Keep your America, Mr Trump, and we’ll keep our Africa

On June 16, The New York Times disclosed that United States President Donald Trump is considering broadening his question prohibition database to see arsenic galore arsenic 36 further countries, astir of them African – including my country, Zimbabwe.

Twelve days earlier, Trump had enacted a proclamation barring citizens from 12 nations from entering the US. Seven of them – Chad, Congo Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Libya, Somalia, and Sudan – are African.

He besides imposed partial question restrictions, alternatively than a implicit ban, connected individuals from Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan, and Venezuela. Citizens from these nations are barred from permanently relocating to the US oregon obtaining tourer oregon pupil visas.

As promised connected the run trail, Trump is cracking down connected immigration.

For the archetypal clip successful my life, I present look the bonzer imaginable of being barred from travelling to the US – a federation that respective of my household members and friends telephone home.

My cousin, Dr Anna Mhaka, for example, completed her aesculapian studies and practised exclusively successful the US. Spencer Matare, a erstwhile classmate, has lived successful Indianapolis for much than 2 decades and is simply a US citizen.

Despite the Trump administration’s governmental grandstanding and vilification of migrants – some ineligible and undocumented – Anna and Spencer, similar millions of others, are industrious, law-abiding members of US society.

I cognize galore successful Africa anticipation to travel successful their footsteps, and are profoundly alarmed by the increasing barriers to migration that Trump has erected.

Yet, I americium not 1 of them.

Since graduating from the University of Cape Town successful 1997, I person ne'er felt inclined to question to America – fto unsocial unrecorded there.

I recognise that this makes maine thing of an anomaly.

I travel from a clip and spot wherever the West was idealised – romanticised done the assimilated lens of an Anglicised upbringing. That longing was each astir me, not conscionable successful my assemblage but crossed the African continent, shaped by the enduring legacies of French, Portuguese, Spanish and British assemblage rule. Yet it was ne'er mine.

On International Migrants Day – December 18, 2024 – Afrobarometer released a study based connected information from 24 African countries. It recovered that 49 percent of Africans had considered emigrating, with North America and Europe the apical destinations – though a important fig preferred relocation wrong Africa.

Nearly 49 percent cited the hunt for amended enactment opportunities arsenic their crushed for wanting to emigrate; 29 percent pointed to poorness and economical hardship.

Many Africans inactive judge successful the “American dream” – oregon its European equivalent – and I bash not begrudge them. Across the US, Africans person recovered occurrence successful business, academia, and sport. The precocious NBA prima Dikembe Mutombo, from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), is simply a lawsuit successful point.

During his lifetime, Mutombo donated $15m of his wealthiness to found the Biamba Marie Mutombo Hospital successful Kinshasa – a $29m aesculapian and probe centre built successful representation of his mother, who died successful 1997 aft failing to person timely care.

Her tragic, though common, communicative reflects the deep-rooted socioeconomic challenges crossed Africa – the precise conditions that proceed to thrust emigration: Broken healthcare systems, entrenched corruption, unemployment, poverty. In contrast, the US often appears arsenic a refuge.

A January 2022 study by the Pew Research Center connected Black immigrants successful the US showed that African-born Black immigrants are among the astir caller arrivals: Three-quarters came successful 2000 oregon later, with 43 percent arriving betwixt 2010 and 2019.

Though the Caribbean remains the apical root region, Africa has spurred overmuch of the caller growth. Between 2000 and 2019, the fig of Black African immigrants roseate by 246 percent – from astir 600,000 to 2 million. Today, individuals of African descent relationship for 42 percent of the US’s foreign-born Black colonisation – up from 23 percent successful 2000.

When I archetypal heard of Trump’s projected visa bans, I felt profound disdain. It was intolerable not to callback his infamous “shithole countries” remark from January 11, 2018 – different enactment of radical profiling aimed astatine African nations.

But, connected reflection, I person travel to spot his divisive, insular policies successful a antithetic light.

On January 20, helium froze US assistance to Africa.

Now, helium is adjacent to denying galore of america visas – from Burkina Faso to Cameroon and Ivory Coast.

Unwittingly, Trump is nudging African nations towards greater self-reliance – forcing america to face the unmet needs of our restless populations.

But helium is not unsocial successful “anti-African” politicking.

Anti-immigration rhetoric has hardened crossed the US governmental spectrum. For Africans, adjacent securing a pupil visa has go harder. In 2023, sub-Saharan African countries had the highest US visa refusal rates – averaging 57 percent. Excluding Southern Africa, wherever rejection sits astatine astir 19 percent, the complaint crossed different regions rises to 61 percent.

These declining approvals bash not impact me, arsenic I person nary tendency to sojourn oregon settee successful the United States.

My reluctance to acceptable ft successful the alleged “land of the free” stems from a deep-seated fear: The fearfulness of becoming yet different unfortunate of American constabulary brutality – arsenic the satellite witnessed with the execution of George Floyd successful Minneapolis connected May 25, 2020. I cognize that Black radical – African oregon different – are acold excessively often subjected to racism, unit and favoritism successful the US, careless of their migration status.

But racially charged constabulary brutality is not the lone crushed I take to enactment away. There are galore much reasons for an African ne'er to see settling there.

Many Americans conflict with the same, deep-rooted problems facing Africans crossed the continent. Roughly 29 cardinal adults successful the US conflict to entree affordable healthcare, according to the West Health-Gallup healthcare indices – a situation arsenic acquainted successful Kinshasa arsenic it is successful galore parts of America. In 2023, the US Census Bureau reported that 36.8 cardinal Americans were surviving successful poverty.

Despite the glossy illusion projected by Hollywood, the US is nary utopia.

While radical similar Anna and Spencer person succeeded there, for astir Africans determination is nary way to achieving the “American dream”. They indispensable find their futures wrong their ain countries oregon successful different parts of Africa.

A immense translation is needed.

China, aft all, achieved sweeping economical betterment successful conscionable 40 years.

With Africa’s immense mineral wealthiness and its young, educated population, akin alteration is possible. A absorption connected home processing of earthy materials could thrust concern growth, occupation creation, and higher gross home product.

But bid and bully governance indispensable travel first. And our concern priorities indispensable change. Rather than pouring wealth into defence and security, African governments should absorption connected artificial intelligence, healthcare, and technological research.

As Africans, we indispensable halt defining ourselves done Western aid, validation, oregon instruction.

Whatever comes, I volition stay successful the motherland.

Keep your America, Mr Trump – and we volition support our Africa.

The views expressed successful this nonfiction are the author’s ain and bash not needfully bespeak Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.