Kwame Nkrumah saw the Afrophobia in South Africa coming. In his book, “Class Struggle in Africa” published in 1970, he wrote on page 66;
“In neocolonialist states where there are immigrant workers, and where unemployment is rife … the anger of workers is surreptitiously fomented and directed by the neocolonialist puppet regime not so much against its own reactionary policies as against the “alien” workers. It is they who are blamed for the scarcity of jobs, the shortage of houses, rising prices and so on.
The result is that THE AFRICAN IMMIGRANT WORKER IS VICTIMIZED BOTH BY THE GOVERNMENT AND BY HIS OWN FELLOW WORKERS.
The government brings in measures to restrict immigration, to limit the opportunities of existing immigrants, and to expel certain categories. The indigenous workers for their part, are led to believe by the government’s action, that the cause of unemployment and bad living conditions is attributable in large measure to the presence of immigrant workers. Mass feeling against them is aroused, and helps to increase any already existing national and ethnic animosities. Instead of joining with immigrant workers to bring pressure on the government, many of them strongly support measures taken against them. In this they show lack of awareness of the class nature of the struggle; and the bourgeoisie benefit from the split among the ranks of the working class.
Workers are workers, and nationality, race, tribe and religion are irrelevancies in the struggle to achieve socialism.
In the context of the African socialist revolution there is no justification for regarding non-African workers as a hindrance to economic progress, and there is similarly no justification for the victimization and the expulsion of migrant African labour from one territory or another. IN AFRICA THERE SHOULD BE NO AFRICAN “ALIEN”. ALL ARE AFRICANS. THE ENEMY-WALL TO BE BROUGHT DOWN AND CRUSHED IS NOT THE AFRICAN “ALIEN” WORKER BUT BALKANISATION AND THE ARTIFICIAL TERRITORIAL BOUNDARIES CREATED BY IMPERIALISM.”
Pressure must be brought on the puppet government of South Africa to acknowledge the existence is Afrophobia in the country and take steps to quell it. We repeat our call on African governments for the severance of diplomatic ties with the government.
