Saturday 27 October 2007

France’s new anti-black African immigration law

Elie Smith

France has just introduced another new anti-immigration law. The new law requires that, any legal immigrant, resident in metropolitan France, and who wants his family or her family to join him/her, must have three times, the standard minimum wage and if he/she has children, they must also undergo a deoxyribonucleic acid test, in order to ascertain that the children are truly his/hers. At this stage, there seems to be no reason to cry. But the deoxyribonucleic acid test or DNA test has sparked anger within a section of the French population. For the DNA test is reminiscent to what happened to the Jews in France during German occupation. And surprisingly, those leading the protest are not the traditional opposition, but the civil society, led by former Prime Minister, Dominique de Villepin, and the writer and philosopher, Bernard Henri Levy. The only other star member of the non-official opposition, who is vehemently opposed to the new law and who has made it known, is Olivier Besancenot, the boyish face leader of the extreme left.

As for Mrs. Segolene Royal, the erstwhile flag bearer of the Socialist party, the official opposition, she has not said anything about the new anti-immigration law, for she doesn’t have a fixed opinion on anything, as she did during her failed campaigns for the top job of the land. If one was surprised why she could not win, she has now provided a clear answer. She was and she is still incompetent. The new anti-immigration law is the fifth such law, introduced by the government, within a span of four years, with the aim to effectively control the influx of immigrants. Even tough the French civil society is vexed with the new immigration law, and within the ruling Movement for a Presidential Majority (UMP), and its government, there has been signs of mountaineering, as illustrated by the recent declaration of Miss Fadela Amara, a junior minister, in charge of town planning, who is herself of North African ancestry and opposed to the new law, what is clear is that France has every right to accept or reject any immigration on her soil.

The problem with the new law is that, it is a racist law. Those she is targeting are predominantly black Africans. The specification is necessary here because in France, according to varying statistics, there are between 400 and 800 thousand black Africans. What the statistics doesn’t say, however, are the numbers of blacks in France, who are French citizens and those who are not. Another figure about Africans in France is those of North African ancestry (Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia). According to various sources, there are about two million North Africans in France, with Algerians being the largest African community. To compound matters further, the weekly French magazine Le novel Observateur N° 2241 of October 18th-24th 2007 claims that the total figures of immigrants in France stands at five million. And it adds that immigrants in France are principally from two African countries: Algeria and Morocco, and the magazine concludes that, the only European and EU member country, with large number of immigrants in France is Portugal.

While black Africans, especially, those from French-speaking Africa are now the target of the new anti-immigration law, it doesn’t in any way mean that the other segments of Africans: North Africans, are in the good books of the new soft Nazis-like government either. There exists already other subtle ways to expel North Africans from France. What is shocking with the new law is that, without shame, it targets a section of the population, in particular, black Africans from France’s former colonies of French-speaking West and Central Africa. In these two communities, those from Muslim West Africa are dominant in terms of population. Furthermore, they face different problems, but with one common constant: discrimination.

Paradoxically, French-speaking black Africans from Christian and animist parts of West and Central Africa, are generally well educated, urbanised and integrate easily into the mainstream French society, whereas Muslim West Africans and North Africans, are rural, mostly undereducated, (especially their boys) and do not seem to be interested in integrating into the mainstream. But it must be pointed out that, these attitudes are mostly found amongst older generations; for those who were born in France, go on well in their country of birth. It must also be made clear that the reasons of their (Muslim North and West Africans) occasional negative reactions are borne out of the fact that, they are discriminated against and thus, have the highest number of the unemployed. France’s new anti-immigration law is just a diversionary tactics from leaders, who are leading a country that has been in deficit for 26 years in a row. As the Prime minister, Mr Francois Fillion, recently said, his country is gone Argentina, a metaphor for bankruptcy. She has a third world unemployment rate, strikes are rampant and she is not respected by her European peers. And as funny as it would appear, the French-speaking black Africans that France now hates are the only group of people on earth, who love France and give her due respect.

But like a drowning man, who never knows he is drowning, until he disappears under the current, the new law is tactics hatched out by the ruling party to appear as though, they are working. And it is always easy to shift blames for your errors and failures onto another person. And as always, the whipping boy is the black African. In France, it has sadly been noticed that history keeps repeating itself. What brought Adolf Hitler to power in Germany was economic depression and what made Nicholas Sarkozy de Nagy Bocsa to be elected president last May 6th was a mixture of lack of credible rival and economic depression. When he was elected, he promised to make France big again, to make France to be respected and he also promised to give France a three per cent annual economic growth. And since wishes are never horses, it appears he won’t get any, or at best, may get 1.8 per cent annual growth. And the people who seem to deny France to become a big and respected nation again, are black Africans; hence, they are no longer wanted. The other parts of France where there are many blacks are her dependencies in the Caribbean and in the African Indian Ocean. Soon, a new law will be introduced, to bar them from coming to metropolitan France.

That way, the only blacks that will be accepted in France, will be sports men and women and musicians. But do we need to bother? Yes, we do. For when the attacks on blacks are over, the next targets will be Jews. Remember, in France, it is generally claimed that, Jews are hybrids of Negroes and Mongols. And since they have betrayed Jews in the past, there is no way they won’t do it again. What is strange with the new anti-immigration law is that Mr Sarkozy who has an opinion on everything and knows how to stage his success has been mute. What he has instead done, is try to celebrate the new simplified EU treaty, which, it must be said, is the coronation of a soft third Reich. The author of the controversial new anti-immigration law is a local star called Thierry Mariani MP, who, with the passing into law of his pet project, has been propelled to stardom.

Now, is there any difference between the disparaged Far Right nationalist party of Jean Marie Lepen and the ruling UMP party? Yes, there is a difference; the first provides the ideas, while the second implements them.

The Triumph of the Vulture(A Short Story)


By Bonka Archie

The kingdom of Agbado lies in the central part of Africa. Dense with tropical forest and abundance of natural resources including fertile land. During the reign of king Agbakpa, his charismatic, wisdom and hard working motivated the whole people of the kingdom to be highly efficient. For example, by making use of the abundance in fertile lands and natural resources wisely. As a result of this, the kingdom became more prosperous among other kingdoms around and beyond its territory click and read more