From the 15th
century, the Great Atlantic Slave Trade deported millions of Africans to the
New Lands. The barbaric circumstances of their capture in Africa, the savage
way they were conveyed to the coasts, the cruel conditions of the long haulage
over the Atlantic Ocean coupled with the
perverse effects of racism in the Diaspora have always made the slave and his
descendants to pine for home. Marcus Mosias Garvey articulated this burning
desire in a back-to-Africa movement; W. E. B. Dubois on his part translated it
into pan-Africanism. Now, the back-to-Africa movement is gaining momentum again
but a lot more remains to be done before the real take-off can be realized.
The first signal Africa can send her
long-gone sons and daughters in America ,
Canada , the Caribbean, the
West Indies, Latin America and elsewhere is
that of installing truly democratic regimes and good governance. For I can’t
imagine many people in the Diaspora who will abandon the “havens of democracy”
to embrace the “jungles of dictatorships” or those of “pseudo-democracies.” Yet
democracy alone will not be enough. When democracy is coupled with good
governance, the returnee will be assured that he will not jump from one hell
into another one.
Next, just as Ghana Africa , some members of the
Diaspora may be feeling their roots strongly in both ends and a double
nationality will satisfy this urge. And for those who do not wish to return to
stay, preferential conditions (e.g. free and unhindered entry and reasonable
amount of stay without a residence permit) should be accorded them. Just like
the Jews in America , this
group will serve as a pressure group (lobby) in the Diaspora on behalf of Africa and its interests.
Another important signal is that of
a united Africa, or at least, more dynamic regional groupings in which the free
movement of goods and persons are assured, for as a potential returnee from
Guadeloupe said, “Since most of us can’t tell exactly which part of Africa we
came from, in the same way we’re not interested in coming back to areas where
we will be called Ghanaians, Nigerians or Senegalese for instance but simple
and short African.”
A very important issue not to be
overlooked in creating conditions for the home-coming is that of repatriation
and reparation. Our ancestors did not go across the Atlantic
at will. It therefore becomes the responsibility of the countries which forced
them overseas to finance their journey back home. The Jews deported from their
homes have been compensated for this forcible removal and also for the
subsequent forced labour they were subjected to. The French parliament recently
recognized slavery as a crime against humanity. And where there is crime,
compensation is due. Africa lost some of her
developers who were forced to work free of charge to make other lands rich.
Therefore the African continent, but especially West
Africa , and the Diaspora must be compensated for those lost years
and lost energies.
Another pre-condition for the return
of the Diaspora is land. Chiefs, being the custodians of lands, should be asked
to put aside plots for the resettling of the returnee.
Once these signals reach the
Diaspora, we can expect some significant returns which will be of utmost value
to Africa . But before we tackle the advantages
of the home-coming of the Diaspora, let us take a look at the problems the
present-day pioneers of home-coming have faced, for the elimination of these
bottlenecks will surely contribute to attracting more returnees here.
The bitterest experience of a returnee often
occurs at the points of entry, mainly the airports. We should therefore
sensitize our immigration officers to accord pure African hospitality to the
returnee for long questioning, extortion and lack of understanding of the
immigrant’s motives deeply shock the returnee. One African American woman
recounted how she and her husband had sold everything to resettle in the
motherland only to be made to bitterly regret their move right at the airport.
There is therefore the need to facilitate entry.
But even when the returnees manage
to leave the airport – of course, with bitter memories of Africa
– they soon realize that the worst was to come.
The first is the problem of
integration. Whilst the returnee feels totally African, the local population
regards him/her as a perfect stranger. This creates a sense of alienation which
estranges the returnee from experiencing the African reality and from being
smoothly absorbed into the society. This sense of “otherness” is deepened when
the returnee is referred to as Yovo, Oburoni, a term which means “white
person” and is not derogatory at all. But whatever the case, this term is not
appropriate for the returnee. There is therefore the need to sensitize our
people to regard the returnee as a brother or a sister.
