In India, Africans feel hounded by prejudice

New Delhi: If you are black, you are either a drug peddler or a prostitute. This is the reality that Africans live with in Delhi every day. A racist undertone in all interactions with people from Africa living and working in Delhi can often cloud perceptions about them. Aam Aadmi Party's Somnath Bharti was accused of racism last year after a midnight raid on an alleged drug and prostitution racket in Khirki village.Now, racism is one of the angles that the police are investigating in the killing of Oliver, a youth from Congo, in Vasant Kunj on Friday.
After last year's raid in Khirki, a large number of Africans relocated to other areas such as Sangam Vihar, Aya Nagar and Chhattarpur. Those left behind are confined to a few narrow alleys in Hauz Rani. Their businesses may be straddling a grey area, but the Africans continue to face discrimination due to the colour of their skin and the distorted presumptions about them.
Enjona from Nigeria runs a beauty salon called Marris Exotic Creations in Khirki. "Indians are racist," she says bluntly. "Someday we may face the same fate as the Congolese man. When I call home in Nigeria, I tell my family to treat Indians badly. They don't deserve to do business and live freely in Africa."
Antonia from Angola isn't quite so vehement and says she has some good Indian friends. But she still won't step out of the house after 9 pm "because men always think we are prostitutes".
Rohit Kochchar, who runs a grocery store near the salon, sums it for the locals: "We don't know what the African men do. Many probably deal in drugs. The women don't work either. Most of their visas have expired. They are still allowed to stay because they can pay higher rent."
The tension between the two sides is obvious. "The locals think Africans are evil because they are black," says Pooja Sood, director, Khoj International Artists Association, who adds that most Africans in the city are refugees. "The residents have strange ideas that Africans eat their own babies. It is a lack of education and I think it stems from a casteist approach to everything," explains Sood. "This is not to say that there are no bad people in their community. But that's there in every community. I think such discrimination only comes from the fear of the other." Several Somalian girls and boys work with Khoj, taking hip hop classes or taking up other projects, including an India-Africa project.
Shifa Zenab from Kenya, another hair dresser in Khirki, says she keeps to herself. "Now that you told me about the Congolese man, I will be even more careful," she vows. Patrick, a student from Congo living in South Extension Part I, learnt about Oliver's murder through the media. "Though such incidents don't happen regularly, it is frightening. There must have been a reason behind this intolerant act," says Patrick.
Patrick's nuanced reasoning is not shared by others of his community. In the congested Wazir Nagar colony, Bousam Hafeez of Nigeria says, "In shops, locals are always given priority. Auto drivers fleece us." His female cousin says discrimination is obvious: "We had to change our house because we did not like the landlord. While the men there never resorted to violence against us, they used to make lewd remarks about us."