India is a great country to stay: Africans in Delhi

Putting behind them a "raid" on their residences in south Delhi earlier this year, many Africans say the Indian capital is still their "home" and offers them an environment unlike anywhere else in the world. "India is indeed a great country. The people here are much better than in other countries, where discrimination against people from African countries is severe," James Okumurah of Johannesburg in South Africa said.

A doctoral scholar at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Okumurah lives in south Delhi's Khirki Extension, where many other Africans stay. Khirki was where Somnath Bharti, then the law minister in the short-lived Aam Aadmi Party's Delhi government, led a midnight raid, alleging that Africans staying there were involved in drugs and prostitution.

"Certain Africans may be involved (in illegal activities), but doesn't make every African the same," Okumurah asserted. Peter Masai, who works with a multinational company in Gurgaon, said after the Khirki Extension episode, more than 25 percent of the people opted to to move out of the area and reside in other parts of the city. Admitting that the episode clearly signified the rise in discrimination against the community, Masai was, however, quick to add that there were quite a few Indians who offered them help and solidarity.

"A controversy like the Khirki Extension was unexpected and shocking, and especially the way the (then) law minister alleged our people of running a drugs and prostitution ring. But it was nice to see that though a majority of the people in the area wanted us to vacate, there were still many who didn't have any problems in renting us their houses," said Masai, who belong to Zimbabwe. He added that it all depends on people's "perception" of the community.

Ebre, from Nigeria, said India is comparatively a better country to live in - and he even has plans to settle here. "I am here because the people are good. I am even planning to open a school here and develop my business in the education sector," said Ebre who lives at Arjun Nagar, also in south Delhi. He also brushed aside suggestions of racial discrimination. "People here cooperate and understand things. Following Bharti's raid, I have not faced any racial discrimination," said Ebre.

Agreed James Uhuru, and said that after the controversy, police have been more attentive to the problems of the African nationals.
"I have seen police personnel suggesting our girls not to be out late in the night, so as to avoid any kind of problems," Uhuru, who belongs to Nairobi, said. "It is very clear that India will always be a great country, but some people need to change their perception towards the people from Africa," he said.

The majority of Africans come here to study, they feel that education is one that drives them to the city. For many, the city is an area of opportunity that helps them get everything at an affordable rate. "Be it education or accessing health services, for us it is very cheap here compared to the US or European countries," said Infunanya Onyeke, who is from Kenya.
"Once you are away from home, a few things happen but that doesn't mean we will leave here and go," said Onyeke, a student at Delhi University.

IANS

Goodluck Jonathan sworn in as Nigerian President

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan was sworn in for his first full elected term at the helm of Africa's most populous nation on Sunday, faced with the challenge of driving reform and trying to heal regional rifts.

Heads of state from across Africa, foreign dignitaries, religious leaders and traditional rulers gathered in Eagle Square in the centre of Abuja for the ceremony and a military parade to mark the start of his four-year term.

"As president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria I will discharge my duties to the best of my ability, faithfully and in accordance with the constitution," Jonathan said as he took the oath of office.

The former zoology student won elections last month which, while far from perfect, were deemed to have reflected the will of the people in a nation that had known virtually nothing but military rule and rigged votes for the past half-century.

Jonathan emerged from the polls with a credible mandate, having won 59 percent of the vote, but with his ruling People's Democratic Party (PDP) chastened by a weaker parliamentary majority and the loss of several powerful state governorships.

Nigerians amongst hundreds of refugees just landed in Italy

A large contingent of 251 African refugees fleeing Libya arrived in Sicily on Tuesday- mostly Erireans and Nigerians; two three-year-old girls and 15 women, one of whom has had to be hospitalised with an abdominal injury,
while 116 more arrived in Malta on a boat that also carried the body of a 29-year-old woman who died during the voyage.
The refugees arriving Malta was carrying mostly Chadians and Somalis, the boat was intercepted by Maltese coast guards who received an alert from an Italian fishing boat that spotted the 50-foot (15-metre) wooden boat late Monday.
The refugees that arrived in Sicily which included Nigerians have been transferred to a temporary structure set up at Porto Empedocle in the south of the island.
A spokesman for the Maltese army said coast guards saw the refugees burning their clothes to attract the attention of passing vessels.
The refugees on the boat that arrived in Malta on Tuesday included 94 men, 18 women, a three-year-old boy and three babies. It has not yet been established how the woman on board died, the spokesman said.

Malta said it had asked Italian authorities to help with the rescue but was refused because they said the boat was 45 nautical miles from Malta and 47 nautical miles from the island of Lampedusa -- Italy's southernmost point.
Lampedusa last week refused to grant permission to enter its waters to a Maltese patrol boat which had rescued some migrants close to the island, which has been swamped with thousands of immigrants and refugees in recent weeks.
More than 1,000 people fleeing Libya have arrived in Malta in recent days.