to immigration, choose whatever term suits its purposes to describe people of foreign origin.
Some of the terms will inevitably be positive but others will be downright derogatory depending on the type of story or article being presented. I think the main question we should be asking ourselves is: should we be worried about these terms at all or should we concentrate on more substantive issues affecting both those back home and outside the country.
There is a view that those who left the country are nothing but lily-livered cowards who are inadvertently helping to sustain one of the most cruel and insensitive regimes of our time by sending much-needed foreign currency back home. But there is another view – that those who left the country were wise and prudent enough to realise that the situation in the country was going to reach catastrophic levels and escaped. What side of the debate you take is dependent on what side of the border you are.
The perception and stereotyping of Zimbabweans in the UK as political refugees may be unfortunate but it is understandable given the fact that most people, be they professionals or unskilled, would probably never have left the country were it not for the deterioration of the political and economic situation in the country.
Most people who have a problem with this are those who have told themselves that they are a ‘special’ category of immigrant only to be disappointed when they realise that they are regarded, by the British, as everyone else from Zimbabwe. I believe that the terms used to describe us by the media largely depend on the manner in which we conduct ourselves. If we are involved in criminal or degrading activities the diction will be unpleasant but if we are decent and hardworking even the most prejudiced sections of the media will be forced to use kinder labels.
– Please join the debate – send your views to mbanga@thezimbabwean.co.uk
Post published in: Opinions