By YKA Staff:
On the night of May 21, Masonda Ketanda Olivier, a Congolese teacher who lived in Delhi, was allegedly beaten to death by a group of men who were intoxicated. And the reason? The three men insisted on boarding the auto rickshaw Olivier had hailed, and at his refusal, they beat, chased and brutally assailed him with stones. Despite being in India for 5 years, Olivier was still seen as an outsider. Just a week after this brutal incident, attacks on 4 Africans were reported in Delhi’s Chhatarpur area, for which 5 men have been arrested. This isn’t an isolated chain of incidents – in the past too, immigrants and foreigners have been subjected to racism.
In response to the unrest following the brutal assault, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj had earlier stated that this “was not a racist attack”. After this blatant ignorance, the minister has now tweeted this appeal.
I appeal to fellow Indians. Next time you meet an African citizen, pl shake hand and say 'India loves you'.
Pl RT— Sushma Swaraj (@SushmaSwaraj) June 2, 2016
Not only does this try to over simplify the situation, it continues to turn a blind eye towards the racism that we really need to counter.
Obviously, Twitter users had a fair share to say in response.
Touché
https://twitter.com/Hardism/status/738232970113208321
When we will treat fellow Indians with respect?
.@SushmaSwaraj Please also appeal to Delhiites that next time they see a Northeastern person, say, "Delhi loves you".
— Indian Tippler/भारतीय टिप्लर (@MrTippler) June 2, 2016
.@SushmaSwaraj Ma'am, first appeal to these Shiv Sena-MNS guys first, that next time they meet a Bihari guy, say "Maharashtra loves you".
— Indian Tippler/भारतीय टिप्लर (@MrTippler) June 2, 2016
YES. Exactly.
Better still. Urge fellow Indians to not be racist and xenophobic. Let's truly change who we are. @apercevoir
— Harish (@HarishSub) June 2, 2016
Fair enough.
Please do not over do it. Been 2 other countries No one told me their country loves me. Appeal to treat foreigners normally Pl
— Dr Promila Suri(Modi’s Parivar) (@PromilaSuri) June 2, 2016
Equality is for everyone
sure madam, also do appeal to fellow bhakts: next time you meet a Muslim or a Dalit, pl shake hand and say 'India loves you'.
— Pravin Mishra (@mishra_pravin) June 2, 2016
LOL
. @SushmaSwaraj don't advocate western methods. Advise people to do Namaste. Bharat Mata Ki Jai
— Sashank SV (@svsashank) June 2, 2016
Geography class anyone?
.@SushmaSwaraj African citizen? Africa is not a country
— Gautam Das Putra (@GautamKuPutra) June 2, 2016
Love solves everything (not)
https://twitter.com/threeinchfooll/status/738258539601223680
Practice what you preach.
https://twitter.com/BeingHumanChan_/status/738243987849510913
This says it all.
https://twitter.com/mihira_sood/status/738310008379674624
Unfortunately, there were quite a few out there who proved just how much racism is prevalent in the country and how important it is to first change our mindsets.
https://twitter.com/engineerology/status/738229089211797504
https://twitter.com/Halmidi/status/738229105313886208
https://twitter.com/chatriydagar/status/738311426897379330