Nicolas Sarkozy fans flames of xenophobia in France

Xenophobia, as defined by the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, refers to fear and hatred of strangers or foreigners or of anything that is strange and foreign. Recent events in France point to the fact that French President - Nicolas Sarkozy is fanning flames of xenophobia and anti-immigration sentiments in the European country.

On 30 July 2010, Nicolas Sarkozy warned that foreign-born French citizens would be stripped of French nationality if they "threatened the life of a police officer" or commit serious crimes. For right-wing anti-immigration supporters, this sounds like good news, but for people of good conscience and in the eyes of international human rights law, such a move would be discriminatory. Explicitly linking immigration to crime and fanning flames of xenophobia and anti-immigration sentiments is outrageous.

In the same month of July 2010, the forced eviction of African immigrants from a camp in the outskirts of Paris shocked rights advocates, and Nicolas Sarkozy promised to destroy the camps of the Roma minority and evict this vulnerable group of people who face untold discrimination in France and beyond. He accused the immigrants for a spike in crime in France.

It is interesting to note that Nicolas Sarkozy seems to have forgotten that he is the son of an immigrant. According to the BBC, the president is the son of a Hungarian immigrant and his mother is of Greek Jewish origin. In other words, Nicolas Sarkozy is of foreign origin. Why then does the President fan flames of xenophobia in France?

Why does Nicolas Sarkozy, the son of an immigrant, stigmatize less fortunate immigrants?

Foreign-born French citizens, non-immigrant French citizens and immigrants in France are all natural persons entitled to equality before the law. Explicitly linking immigration to crime could win Nicolas Sarkozy some votes in the up-coming 2012 elections, but would have dangerous repercussions on a country that has benefited enormously over the years from a long history of immigration and diversity.

You would agree that politically, immigrants are an easy target and immigrant-bashing is more often than not a last resort for increasingly unpopular politicians.

Ahead of the 2012 elections, Nicolas Sarkozy is unpopular, running out of ideas, running out of time and is in desperate need of votes from anti-immigration right-wing voters - as argued in an editorial on The New York Times, titled Xenophobia: Casting Out the Un-French.

It remains to be seen whether fanning flames of xenophobia in France would win Nicolas Sarkozy another term in office.

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Obama meets young African Leaders in the White House

On 3 August 2010, President of the United States and leader extraordinaire, Barack Obama met with young African leaders in the White House, to discuss the vision for moving Africa forward. In the East Room of the White House, Africa was represented by 115 young African leaders from 40 sub-Saharan countries.

Speaking to the young African leaders, the President touched on key issues, including:

• Business
• Jobs
• Trade
• Investment
• Agriculture
• Technology
• Bribery and corruption
• Good governance
• Human rights
• Transparency
• Accountability
• Civil society
• Health (HIV/AIDS)
• Democracy, etc.

A friend of mine on Facebook shared the following video of Obama's town hall with young African leaders, and I thought it wise to share the video with you. WATCH...



I must tell you - I was not in the White House during the town hall, but as a young African watching the video, I felt connected with the President like he was talking to me directly.

The questions posed by the young African leaders sounded very much like questions I'd ask the President in such an occasion. I was particularly impressed by the question posed by the young African leader from Mozambique, about Obama's recommendation to young people in Africa - in terms of principles of non-violence, good governance and democratic principles, as well the question asked by Sidney Chelsea from Zimbabwe.

The fact that President Obama took Africa's octogenarian leaders like 86-year-old President of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe to task was commendable. This is the case because, as Nelson Mandela once said, an "octogenarian shouldn't be meddling in politics."

Obama's meeting with young African leaders in the White House signaled a remarkable step in moving the continent forward. The future of Africa is truly in the hands of young African leaders.

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France: Forced Eviction of African Immigrants in Paris

Earlier this week, I was appalled by a video footage of French police officers enforcing a forced eviction of African immigrants, predominantly women and children, from a housing camp in a suburb in Paris, France. The video, reportedly shot on 21 July 2010, shocked rights advocates worldwide, and is clearly a testament to abysmal failure of French authorities to provide immigrants with a basic need - shelter.

The following amateur video reveals what happens when a democracy fails to provide adequate housing to a vulnerable group of natural persons, irrespective of their origin. WATCH...


It is true that some of the women roughly evicted by police from La Courneuve neighborhood are undocumented immigrants, but it is also true that many are legally residing in France and the government has an obligation to provide adequate housing to all individuals within its borders.

As you would expect, many have blamed the immigrants for carrying children on their backs during a protest. Some have even suggested that the women used children as "human shields" - completely ignoring the fact that these women are homeless and have no decent shelter to leave their children.

Did the police use excessive force in executing the eviction of these African immigrants?

There is no denying that immigrants are a particularly vulnerable group of people in desperate need of protection. Unfortunately, more often than not, what they get is untold violation of their ever dwindling basic rights in the countries where they seek protection and a better life.

French authorities have failed to provide immigrants with the basic right to housing . Hence, in a desperate attempt to provide shelter for their families, immigrants pitch tents in the "roughest neighborhoods" in Paris and beyond.

It remains to be seen whether the forced evictees in the above video would be provided adequate housing in France or return to camps after such a traumatic encounter with French law enforcement officers.

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