Stop seeing foreign nationals as a curse - oftentimes they're a blessing

Towards the end of 2006 I was invited to attend a small function where the newly selected Mandela-Rhodes scholars were introduced to Madiba. One after the other, students stood up and listed their many (very impressive) achievements.

Then a young man got up. He spoke English with a French accent and struggled to contain his emotions as he looked at Madiba.

It soon became apparent why.

Pie-Pacifique Uwase was born in Rwanda in 1980. He was only a few months old when his dad was arrested and imprisoned for political reasons. A few years later, shortly after his release, he died, leaving nine-year-old Pie-Pacifique to provide for his family. When the genocide hit in 1994, many of his family members were brutally murdered. Yet, Pie-Pacifique was determined to get an education and went back to school, where he got his A-levels with distinction. He particularly excelled in science.

Then, in 1998, his brother was killed and it was clear that it would never be safe in Rwanda for him. Pie-Pacifique told me later that during the genocide he was watching Mandela’s inauguration in South Africa and decided that if only he could meet Madiba his life would improve for the better.

So, in 1998, he left Rwanda and made his way by foot (a horrific journey) from Rwanda to Mozambique from where he crossed the border into South Africa. He eventually ended up in Durban, where he became a car guard. While parking cars, he watched with envy as the students entered the university.

His burning desire to study had not left him and he eventually succeeded in convincing the University of Natal (an amazing story in itself) to allow him to register, and in 2006 he received a degree in Physics.  He also played many leadership roles at the university.

In 2006 he successfully applied for the Mandela-Rhodes Scholarship, and so he ended up at the function I was at. Given the horrific trials this young man had to go through, it came as no surprise that he was struggling to keep control of his emotions (we were all crying), when he finally got to meet Madiba.

His life also changed for the better. Today he is a successful businessman and has received numerous awards. He also had his memoir Witnessing: From the Rwandan tragedy to healing in South Africa published this week.

While reading Pie-Pacifique’s book, I could not help thinking about our attitude to foreigners – especially from Africa.

Recently we have seen an exponential growth in the xenophobic actions and utterances in South. Africa. Social media is full of videos of people taking the law into their own hands – often with devastating consequences. Just last week we saw the lynching and setting alight of Mbhodazwe Nyathi from Zimbabwe in Diepsloot. Vigilante actions such as Operation Dudula continue. Even in some political groups, people are applauding these actions.

What deeply troubles me is the generalisation that all – or at least most - foreigners are criminals.

We need to remember that it was this kind of narrative that led to the genocide in Rwanda.

Of course, we will all agree that criminals should be arrested and prosecuted. However, criminality is certainly not exclusive to foreigners – far from it. South Africa already had a highly developed criminal underworld long before any influx of foreign nationals.

The common narrative is also that those from other African countries are opportunistically here only to take jobs and medical services that belong to South Africans. I recently read a social media post from someone who claimed that Malawian women in particular come to South Africa to give birth in order to get residency here.

I had to smile since the same thing happened in Ireland with South Africans when I was ambassador there. At that stage babies who were born in Ireland qualified for Irish citizenship and the parents could then remain while the child was a minor.  A huge number of South African women came to Ireland late in their pregnancy for this reason.

In fact, the number of pregnant women from South Africa and other developing countries became so high that it led to a constitutional amendment in Ireland which now only allows citizenship through Irish ancestry or naturalisation. So, even if the Malawian story is true – it is certainly not unique.

 It is important to note that millions of people around the world flee their home countries because they have no choice. Many end up in Europe and some end up in our country. I know countless people who have been here for years doing jobs that they are hopelessly over-qualified for (such as a gardener who worked in my area who was a chartered accountant in Zimbabwe). They want nothing more than to return to the country of their birth, but have no other way to provide for their families or stay safe from political persecution.

Of course, no country allows for completely open borders, and neither should we.

However, we have to stop with the generalisation of “them” (the foreigners) vs. “us”, before we see major bloodshed again.

As is the case of Pie-Pacifique, there are almost always individual stories of great human suffering and bravery behind those we so easily brand as foreign. Many end up making an enormous contribution to our country. For that, they not only deserve our compassion but our respect.