On why the Swedish
minister’s Apology is really a non-apology
minister said in a statement.
"While the symbolism in the piece is despicable, it is unfortunate and highly regrettable that the presentation has been interpreted as an expression of racism by some. The artistic intent was the exact opposite."
Firstly there are many things wrong with what the
minister believes is an apology. It makes an excuse for her participation in
the whole project. This is why she is being challenged; not because people are
misinterpreting her participation, but that she should not have participated at
all once she realized what she was expected to do. As a national leader it is
her responsibility to ensure that she does not in any way tarnish her office
through dubious or in this case outrageous associations. It is also her
responsibility to ensure that all the constituents she represents are treated
with equity under the law. The idea that she participated because she had been
asked to talk about “freedom of expression and the right to offend”, is no
excuse for her involvement in what was a mockery of African women by depicting
them as a grotesque caricature. In this day and age, 2012, global village,
social media and all that, her gross failure in judgment has left her probably
one of the most controversial women around the globe at this time. She has
demonstrated a total lack of cultural competence, a lack of awareness that in
this day and age it is racist and egregious to use imagery that evokes the
despicable era of black slavery and colonialism, evils that the whole world has
condemned. The black woman cake is highly offensive and evokes haunting and
degrading images of the Minstrel shows in which white actors painted themselves
black and performed degrading stereotypes of African Americans and Africans in
Europe as stupid, lazy and less than human beings. The African Community in
Sweden has, understandably, no faith that this Minister can ever represent
them, because her participation in this project placed her squarely on the side
of those who believe that racism is not a problem in Sweden. She has placed
herself on the side of those who think black people who are offended by this
caricature of black womanhood are “too sensitive”, therefore trivializing their
genuine hurt and anger.
Secondly it is not the symbolism of this cake that is
despicable it is the actual cake itself! What is truly despicable is the
enactment of cutting the genital area by the Minister and the accompanying
screams by the artist Makode Linde, who then goes on to face book and
writes: “This is after getting my vagaga
mutilated by the minister of culture, Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth. Before cutting
me up she whispered ‘Your life will be better after this’ in my ear.” This is
really a mockery of women who have undergone Female genital cutting, an issue
that this project was supposed to highlight. How do you justify mocking and
degrading a group of people as a way of raising awareness? So you highlighted
the serious and devastating issue of female genital cutting by cutting an ugly
cake, while laughing and drinking and taking pictures? The outcry from women
who have had experienced genital cutting and women who work for the eradication
of this cultural/ public health problem has been enormous.
Thirdly, an apology that contains ‘mis’ words is always
suspect. The phrase “ Anyone who misinterpreted”,
apportions blame on those who feel slighted. It insinuates that they are the
ones who got it wrong and who do not have the intellectual capacity to understand
the artists’ intent. The minister adds more insult to injury with this “non-apology”.
In the light of this global outcry, the minister’s
apology rings hollow because she refuses to take ownership of the huge public
relations and political blunder that she has made. This renders her less
respectable and unfit for the post she holds. The point is that people are
angry and people feel insulted. Any politician worth their salt would rush to
do damage control instead of uttering patronizing statements in the name of
apology.
In the same vein, the Swedish government has been silent
about this issue, an issue which has the potential to have political fallout
and to tarnish the image of Sweden. It is obvious that they do not care, just
the same way that they do not care about the Africans who live and work and pay
taxes in Sweden who are subjected to racism but are told again and again that
“there is no racism in Sweden”.
In 2011, Jallow Momodou reported to the police that students
were having a party in which they were painted black with slave chains around
their necks.
“Apart from threats against me and my family, a
manipulated picture of me as a slave in shackles was made into posters bearing
the words, in Swedish: "This is our runaway nigger slave and he answers to
the name Jallow Momodou. If you should find him please call this number."
These were put up in several different spots around my workplace, Malmö University.
But hey, “there is no racism in Sweden”.
In 2010 a white Swedish man went on a shooting spree in
Malmo, shooting more than 20 people of color and killing one. The killer was
officially considered to be an isolated case with psychological issues, but not
a terrorist with racist motives. This man has still not been prosecuted, and
“there is no racism in Sweden”.
In early 2012, there was uproar over a sex education
film in which a black man was having sex with a white girl. There were over half a million comments by Swedes
who were appalled and disgusted that a white girl would degrade herself by
sleeping with a black man. Others were lamenting the contamination of the pure
Swedish gene pool. Once again, there was no comment about the blatant racist
comments by any political leader, because ‘there is no racism in Sweden.”
WAKE UP SWEDEN! Being silent about
this issue and denying the existence of a serious human rights violation only
means one thing, that you are giving racism a seal of approval, something which
goes against the Durban Declaration and Program of Action (September 2001).
States were required to sign their commitment to combating contemporary forms
of racism against Blacks, Muslims, xenophobia, negrophobia and anti-Semitism.
Sweden is a signatory to the Durban Declaration. Honor your commitment SWEDEN!
Sweden is not an island and the
context is the global village.
Barbara Mhangami
Dr. Claudette Carr –Director of the Jethrow
Institute for Good Governance
Samantha Asamandu –Black Feminists UK
Minna Salami
Black Women’s Blueprint
No comments:
Post a Comment