Africa-Press – Ethiopia. When I moved to South Africa as Zambia’s High Commissioner, I was shocked to learn of the in-fighting, polarisation and divisive spirit where Zambians engage in angry fights, gossip and long pitied battles dividing families at the Embassy and in the Zambian Community.
I made it my mission to bring and build a team amongst my diplomatic staff and to forge genuine sense of unity in the Zambian Community despite the political differences that usually perpetrated the unnecessary tensions.
I soon found an opportunity to help deploy patriotism, love and unity using national events.
National Days; Africa Freedom Day(25th May), Independence Celebrations (24th October) and Day of National Prayer, were important to me.
To this extent, we went to great lengths with the Zambians and the business communities (you know these activities are not funded by government) to host elaborate events.
At these events, the Zambian Community abroad is well-organised if you give them space and bring them together.
The families cooked delicious Zambian or African meals,the business community many times, met cost of banquets halls (Sheraton Hotel is not cheap especially for Independence Celebrations where we were hosting South African Ministers and Ambassadors from other countries).
We used these events to forge a sense of unity in the community to help overcome the polarization in this PF/UPND divisive environment.
South Africa became special to us.
The Zambia Association in South Africa (ZASA) had a visionary leadership. We grew in establishing a register, the identity and numbers of registered Zambians in South Africa, from about 4,000 to 15,000 with their addresses and phone numbers.
This helped in times of crisis such as the xenophobic attacks against foreign nationals.
The Day of National Prayer was designed in the way that it was inter-denominational, with choirs organised by the catholic community, and homilies and sermons by pastors from across other faiths.
If you look at the pictures, you will find that Zambians from Capetown, Durban, East London, Mafikeng and other town and cities began to troop for the national events, at their own cost and sacrificing work days, taking leave, as these events are usually not national days in South Africa.
When we were transferred from South Africa to Ethiopia, we found a small community of about 100 families, Zambians, mostly professionals working for the African Union (AU), United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the Catholic Church.
But even in Ethiopia, wiyh such a small number of Zambians, we worked with the Association of Zambian in Ethiopia (AZE) to begin to gather Zambians to unite in hosting these events.
But in all this, I found words of encouragement from a renowned Zambian Medical Doctor living in Capetown.
“The Embassy is warm now, welcoming, and truly carrying a Zambian spirit of One-Zambia-One-Nation. I feel at home to be here. I stopped coming to the Embassy before you as every service, even a travel document was nightmare, we were treated like we are fake, or foreigners, or conmen. Imagine suffering the shame twice. South Africans treat as foreigners and then your own Embassy gives you similar treatment”
I began to share my story and best practices with fellow ambassadors who were facing similar tensions in their communities to help foster of a snense of unity among Zambians living abroad.
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