This archive report was first published on 9 September 2019.
September 9, 2019
Nelson Mandela's legacy is being tested in South Africa, where a surge in xenophobic attacks has left many wondering if the country has truly moved on from its apartheid past.
The attacks, which have targeted mainly black African migrants, are a stark reminder of the deep-seated prejudices that still exist in South Africa.
According to Prof Ali Mazrui, Mandela was 'less pan-African than the pan-Africanism he caused in others.' This sentiment is echoed in the way South Africans treat their fellow Africans, often viewing them as unwelcome strangers.
But the problem is not unique to South Africa. Populist politicians in first-world countries, such as Donald Trump and Victor Orban, have also fueled a growing hatred for economic migrants and Islamophobia.
As Prof Mazrui noted in a lecture, 'Perhaps, America was specially chosen by God to be a laboratory for fashioning a global human family.' This idea is echoed in the words of Maya Angelou, who wrote, 'In minor ways we differ, in major we're the same.'
South Africa owes Mandela, Africa, and the world a duty to make peace with itself in ways that are more genuine and practical than rhetorical.
