About Racism

This may sound a bit off to many of my readers. What's our business with racism, many of you might ask? For one, I'm a free souled writer who expresses her opinion on any and every issue. However, I have two major reasons for writing about racism. One, I belong to a group comprised of members from different countries. The term “racism” comes up quite a lot in our discussions. Secondly, the recent alleged statement Trump made referring to Haiti and African countries as shit holes was seen by some as racial. Those informed my decision to write about racism, of course from the African context.

Discussing about Trump's statement with a friend, he asked me thus: "Is Africa a race? Is Haiti a race? Why is a statement about or against Haiti or Africa racial?"  If we could term Africa a race, would that be a white, black or pink race because we have countries in Africa who aren't black in complexion. We also have black girls having white babies for Chinese men. What race would this kind of Africa be called? I have always known Africa to be a continent. Have I been wrong?

The English dictionary defines racism as: 1. The belief that each race has distinct and intrinsic attributes.

2. The belief that one race or ethnic group is superior or inferior to another race or group of races.

3. Prejudice or discrimination based upon race or ethnicity.

While it defines Continent as: 1. Land (as opposed to the water). ▼

2.  A large contiguous landmass considered independent of its islands, peninsulas etc. Specifically, the Old World continent of Europe–Asia–Africa.

3. Each of the main continuous land-masses on the earth's surface, now generally regarded as seven in number, including their related islands, continental shelves etc.

Which definition qualifies Africa-race or continent?

Haiti is a country in the Caribbeans. Is Haiti or the Caribbeans a race? What race is she? I read of how Utah representative, Mia Love demanded that Trump apologizes for his shit holes remark. Cool. Mia Love is of Haitian descent but she is a Rep in America. Question is: why did her parents leave Haiti? Why did they never return? Why is she a Rep in America instead of going back to Haiti to vie for political positions? No, she wouldn't. She prefers to stay in an America where things are actually working, where people of every color are accepted and can take up employment with several laws to protect them, where someone from Haiti can be a Rep (I haven't seen this in any African country). And now, she is in this America and asking Trump to apologize. ???

Haiti as a country is only 28 years younger than America but what does she have to show for it? If you talk about natural disasters, America experiences natural disasters in more frequency than Haiti but she rebuilds and moves on. Today, Haiti is one of the poorest nations in the world. She lives at the mercy of donors; America being one of her highest donors since Haiti's 2010 earthquake. With all the billions of dollars that has been spent on Haiti in the form of foreign aids since 2010, her people still live in want and camps. Today, Haiti has more than 10,000 NGOs and counting. Instead of learning skills that will build their country, her citizens now learn foreign languages to serve as interpreters for these numerous foreign NGOs which have become the major employer of labor in Haiti. Yet, this awesome lady stays back in beautiful America and demands for an apology. "Sigh."

Don't even let me start on Africa and Buhari's Nigeria. Did I tell you of how a cab man carried us in his car by 7:18 pm without head lamps on a very bad road that has no street lights? Should I tell you of how people die in our hospitals because doctors are on strike, or there is not enough medical personnel on ground or because the patient cannot afford advance payment? Have you heard of how our children roam during school hours because the teachers are not in class because they (the teachers) are owed months and months of salaries? Our governor announces on the radio that he has paid workers; meanwhile, most of the time, the checks bounces. What can be more shitholed than this? I only know of one: herdsmen killing with impunity and my sick president doing nothing about it.  Right now in Cross Rivers State, we have over 10, 000 refugees who came in from Neighboring Cameroon. Why are these people fleeing their homes? They are being killed and marginalized because they speak English in Cameroon. How can colonial languages divide a people to this degree or to any degree at all? This only happens in Africa. Should I talk about Libya, South Sudan, Congo, Togo, and etc.. In all of these countries, Africans are going through hell right in the hands of fellow Africans, human rights being trampled upon and someone is calling for an apology. Please, just before you ask for another apology, look around you and tell me if Donald Trump is wrong.

Finally, when we were kids and someone jeers at you and calls Olodo (dumb, unintelligent) probably because you always took the last position in class, we were taught of only one response: do better the next session. You do not ask the person jeering at you to apologize because you are either Olodo or you are not.

Africa is either a shit hole or not. If we are (definitely we are), let's do better.

Let's be humans again; not black or white

Igbokwe Vivian Ijeoma

scriptwriter87@gmail.com

Twitter/Instagram: @club7teen