ests a stable – but as a symbol of ‘non-welcome’ it serves well.
Besides the explicit and humiliating notice ‘non whites’, which lingered in Southern Africa right up to the last decade of the last century, there have been and still are many unwritten forms of non-welcome enduring into this century. The recent riots in France, which went on for weeks, are a blatant expression of this hidden absence of welcome. But it is not only in France. Recent immigrants to the UK from Eastern Europe struggle to be accepted – though their readiness to accept lower wages than locals does open doors.
There is a good side to all this. European countries officially, that is in their formal documents, make efforts to treat all people as equal. If the documents are sometimes ignored at least the principle is there. Towns in Ireland, until recently forgotten corners of Europe, now have Polish builders and French restaurants. Headmasters are finding that half their students are non locals. The response of many is to do all they can to build community among the children in the school. The creation of a multiethnic and multicultural world is on the way.
Europeans came to Zimbabwe for generations in large numbers to seek their fortunes, and many found them. They came because there were no opportunities at home or they faced persecution in one form or the other. Today it is all reversed. Zimbabweans are travelling to Europe and elsewhere – also to find new opportunities or because they feel persecuted at home.
Various estimates have been made about numbers but it seems likely that there are 800,000 in the UK alone. That is about 6% of the entire population. These people are working hard, hating the weather and making money. One way or another they are sending money home and sustaining the Zimbabwe economy. But they are also learning a great deal about the sort of society they want to create when they eventually return.
One of the amazing things about Christmas is that, although Mary and Joseph had to take to the road because of the orders of a distant dictator, they in fact found themselves fulfilling the great act that was going to change the world forever.
Post published in: Opinions