What is to be done? Part 21
‘Dictatorship
naturally arises out of democracy, and the most aggravated form of tyranny and
slavery out of the most extreme liberty.’ – Plato
That is
right, we black African refugees are for sale. Right now, on the Libyan coast
they are being sold for 200 to 400 US Dollars. Seeing this news breaks my
heart. But in New Zealand, where I am living for more than 18 years, the
government is turning its back.
28 years ago
I was a refugee in the Kenya refugee camps. One of my jobs in the camp was counting
the dead bodies and graves of my fellow Black African refugees every day. I saw
the suffering that makes people decide to risk everything, to reach safety or
perish. This situation has continued to get worse until today when refugees are
being sold into slavery in Libya.
But in New
Zealand, the government still discriminates against Black African Refugees. Even
though the government has changed from National to Labour, the discriminatory
policy against resettlement of Black African refugees remains.
There are
migrants who come to New Zealand from Africa, but these people are not my
concern. They are mostly well off and are free to come and go from their home
countries. Some of them have government connections back home. They have not
experienced the despair of refugee camps or the desperation that drives people to
the smuggling routes where they are preyed on by the slave traders.
My concern
is for the Black African refugees languishing in the camps for decades. If these
refugees had the opportunity of resettlement it would be one small bit of hope.
Maybe enough to save some from the horror of the smuggling routes and slavery
that wait for those who are trying to escape.
But in 2009,
the New Zealand government took away any hope for Black African refugees when they
put a stop to any resettlement from Africa for refugees who
don’t already have family in New Zealand.
Labour and
the Greens want to be seen as better for refugees than National. Before the
election they made all kinds of promises about increasing the refugee quota
from all over the world. But since they have come to power they have done
nothing. If they are such cowards that they can’t change the racist policies of
the last government, then they are just as bad.
28 years ago
in the refugee camp I made a pact with my conscience that wherever I go on this
planet I will fight for my fellow Black African refugees. The ghosts of my
brothers and sisters from the camps are always with me. They would not let me
rest if I did not raise my voice. Who else will speak up now for the Black
African refugees?
By Yilma Tafere Tasew
5 December 2017
Wellington, New Zealand
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