Politics and Society
Racist 46 year old German to be deported from Malawi after calling worker ‘monkey’
The fight against racial discrimination on the continent has a long way to go. In a recent incident in Malawi, a black driver was called a monkey by his white employer, an incident which has caused an outrage. Hinteregger Jurgen, a German national faces deportation from Malawi for the slur.
Racial discrimination and slurs are still a huge concern across the continent. In Malawi, a 46 year old German, Hintregger Jurgen the manager of Strabag International, a German Company constructing 47 kilometres of Mzuzu-Nkhata bay road is facing deportation from the country for racially abusing a black Malawian employee.
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According to Nyasa Times one of Strabarg’s drivers, Charles Devina, drove a water tanker on some metal bars resulting in one of the tyres bursting. Jurgen had a outburst, reportedly calling one of the drivers a monkey before snatching the keys. The other drivers were angered by the slur, and engaged in a boycott.
Jurgen who’s already spent a night at the police station after the issue currently awaits deportation.
However, the incident won’t stop the construction of the K16.8 billion African Development Bank and Malawi government funded road.
Read: Racism remains South Africa’s enduring problem
This is not the first case of racism in Malawi. Mid last year, a Pakistani mother, Sattar, found that her daughter was pregnant with the child of a Malawian, Mhango. Sattar was against the relationship between Mhango and her daughter because Mhango wasn’t of the same race and religion as her.
Wash the black away: The advert opens up with a steamy scene between a black man and a Chinese woman then it goes downhill from there. (Photo: A still from the Qiaobi advert)
Last year, in one of the most blatant evidence of racism in China, in an advert by Qiaobi detergent, a black man was shoved into a washing machine and came out as an Asian man. The advert led to an uproar across the globe, which resulted in an intervention from the Chinese government.
African governments need to do more to protect the dignity of their citizens. Many Africans suffer racial discrimination in European, Arab and Asian countries and the trend, even on the continent doesn’t seem to show signs of ending.
In 2017 one would have thought the world would have become more humane but that’s not been the case. With a rise in nationalism, more rhetoric of ‘we versus them’ seems to play out.
