My personal experience with xenophobia

Malawi: I recently wrote an article about the history of Mazimbu, a small town in Tanzania's Morogoro district that was pivotal in the struggle for quality education for South Africans who fled the apartheid regime after the 1976 Soweto Uprising.

Although I was overjoyed to tell the world about the history of this historic site, writing this piece brought back negative flashbacks and painful memories of my time in Mazimbu as a student at Solomon Mahlangu Campus (SMC)—one of two campuses that comprise Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA)—and as a foreign national living in Tanzania.

I'd like to emphasise that the goal of writing this article, which some readers may find controversial, is not to portray Tanzanians as xenophobic.

Xenophobia is a global problem that affects all countries and all people. It has existed for centuries and continues to exist today. Asians, for example, have recently been blamed for igniting the COVID-19 pandemic.

Black foreign nationals have been attacked, killed, and accused of stealing jobs from South Africans in South Africa.

Furthermore, there are always open-minded and closed-minded people in every country.

I met both of these people during my time in Tanzania. I met wonderful, welcoming, and friendly people who welcomed me with open arms, many of whom were sympathetic to my xenophobia and continue to be my friends to this day.

I also met people who stereotyped and judged me without getting to know me, refused to let go of their prejudices, and continued to create barriers despite my open arms.

The entire purpose of writing this article is to use it as an educational lesson for those who are xenophobic, to open their eyes to the fact that their bigoted behaviour not only dehumanises their victims but also creates a negative image of their country and unnecessary hatred and division. Furthermore, it is critical to socially educate oneself about the world and not limit oneself to a single thought or ideology.

Another reason for writing this article is to let xenophobic victims know they are not alone, that they can succeed and persevere despite living in a hostile environment, and to use their voice to help those who are experiencing xenophobia and other forms of discrimination.

I've always been an open-minded person who has made friends with people of various races, religions, nationalities, countries, tribes, and so on.

This open-mindedness stems primarily from my reading, internet use, travel, watching and reading the news, and educating myself beyond what I was taught in school and other educational institutions.

Furthermore, I come from a family where diversity is celebrated while division is avoided, so any form of discrimination makes no sense to me.

Furthermore, I have always believed in the adage "united we stand, divided we fall."

As a black person, I have always been proud of my race and celebrated the achievements of black people throughout history and in the present.

Nelson Mandela, Venus and Serena Williams, Oprah Winfrey, and Martin Luther King Jr. are some of my heroes who have broken down barriers for black people. I am still addressed as 'sister' by my fellow black people from Africa and the diaspora.

Similarly, because we are all Africans, I have always regarded all black people as my brothers and sisters.

Nothing, however, could have prepared me for what I was about to go through for the next three years as both a black person and a foreign national living and studying in Tanzania—a country where the majority of the people are black like myself.

Xenophobia is defined by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as attitudes, prejudices, and behaviour that reject, exclude, and often vilify people because they are perceived to be outsiders or foreigners to the community, society, or national identity.

This definition perfectly captures what I, other foreign students, and former foreign students went through during our time at SUA and beyond the classroom. Unfortunately, this is still the norm for all international students studying at the university.

I was overjoyed in 2017 when I was accepted to study Tourism Management at SUA, one of Tanzania's top universities.

Aside from this offer, I was excited to travel again, and I imagined that with the course I was studying for, I would probably get the chance to see some of Tanzania's famous tourist attractions, learn a new language, and make new friends.

My problems started with a simple activity.

During the first week of the first semester, when classes started, all students in my class were asked to introduce themselves by simply saying their names and where they were from.

I had no idea that such a simple activity would expose me to xenophobia for the next three years of my education.

I stood up as the only foreign student in a class of over 100 students and introduced myself as a Malawian.

For the next three years, I was subjected to daily taunting, humiliation, and harassment.

When I was a student at SUA and outside the classroom, I was called Malawian, Malawi, Muzungu (white person), wemuMalawi (you Malawian), Mozambique, and foreigner.

The term "foreigner" meant "you may have the same skin colour as us, but you are not one of "us," so you don't belong here."

The students who used this derogatory terminology against me never addressed each other by their country of origin.

The ordeal was shared by all foreign students and former foreign students at the university. For example, the majority of Mozambican students at SMC were referred to as Mozambique, Mozambiquan, weMuMozambique (you Mozambique), and foreigner.

Students from English-speaking countries were referred to as Muzungu (white person), foreigner, as well as by their nationality and country.

To add insult to injury, my 'blackness' was questioned simply because I speak English fluently, so I was mocked by being referred to as Muzungu (white person). Are you a Muzungu (a person of white skin)?