Once the returnee feels settled,
his/her next preoccupation will be finding a job. At a symposium on the return
of the Diaspora, two African-American women complained bitterly about the near
impossibility to obtain a job or even go into self-employment. Here also bias
goes into play because the returnee is thought of as a foreigner. As for
obtaining jobs, since there are very few around for anybody at all, it will be
better for the returnee to ask what he/she can do for Africa rather than what
Africa can do for him/her. But what I find incomprehensible is why the returnee
should be made to satisfy the same conditions for foreigners before being
allowed into private business. The grandchild who returns for the first time to
his grandfather’s house cannot be asked to pay rent like a tenant. But the core
of the problem is that we have not yet begun to think of the returnee as a
grandchild having the same rights as us.
As a matter of urgency we must begin
to teach ourselves and our children about the Great Atlantic Slave Trade.
Whilst the Jewish holocaust is deeply encrusted in the memory of all Jews, the
African however seems to have totally forgotten about what an African-American
group termed “the African hellocaust”, an abomination which lasted over
400 years and led to the deportation of an estimated 20-100 million Africans.
It is difficult for the Diaspora to fathom how we can forget such a tragedy.
This makes them both sad and angry. It is as if to say “our ancestors didn’t
become slaves, so we might as well ignore this stuff.” But we must bear in mind
that during that period, it was the African who lost a relative: a father, a
mother, a son, a daughter, a sister, a brother, an uncle, an aunt or other. I
can’t imagine a single African family, especially those in West
Africa and principally those along the coastal areas who did not
lose someone to slavery. We must let today’s and tomorrow’s generations know
about this crime. For, forewarned is forearmed since history has a way of
repeating itself.
Now, will Africa
benefit should the Diaspora return?
Some people are afraid that the
return of thousands or hundreds of thousands and why not millions of Africans
from the Diaspora will lead to population explosion. This argument, although
not false in itself, does not stand under its own weight. Population density in
Africa, even in a “populous” country like Nigeria Africa
is strictly in relation to the rate of its economic development which lags
woefully behind that of population growth. In several African countries should
there be an economic boom today, shortage of labour, skilled and unskilled,
will become evident. Concerning the return of the Diaspora, since it is assumed
that a mass exodus will be accompanied by the payment of compensation to the
returnee, the perverse effects of “population explosion” would be minimized.
Since I prefer to speak of a cup
filled to the middle as being half-full instead of half-empty, I will likewise
like to discuss the benefits of home-coming to Africa
and to the Diaspora.
The Diaspora will be returning from
an area where democracy and good governance have become common practices. Africa then stands to benefit from the experience as well
as from the democratic culture of the returnees. Concerning the fight for human
and social rights, it is undoubtedly the returnees who will lead the struggle.
They will even goad the lethargic population of Africa
into action.
On another positive note, since the
returnees do not want to return to micro-states, the pan African spirit will
receive a big boost and this will accelerate the process towards African unity.
There is no doubt that the return of the
Diaspora will result in the transfer of skills, capital and technology
necessary for Africa ’s scientific, economic
and technological development. It is noted in the Republic
of Benin that the freed slaves who
returned there from Brazil Africa or that
the local population will receive everything from them. Of course some bad will
accompany the returnees here and their relationship with Africans will be one
of give and take.
Not only Africa but also the Diaspora stands to
gain by returning to Africa . The most obvious
advantage will be the end to racism, overt and covert, and all of its
ramifications. The fear rather is that the returnees might lord it over the
indigenous people as it did happen in Sierra
Leone and Liberia
The other benefit to the returnees will be the
harmonious development of their full human, psychological, intellectual and
spiritual capabilities in a more enabling environment. For some Bible-base
groups such as the Rastafarians, coming back home will be the fulfilment of a
biblical prophesy which states that the scattered children will come back to
the Promised Land after four generations.
“We’re the fourth generation since Babylon took us into captivity,” an old Rastafarian who
had returned to live in the Republic
of Benin
Amen! I said but let us prepare the way for
them.
(Written
28th April 1999)
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