admingeo-political hegemonic games.
In the first story, it was reported that a shocking video had appeared on the Internet showing Libyan rebels torturing a group of black Africans. The captives who had their hands bound were shown being locked in a zoo-like cage and forced to eat the old Libyan flag.
It was also reported that although some of the black migrants had managed to flee into neighbouring Mali and Niger, more than 5 000 were detained and face beatings, revenge killings, mass execution and other inhumane treatments condemned by the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment adopted on December 10, 1984.
All this happened under the undistracted glare of the supposedly torture averse “international community” yet they remained largely mute and unperturbed. The self arrogated world policemen remained lethargic even after Amnesty International had extensively reported that black Africans in Libya have become “targets of stigma, discrimination and violence”.
Notwithstanding this, another human rights group Human Rights Investigations (HRI) indicated that it suspected Libyan rebels of carrying out ethnic cleansing of the black population of the country.
Juxtaposed to the saddening Libyan story was another international report celebrating the release of some American activists who were held captive in Egypt. Their release came as a result of dexterous and unrelenting pressure from the “‘international community”, with America threatening to withdraw US$1,3 billion in annual military aid to Egypt.
Here lies the gist of this article.
Five thousand black Africans are being held captive in Libya under inhumane conditions and no one bates an eye yet the whole world shudders when 15 Americans were captured in Egypt. Worse still, the “international community” successfully negotiated for the release of the light skinned Egyptian captives but turns a nakedly blind eye to the black immigrants similarly holed up in Libya.
Apparently, a discriminative line has been drawn between these two groups of global citizens. The predicament of the light skinned group was treated with urgency and firmness while that of their dark skinned counterparts was simply ignored.
A price tag of US$1,3 billion was even attached to the former group to amplify their sacredness and inviolability. Like in colonial times or during apartheid in South Africa, black people are once again being treated as debased creatures in the current global geo-political events. We now have first class global citizens whose rights and freedom are sacrosanct and second class global citizens whose rights are peripheral and could wantonly be adulterated to preserve those of the former.
In this sense, the rights of the black migrants in Libya could easily be trampled upon as long as it is in sync with the ‘international community’s’ bid to foist their influence in the oil rich Arab nation.
Infuriatingly, in the midst of the flagrant abuse of the black migrants, leaders of the “international community”, Nicholas Sarkozy and David Cameron, hurriedly arranged courtesy visits to Libya to express their support for the murderous rebels.
Clearly, no one gives a hoot about the lives of the beleaguered black immigrants in Libya. Even regional organisations like the African Union who should dutifully defend the rights of the tortured captives have shown total disinterest and have impetuously recognised the barbaric NTC as the official representatives of the Libyan people.
All this explains why some countries are constantly calling for the indictment of African people at the International Criminal Court but ironically vow to resist any attempts to haul their citizens before the same court. It also unravels why some races believe that they can haughtily conduct unsanctioned military incursions against other global citizens without attracting any reproach. They allow themselves to ride roughshod against other global citizens’ rights, dignity and lives.
This is the same reason why Westerners feel they can force-throat us to accept alien practices like homosexuality which is unreservedly abominable to our culture. That is why they are fervently opposed to our rightful reclamation of our lost land and mineral claims that are in the grasp of the white settlers’ progeny. More importantly, that is why they piously want to rule our countries on our behalf. It all boils down to their fallacy of racial superiority.
We will not hesitate but ask for how long we should be treated like second class global citizens whose resources should be exploited by the chosen people from the West. For how long shall our rights be trampled upon for the expediency of some calculated imperial shenanigans? We are not second class citizens of this world. We must stand firm and protect the rights of our citizens. The AU must immediately intervene in Libya and save the dignity of our dear black immigrants.
l Tendai Moyo is a social commentator based in Harare.
Online Reporter