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Monday, 9 July, 2001, 17:08 GMT 18:08 UK
Do Africans love their neighbours?
A vessel crowded with Liberians recently spent a month at sea after being refused entry from a variety of nearby ports.
A voyage, which should have taken a mere five days, turned into a nightmare of sickness and starvation.
Some of the refugees, including children, were in poor health and the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) expressed concern over their plight.
The Nigerian Government finally allowed the ship to dock in Lagos, saying it was taking humanitarian action in order to prevent a tragedy.
Has Africa lost its famed qualities of welcome and hospitality? Do Africans love their neighbours?
This debate is now closed. Read a selection of your comments below.
G D Roberts, Liberian/Washington DC,
My country has played a host to hundreds of thousands of refugees and asylum seekers in its entire history as an independent nation. Back in time we had had the South Africans, the Mozambicans, and the former Rhodesians during their independence struggles. We are currently hosting a threatening flow of desperate Congolese, Rwandans and Burundians; and all this against the backdrop of our social and economic hardships as a nation. For God's sake what love is more affectionate than that?
I think that the problem we, as Africans have today
is the adoption of European culture, which unfortunately is not good for us.
Neighbours helping neighbours philosophically is a new phenomenon. Rules and regulations softened the attitude of human beings towards each other (civil or spiritual). Without these, Man my dear friends is wolf to Man.
I agree with Cillaty Daboh. At the start of the Liberian civil war we Sierra Leoneans took Liberians into our homes because thought of them as family. In return we were given a war of our own courtesy of Charles Taylor. We will help our neighbours, but not at the expense of the lives of our families and friends, we have lost enough already.
Zain Omar, Accra Ghana
Africa may have lost everything but will never let go of love for human kind. There is nowhere on the planet earth where people are treated with love and dignity like Africa and that is why receiving refugees is very natural and was expected of Nigerians.
I've been in Namibia for three months and there wasn't one person who didn't show hospitality. Poor people who did anything for us to get on well. People in Africa are rich in another way - a way that I want everybody to be. So I'm moving!
Dolores Atwood, Canada
Due to corruption, wars and evil leaders in the continent, it looks like people have lost their sense of being good neighbours. People are becoming a kind of "Who Cares!" type.
The US constantly restricts Mexican economic refugees from crossing in to the US. Why then should an isolated case in Western Africa qualify the entire Africa as being inhospitable and unloving!
Africans are still their neighbours' keepers. They are still a united force despite too much politicking on the continent. Whatever happened to the Liberian ship was unfortunate and it is hoped nothing similar would ever happen again. Our hospitality can never be erased for as long as we remain Africans. It is a part of the continent and will remain as such.
Cillaty Daboh, USA/ Sierra Leone.
All I can speak for is West Africa and I can say no, we do not love our neighbours. Peace and stability is hard to maintain because there is always one country after another who is having civil unrest and needs help from its neighbour. All the West African countries have had their ups and downs but once they prosper again they forget that they were once in the same situation and think too highly of themselves to understand where another country's problems may be coming from. Time will heal each country's wounds but if we don't learn from our mistakes and help others in the same situation, we will be doomed to continue this un- neighbourly cycle.
S. Ike, Nigeria
You cannot judge the whole of Africa by what one or two criminals did.
We Africans love our neighbours, we may not like some of the leaders (criminals).
After all there are so many refugees in Kenya, Sudan, Tanzania and in so many others.
African people are very loving people!
It is unfortunate humanitarian assistance was not extended soon enough for those Liberian refugees. This obviously is inhumane and typically un-African. I believe that Africans would have welcomed them warmly if they had crossed into another country by land. But because this was a sea borne incident, politicians have to take blame because they are the ones to allow such cases. Politics has evaded some Africans who believe that every man is for himself. This is not for a majority of Africans! Pan Africanism boils in their blood ready to share whatever little they have with their brethren.
Desta Woudenh, Ethiopia/USA
The title is misleading. African hospitality
is unsurpassed. One only needs to go
there to see it for himself. The shameful
conduct of present day African leaders
should not be used as a way to tarnish
Which Western country (Europe or the U.S.) would have accepted a boatload of African refugees? Probably not one.
The rejection of the Liberians vessel should not been seen as lack of love for their brothers. West African country and Nigeria in particular have put in both human and material resources for peace in Liberia. Most country have their domestic problems to handle. If Liberians in spite of all their West African sisters have done for them cannot maintain peace, then the action of Ghana and others should not be taken to wicked. After all, there are still many Liberian refugees living these countries in question. Liberians themselves especially their leaders should be held responsible for all this unbrotherly attitude.
Love thy neighbour in the hearts of Africans is still alive and well, but when politics infiltrates their thinking they turn their hearts into warriors. The geopolitical influence we are going through is so far from religious dogmas. It will take many preachers to restore the warmness to our neighbours.
19 Jun 01 | Africa
Nigeria allows refugee ship to dock
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