'English is for white people, you must speak Swahili if you are an African,' ignorant statements I would frequently hear in and out of class, from a simple trip to the bank, hospital, class trips, and numerous times that the incidents are too numerous to mention.

This amused me because English was used as the medium of instruction during lessons, assignments, and presentations. Tanzania is an Anglophone country as well.

This ignorant comment was also offensive to me because it implied that all African countries where the majority of people are black and speak their indigenous languages alongside foreign languages are not 'black,' and that they should abandon their languages in favour of Swahili in order to be classified as 'black.'

This derogatory remark is also an insult to people of African descent born in English-speaking countries, as well as those whose ancestors were victims of slavery and were forcibly removed from Africa and sent to these English-speaking countries. Furthermore, language does not define one's race.

For example, a Caucasian person may be unable to communicate in English.

I reported my complaints to university officials several times, but my complaints fell on deaf ears; only warnings were issued to the perpetrators, and empty promises to address the issue never materialised, so the harassment continued not only to me but to all foreign students.

I would frequently sit alone or, if I was lucky, with a few open-minded students in all of my classes.

Unfortunately, less than 20 open-minded Tanzanian students befriended me during my three years at university. My friends were mostly international students like me.

When I first arrived at the university, I knew I needed to make friends in order to get around campus and for translation purposes, because Swahili was spoken more frequently than English, and I was still in the early stages of learning it.

Despite being subjected to xenophobia on a daily basis, my journalistic instinct told me to get to the bottom of the issue—to figure out why my fellow black Africans were discriminating against me simply because I was from another country.

For weeks and months, I began questioning the perpetrators, taking mental notes, and researching anything I could find to explain why someone would hate me simply because of where I came from.

I want to emphasise that the reasons I discovered are based on my own assessment and research and are not intended to offend Tanzanians.

One of the reasons for xenophobic attitudes was nationalism. Patriotism was synonymous with nationalism. Patriotism entailed excluding people who were not native to the same country.

Many of the students I met were staunch nationalists with anti-foreigner sentiments. Many students were unwilling to learn about the world or interact with foreign students like me.

I also discovered that many of these students were underexposed and had never travelled outside of their home country.

Because it was most of them's first time meeting someone from another country, they viewed me and other foreigners with irrational suspicion and hatred.

The unfortunate aspect of this xenophobic behaviour was that it included some adults as well as students. People who were supposed to set a good example for the next generation were actually setting a bad example for future generations.

This hostility toward foreigners appeared to have been passed down from generation to generation.

Some of these xenophobic students appeared to have been brainwashed by their parents and guardians into believing that all foreigners were bad people and that whenever they came into contact with them, they had the right to treat them poorly simply because they were nationals of the country.

As a result, many students became closed-minded, and sadly, this cycle of behaviour would continue into the next generation.

For me, one incident, in particular, stands out. I became ill three months into my studies and went to Mazimbu Hospital, which was a short walk from my hostel. Because I was still learning Swahili, English was the only language in which I could communicate.

\What happened next completely shocked me. The doctor who was treating me yelled, 'I don't do my sessions in English.'

'Speak Swahili,' he demanded forcefully in Swahili. 'You must learn Swahili,' he said before switching to English.

'The person I'm treating is a Muzungu (white person),' he explained to his coworkers.

In 2021, I left SUA and Tanzania with a fresh perspective on life. I was grateful that I had been exposed to the outside world primarily through books, travel, and television throughout my life, as these tools broadened my horizons, educated me, and exposed me to different cultures.

There is no excuse to be ignorant in this day and age when we all have unlimited access to information and can socially educate ourselves.

It is unfortunate, however, that some people choose to remain ignorant despite having access to these tools.

As a xenophobic victim, I sympathise with all those who have been subjected to discriminatory behaviour, including xenophobia. Xenophobia, like all forms of discriminatory behaviour, is a worldwide issue that stems from ignorance and is primarily learned behaviour.

Education is the only way to cure ignorance. If we are to eradicate xenophobia and other forms of discrimination, we must foster a reading culture among ourselves and the next generation.

Parents, educators, politicians, religious leaders, celebrities, and all others with influence have a moral obligation to teach children and adults about right and wrong behaviour and to use their voices to combat xenophobia and other forms of discrimination that affect everyone.

We must learn to celebrate diversity while condemning hate speech and prejudice. We must put pressure on our politicians to pass anti-xenophobia legislation.

More importantly, we must recognise that we are all equal human beings living in an interconnected world and that no man is an island, so diversity is a strength, not a weakness, and should be celebrated rather than avoided. As the adage goes, "united we stand, divided we fall."