01
Oct
NEW DELHI: It’s always been unkind to Africans but the way the city treated three African students at Rajiv Chowk Metro Station on Sunday evening showed how deep racial prejudice runs here. African people in the city say they face verbal and physical abuse with racial undertones daily. Some students TOI spoke to said they are not accepted like ‘white’ foreigners. And a member of Association of African Students in India made a sobering remark: “If they can attack their own (referring to people from the Northeast), they can obviously attack us”.
AASI office bearer Oshobajo Emmanuel said, “An African girl was recently rescued from the Yamuna. They pushed her in after beating her. Her bones were broken and she was dying. Can such an attack be explained?”
Babaji Hanilu, a PhD scholar at DU’s department of African Studies, said he faced discrimination upon landing in Delhi three years ago. “A man promised to rent me his house and took three months’ advance rent. But when I came to stay, he turned me away and also made me run about for weeks to get back my money.” Hanilu has learned only a few Hindi words in three years. “You can learn only if people show interest in you or want to mingle with you. I try to ignore them because I was told they are not educated. They don’t travel and have no idea of how valuable it is to learn about other cultures.”
AASI office bearers said their members are afraid to come on record about racial abuse. “The attack at Rajiv Chowk station is unfortunate. Last week, a similar incident happened in Malviya Nagar. I feel Indians hate dark skin. In the day they tolerate you but at night they can stone you,” said Eugene, a student from Ghana, adding, “There are so many Indians in Ghana, but do we attack them like this?”
Zimbabwe national Carol said, “I have heard so much about discrimination against other Indian communities. How can we expect them to treat us like equals?”
Kavita Krishnan, secretary of All India Progressive Women’s Association (AIPWA), said, “Women don’t want lynch mobs. So many molestation cases have happened, in how many has a mob attacked? This is very dangerous. Don’t do this in women’s name. I am sure there is a racist or communal angle”.
AAP MLA Somnath Bharti, who had controversially raided Africans living in Khirki Village early this year, tweeted on Monday: “Entire Delhi is suffering from some foreign nationals indulged in criminalities n illegalities but BJP and Congress r just playing politics (sic)”.
“There can be no justification for this. The large number of African students who come here and the growing Indian community in Africa show that we need each other. This incident has sent a negative signal about India to African communities. I hope the culprits are found,” said AS Yaruingam, head of the department of African Studies at DU.
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Delhis-problem-with-us-is-skin-deep-Africans/articleshow/43927469.cms