Mugabe and the “white African”
A shamefully arrogant and racist film
Another example of attempt by Europeans to appropriate an African identify along with the appropriation of land and Resources
Audiences the world over are rushing to see the film, “Mugabe and the White African” about a so called courageous white farmer fighting to hold on to land being seized by the Zimbabwean government. The European film industry is promoting this blasphemous movie as some kind of shining example of Profiles in Courage.
The film claims that it is the seizure of white land that has brought on the economic devastation in the country rather than the European economic Embargo imposed shortly after the land seizure began in an attempt to help white farmers resist surrendering their ill gotten bounty. It is unmistakably the Embargo which has played the most significant role in bringing about the crisis. The Zimbabwean government is obviously not blameless, however, and corruption and other nefarious kinds of patronage are not out of the question. Nevertheless, these issues pale in comparison to the impact of European colonialism and its lingering stranglehold on the entire continent, with its center piece being the control of vast amounts of land. There is no freedom or independence for a people without land, and it is clear that Europeans have never intended for Africans to have either.
Don’t pay money to see this film.
First of all there is no such thing as a “white” African, just as there is no such thing as a white Asian or a black European. If by chance you are granted citizenship from an African country such as Zimbabwe, you then have a right to be called a white Zimbabwean of just a Zimbabwean, regardless of color, but not a white African. You are either African or you are not, and Europeans are not. It doesn’t matter how long you occupy a parcel of land, and how much you have produced on that land, if you are not indigenous to that land, and share an ancestral heritage, it is the height of arrogance and an insult to African People to call yourself a white African. This film in all it melodramatic trappings is just another example of European appropriation of someone else’s identity just as they have appropriated land and other resources to call their own and another indignity on top of the long list of indignities perpetrated upon African people. Even white South Africans do not call themselves a white African. They are recognized as citizens of a particular country in Africa which is South Africa, so they call themselves South Africans or white South Africans, but not white Africans.
The audacity of the filmmakers and the many commentators and critics with the help of their black counterparts who have climbed aboard the bandwagon in an attempt to portray the oppressor as the oppressed and the king of racists as the victim of racism in order to claim their right to a land that was never theirs in the first place. It is not unlike America’s claim to Native American land which they stole and are now called pioneers and recognized for their courage and tenacity in holding on to the land through the genocide of Native peoples.
One should not confuse their feelings about Mugabe and his role in the economic catastrophe of Zimbabwe with a well calculated campaign to draw lines in the sand around who Is the rightful owners of land which was forcefully taken by conquerors and interlopers who have shown a appalling lack of regard for the welfare of African people in amassing wealth and power, but now want to be portrayed as heroes. As Malcolm said, “No More Days Like This”.
