Refugees and immigrants in Africa: Where is an African Ubuntu?

Background: International conventions set principles and standards by which immigrants have to be treated in receiving countries. A general perception held is that Africans are hostile towards each other, while those in developed countries are arguably said to be welcoming to immigrants. Although th...

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Main Author: Mokoko P. Sebola
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: AOSIS 2019-06-01
Series:Africa’s Public Service Delivery & Performance Review
Subjects:
Online Access:https://apsdpr.org/index.php/apsdpr/article/view/285
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author Mokoko P. Sebola
author_facet Mokoko P. Sebola
author_sort Mokoko P. Sebola
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description Background: International conventions set principles and standards by which immigrants have to be treated in receiving countries. A general perception held is that Africans are hostile towards each other, while those in developed countries are arguably said to be welcoming to immigrants. Although the manner in which immigrants have to be treated is influenced by the Western practices, Africans adopt approaches that cannot be defined as better in terms of African values. Aim: The article investigates the unfair treatment of African immigrants in own continent because of ignoring the Ubuntu philosophy that guides the African life view. Setting: The article is located within the African continent and context. It argues that the immigration policies of some African countries reflect the life views that are slightly in contradiction of the Ubuntu philosophy which underpins the African life view. Methods: A desktop research approach was used to collect narrative materials to argue that Africans need to adopt an Ubuntu philosophy in dealing with immigrants so as to achieve their known peaceful and welcoming society. Results: From the literature perspective, it becomes apparent that very few countries in Africa adopted immigration policies that are congruent with the Ubuntuphilosophy. Immigrants from Africa are not treated with the Ubuntu approach deserved for humanity. A number of African countries with small populations experience little immigrants’ problems as compared to those with larger populations. Conclusion: This article concludes that the best approach to immigrants is the approach in which immigrants are integrated into the society rather than being put in refugee camps, which isolate them from the society.
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spelling doaj.art-5c75f7152fe34a47b460250c8f4d37a62022-12-21T18:56:20ZengAOSISAfrica’s Public Service Delivery & Performance Review2310-21952310-21522019-06-0171e1e710.4102/apsdpr.v7i1.285177Refugees and immigrants in Africa: Where is an African Ubuntu?Mokoko P. Sebola0Department of Public Administration, Faculty of Management and Law, University of Limpopo, PolokwaneBackground: International conventions set principles and standards by which immigrants have to be treated in receiving countries. A general perception held is that Africans are hostile towards each other, while those in developed countries are arguably said to be welcoming to immigrants. Although the manner in which immigrants have to be treated is influenced by the Western practices, Africans adopt approaches that cannot be defined as better in terms of African values. Aim: The article investigates the unfair treatment of African immigrants in own continent because of ignoring the Ubuntu philosophy that guides the African life view. Setting: The article is located within the African continent and context. It argues that the immigration policies of some African countries reflect the life views that are slightly in contradiction of the Ubuntu philosophy which underpins the African life view. Methods: A desktop research approach was used to collect narrative materials to argue that Africans need to adopt an Ubuntu philosophy in dealing with immigrants so as to achieve their known peaceful and welcoming society. Results: From the literature perspective, it becomes apparent that very few countries in Africa adopted immigration policies that are congruent with the Ubuntuphilosophy. Immigrants from Africa are not treated with the Ubuntu approach deserved for humanity. A number of African countries with small populations experience little immigrants’ problems as compared to those with larger populations. Conclusion: This article concludes that the best approach to immigrants is the approach in which immigrants are integrated into the society rather than being put in refugee camps, which isolate them from the society.https://apsdpr.org/index.php/apsdpr/article/view/285Afrocentriceuro-centrichumanityimmigrantsrefugee.
spellingShingle Mokoko P. Sebola
Refugees and immigrants in Africa: Where is an African Ubuntu?
Africa’s Public Service Delivery & Performance Review
Afrocentric
euro-centric
humanity
immigrants
refugee.
title Refugees and immigrants in Africa: Where is an African Ubuntu?
title_full Refugees and immigrants in Africa: Where is an African Ubuntu?
title_fullStr Refugees and immigrants in Africa: Where is an African Ubuntu?
title_full_unstemmed Refugees and immigrants in Africa: Where is an African Ubuntu?
title_short Refugees and immigrants in Africa: Where is an African Ubuntu?
title_sort refugees and immigrants in africa where is an african ubuntu
topic Afrocentric
euro-centric
humanity
immigrants
refugee.
url https://apsdpr.org/index.php/apsdpr/article/view/285
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