{UAH} PUBLIC LETTER: XENOPHOBIA IN SOUTH AFRICA.

To: His Excellency Mr. Cyril Ramaphosa. President of the Republic of South Africa,
And the people of South Africa.
Cc: ANC party

Sir,

I do not partake in April Fool's day pranks but maybe it is the right day to point out criminal foolishness masquerading behind a socio-economic grievance.
The ongoing xenophobia in South Africa is to me nothing more than murderous anarchist stupidity that has no place under the rule of law anywhere in the world. I would therefore advise that no leader or people should politically caress murder for any reason whatsoever.
Firstly, let it be clear that guaranteeing the security of all persons and property on South African territory is actually the primary responsibility of the South African government.
Let it also be clear that the people of South Africa as a nation are neither colluding thugs, nor ignorant. I have seen for myself that they are conscious, respectful and humble hardworking men and women like all other Africans simply toiling every single day in their different capacities for a brighter future for themselves and their children. In fact black South Africans are known to be generally far more afro-conscious than other Africans.
But on one hand South Africa's leaders and development partners have to take a critical look at the economic excuses versus the actual economic causes that fuel this totally unacceptable criminal behaviour to happen in a modern day African democratic society. As part of the quest for socio-economic and political solutions, expedite the removal of all the remaining economic injustices still durably entrenched in South Africa to this day. This so as to provide means of productivity and decent livelihoods to more indeginous South Africans.
Why should the free people of South Africa continue to be impacted by a few disturbing vestiges of Apartheid which in essence guarantee the perpetuation of socio-economic inequality in favor of the former oppressor?
And mustn't the ANC government be firm in immediately declaring orderliness, civility, the rule of law, and zero tolerance for murder?
On the other hand, I note that while South African anti-apartheid heroes rightly enjoy well deserved recognition both in their country and abroad, the erupting xenophobia in South Africa aimed specifically against fellow Africans is indicative proof that the ANC government and South African society in general have not made enduring efforts to systemically place at the forefront of the country's collective memory Africa's name plus its immense historic sacrifice and untold contributions during the infamy of Apartheid which led a few brave African leaders to literally risk their lives and their political careers rallying the entire continent to our rightful common struggle for the liberation of black South Africa from white colonialist fascism.
Leading the continent to boycott the Apartheid regime, organizing armed resistance and working tirelessly around the clock and around the world for majority rule in Southern Africa in the face of unforgettable western nations heartless reluctance, refusal and resistance to end the abhorrent racism, segregationband discrimination at a time when they themselves claimed to preach and uphold the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
Some African leaders were then subjected to political retribution including western media demonization, mockery, ridicule, and outright lies. Damaging their  public image beyond repair to this day, and probably for eternity simply because they stood bravely and firmly for the rights and freedoms of the people of Africa.
These leaders spared no effort on the continental and international scene in supporting black South Africa. They and their peoples literally housed, trained, funded, fed and even gave their national citizenship (passports) to allow South African anti-apartheid activists live in peace, get much needed respite from Apartheid tyranny, and travel globally to mobilize world support for the liberation struggle. And while it is indisputable that black South Africans suffered all the day-to-day heinous horrors of Apartheid, the brutal truth is also that African leaders did more for the actual removal of Apartheid than any South African. Not that they and their peoples wanted anything in return except to see black South Africans enjoying self determination,  enjoying their freedom in their own country, and enjoying the end of colonialist imperialism and Apartheid on African soil. Every African shed a tear upon watching what was happening to black people in South Africa. Personally I really felt the pain after watching the movie Steve Biko at a French cinema in the mid 1980's as a young student. While that was my moment of actual realization. I remembered that the struggle was already ongoing for decades across Africa and remembered even seeing Southern African freedom fighters in Uganda but was too young to fully comprehend their pain and what they were fighting for.
Today, we as a continent have failed in properly documenting, disseminating, educating, and basically keeping alive in the minds of our peoples Africa's own successful common efforts, including the humongous strife to free ourselves from colonial parasitism.
And for the record, this ignorance about our common cause for each other is not only in some young or poor sections of South African society. It is all across the new generation of young Africans on the continent.
Let's take the case of my country Uganda. Many out there will not believe that some of our current leaders can be found promoting the historic exploitative economic colonialism model as the nations economic salvation.
And the resulting exploitative economic anarchy means there are no social values that seek to protect the dignity of Africa, or enrich Africa.
It is said that if you parked ten huge buses at Uganda's city square in the capital Kampala today, and you asked for volunteers to come and work as real unpaid slaves in the cotton fields of America, all the ten buses would be filled in under 30 minutes. That is how ideologically empty our new generations have become. And that is also how empty some of our leaders' Pan-Africanist credentials actually are. Because of the lack of meaningful substance in the African history taught in our media and education system, plus the lack of leadership in establishing the values that we stand for, even today's young generation of educated Ugandans know nothing about the sad legacy of slavery. Neither do they know anything about the struggle for Africa's independence from colonialism, and the true struggle of the African to have a respected place in todays global village. I was shocked to meet a university graduate who honestly said he didn't know who reknown African independence hero Patrice Lumumba was.
That to me was the equivalent of finding young educated Africans 30 years from now who do not know who Nelson Mandela was.
It also said everything one needs to know about our own complacency towards recording and continuously communicating the key tenets of our African history for all time's sake. And more worryingly, it told me that all these young Africans under 30 years of age (and they are 80% of the population in most cases) have no idea about the issues, the values, the suffering, the blood and the sacrifices that this continent we see today is founded on. All of Africa's ancestors must literally be turning in they graves at the knowledge of how clueless our societies have become in regards to their plight, our common heritage from our anti-colonialism ordeals, and what they stood for to guarantee the Africa we see today, and the even better Africa that we all seek for tomorrow.
Poverty, ignorance and false hopes are making today's African do anything. Including the things we would never have dared if we simply knew what it meant historically, and the loss of all human dignity that we would endure in the eyes of our detractors and exploiters. The things that weeken and destroy us as a peoples of an otherwise rich continent, while empowering our competitors and clinging exploiters.
Our own ignorance of our true common history, and ignorance of our pride as a continent are our worst enemies. Plus the lack of honest, visionary leadership guidance is what results in the sad events unfolding in South Africa.
Finally, at a time when the continent and its regional community organizations are all now seriously discussing economic integration for the prosperity of all the people of Africa and the economic revival of the African continent at this critical juncture where we are left with ourselves, our wit, our determination, our skills, meagre capital and our natural resources to face today's world economic powers, what do these few criminals think they are achieving as they squander all the political goodwill and the expendive political leverage that the new South Africa enjoys worldwide amongst nations, uplifting Africa as a whole in the process, and which our forefathers and South Africa's own sons and daughters sacriticed so much for in the course of enduring and fighting fascist Apartheid?
God Bless Africa

Signed: Hussein Lumumba Amin
Kampala, Uganda
01/04/2019
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History of xenophobia in South Africa: wikipedia.org/wiki/Xenophobia_in_South_Africa

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