Is sorry ever enough?
Chukwuka Jonah from Nigeria/Seven Billion Today
Last week I posted here about the xenophobic attacks on Nigerian people in South Africa. I was personally affected by them as I told you, because some of my friends had rushed home back to Nigeria because of the emergency. A national emergency was definitely what it was – shops were broken into, people attacked, glass shattered. People were running for their lives. But I expressed and I continue to express today that those people will remain proud of their Nigerian heritage and will sing the National Anthem with love and joy.Today there has been a development. South Africa has said sorry to us for everything which occurred. (12 dead, I would like to add.) A special envoy from South Africa met our President Buhari yesterday, with an apology. It went something like this… he expressed the country’s “sincerest apologies” and he said that
“The incident does not represent what we stand for,” he said, adding that South African police would “leave no stone unturned” in bringing those involved to justice.
The envoy also added that the South African government condemned the violence and was taking decisive action. The whole thing begs me to question: is sorry ever enough? Does an apology suffice? When lives have been stolen, families destroyed, livelihoods torn to shreds, does a simple word make a difference?
I continue to stand with my Nigerian brothers and sisters in the hope that they will be able to return abroad again to continue their works. This is my point – we don’t come to South Africa to inflict harm, or to steal your work, or your wealth. Yes we come to improve ourselves and our outlooks for our families, but we do not impinge on your situation and we respect your environment. Rather than coming against us with hostility and violence, take your anger to your government and ask THEM why poverty is so RIFE and conditions in your country are so DISMAL.