Despite pockets of Xenophobic attacks in South Africa and Zimbabwe, Africa’s hospitality remains one of the best weapons against racial hostility (Source: afro-questsafaris.com)
Breaking the strains of racism.
In Africa, there is a sense of belonging. Governmental systems do not differentiate between any group or minority -although there remain pockets of ethnic and gender-based violence with the troubling Xenophobic attacks in South Africa or even the arrest of homosexuals in Uganda. Research into the psychological reason(s) why persons join terrorist groups shows that these very persons are not given the chance to express themselves properly in society, hence them being recruited into such organisations that satisfy this need.
The Northern Ireland peace process as captured in the Economist in 2005 sums it best: “Offer such people (terrorists) a legitimate way to get what they care about most so they drop their most extreme aims and give up on terrorism too.” The fight against racism is still going on among diverse nationalities in the West, with the violence against minorities of color being most discussed. If only the West understood how hospitable Africans are to expatriates; if only the West took up Africa’s cultural value of inclusion, maybe the battle against terror would already be a thing of the past.
It is a fact that Africa as a continent has its own problems concerning the extension of institutionalized corruption and cases of ethnic and religion tensions as seen in Northern Nigeria with Boko Haram or even the Central African Republic were ethnic and religious conflicts have claimed the lives of hundreds. Even though Africa is still battling with how best to feed and provide quality health care services for her children, some lessons can still be learned from the continent where full-scale terrorism is not the most pressing issue.
