Goa’s Art and Culture Minister Dayanand Mandrekar claimed Nigerians were a “cancer”, while parliamentarian Shantaram Naik accused them of indulging in drug trade.
With xenophobia sweeping parts of Goa, signs saying “No to Nigerians, No to Drugs” have sprung up in several neighbourhoods.
Following the murder and the subsequent arson, the authorities in Goa have embarked on a drive to detect and deport Nigerians living without valid visas.
The drive has angered Nigerian embassy officials in New Delhi and evoked angry response.
“There are only 50,000 Nigerians living in India, but there are over a million Indians living in Nigeria.Thousands of Indians living there will be thrown out on the streets if the forcible eviction of Nigerians in Goa does not stop,” Jacob Nwadibia, an administrative attaché of the Nigerian high commission in New Delhi, said.
The incidents have turned the spotlight on the African community in India - Nigerians included – many of whom say they face discrimination and harassment on a daily basis.
racism towards Africans in India is a daily routine. If not physical assaults, most of them have had to endure attitudes ranging from curiosity to irrational phobia to being treated unfairly.
“My first day in college, I felt like a tourist attraction. It actually took many students a few days to even come up and talk to me,’ Fred Kigozi, 25, from Uganda says.
Africans can even inspire reactions such as children running away, women shutting their doors and people staring hard. “It can be very funny sometimes.”
http://www.africanglobe.net/africa/africans-decry-discrimination-india/
Show Posts