BLACK IS BURNING | A Zimbabwean national's deep melancholy in the hands of South African Xenophobes

By Sonny Mncedisi Dube

I crossed the border in search of greener pastures;

Down into the South, where we share more than just common histories and dear cultures.

The pastures are indeed greener, the sort of green that can only be found in the jungle,

But it's a lawless jungle, not fit for the foreigner, the naive, the meek nor the humble.

I'm of course devoted to the hustle but to make it through the day is a hassle and a struggle.

I'm neither here to steal nor to plunder, but to work, to hustle and feed my family;

But I'm met with hate, spite, naming and shaming.

I watch over my shoulder for be it during the night or in broad daylight you can see a black brother burning;

Vile acts of criminality against their own skin color, desperate souls devoid of conscience,

Souls who no longer see human life as of sacred importance.

Where are the Pan-Africanist values of love, peace and tolerance!?

I’m accused of all sorts of thievery and unspeakable crimes;

My only crime has been navigating this rough terrain in these trying times.

They call it survival of the fittest, but I'm only fit enough to work not to fight my fellow black brothers;

I have endured not only the toil but the violence, the trauma and a lot more others,

I ask all of you what has become of the African land of our forefathers.

A land where we perpetrate black on black violence and hate without reproof

Where we accuse each other of criminality without sufficient proof.

Where we are willing to take arms against foreign nationals who find themselves on the other side of the colonial borders because of circumstances in their home countries……!!!?

In the South, black is bullying, burning and killing black;

It’s time we embrace and accept each other as Africans, and claim our pride back.

For UNITED WE STAND AND DIVIDED WE FALL, and the latter is a stake we can’t take

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

SONNY MNCEDISI DUBE is a blogger who writes in his personal capacity

sonnymncedisi@gmail.com

0718533598

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