants to be left alone as a member of Non-aligned countries, rare and crucial metals like uranium, cobalt, lithium and other minerals are too precious to leave Africa alone.
Africans must beware of the gift of the Trojan Horse as relocation of refugees into their countries. These super powers even invade small African communities surreptitiously to mine so that they can control the major share of the world’s natural resources. The competition for Africa Partition and Amalgamation have not ended. They forced Protectorate on our forefathers, now is the establishment of Military Bases to “protect” us?
Farouk Martins Aresa @oomoaresa1
