Page 45 - Msingi Afrika Magazine Issue 8

CUMMUNITY

prisingly, earlier, while I was seated
waiting for my visa, I had watched
as every White man or Asian man
came in without any form of hassle
or without being made to wait in
any special room set aside for West
Afrikans.

I didn't like any of the experiences
at JKIA, but the question that was
on my mind all through was why
do we as Afrikans treat our fellow
Afrikans with so much disdain
and disrespect? Why is it that the
first thing an average Afrikan sees
in another Afrikan on first sight is
crime or some other undesirable
stereotype? Why can't Afrikans
be free to move, visit, trade or live
wherever their journeys take them
in Afrika without harassments of
TOURISM FOR any sort. There are no completely
clean crime-free nations on the
earth, so it's totally absurd for any
AFRIKANS IN AFRIKA immigration officer or anyone in
any Afrikan country to treat other
Samuel Phillips Afrikans as criminals without even
a single thing pointing at evidence
that they are involved in crimi-
nal activities. When will Afrikan
to sit in one office that looked like just hard on the guys, saying words tourism for Afrikans in Afrika be a
it was set aside only for anyone that are demeaning about West thing that all Afrikans can enjoy?
coming from West Afrika (no other Afrika. The guys were very upset
nationalities were referred to that and angry and instantly decided Afrika's Tourism in the face of
office for the three hours or so to return home, saying that they Covid-19
that I was there). The boss woman couldn’t spend their money coming I saw a Daily Nation headline on
simply wouldn’t listen to any expla- to an Afrikan country that wouldn’t the Google news app installed on
nation from these Ghanaian guys. even respect them as Afrikans. One my phone and it reads "Local tour-
It was a back and forth drama but or two things happened and they ists flock to Maasai Mara for annual
what happened after that, I was not were asked to go to another office wildebeest migration." The headline
really aware, for another argument for further checks. caught my attention instantly and I
started with this same immigration I finished whatever I needed to do proceeded to read the article. But
official and two Nigerian men that and was about to leave, then I met before I share the few of the things
were initially seated quietly in a cor- the Nigerian guys and they told me that I picked out of the article, let
ner of the same office that appeared that the entire noise and argument me try to explain the annual event
to be made for West Afrikans. that happened earlier was because called the Wildebeest Migration.
They too had just arrived from La- they had refused to give the immi-
gos. The issue was that the Nigerian gration officers 100 dollars each, The Great Wildebeest Migration is
guys told the female immigration outside of the normal 50 dollars a fascinating and spectacular annual
official that they came for tourism that they had each already paid for movement of over 1.5 million wil-
and even showed her their hotel their tourist visas. Mind you, I was debeest, hundreds of thousands of
reservation and their two-week asked to pay that same money, but zebra, eland and gazelle in search
itinerary. But like the first, she was that is a story for another day. Sur- of pasture and water. It takes place

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