Speaking with a Motswana

One day, I was speaking with a local Motswana and the topic of racism in America came up. They wanted to know if racism was really real and if it still existed. So, we started this dialogue about black people and their relationship to society and each other. Our conversation was so enriching that I decided to do an interview. This Motswana chose not to provide their name and I will respect their decision. Hopefully, you can gain something from our conversation as I did.

What is it like living in Botswana? 
 Living in Botswana is peaceful. Batswana are nice people to talk to. It's nice because I benefit alot personally from government programs like free education and Youth Development Fund to start your own company.

Do you have plans to ever travel outside of Botswana? 

I do have plans to travel outside Botswana, I really want to go to Europe and America just to experience the lifestyle in different countries. I want to watch football (soccer) in England in Manchester united stadium

What does the world look like from your view point or perspective considering that Botswana is one of the most peaceful countries in Africa? 

To me I see the world as a beautiful place which comprises of different cultures, customs and languages therefore this gives us an opportunity to learn from other countries where we see it fit. Sometimes I am also fearful of the violence and shedding of blood in other countries therefore as I see the world as someone pointing a gun at me. 

What do you know about African Americans / Black Americans?

What I know about African American is that they came from Africa. How? I do not have a deeper insight but I do have a little knowledge. The slaves were traded from Africa even though they did not share the same ethnic groups but one thing they had in common was a way of life that was different from the [enslavers]. They came from mostly western and central Africa. And I know them because I always see them in movies and listen to their songs and watch their videos almost everyday when I am in school. I know that they are hard workers and have big dreams in terms of following the American dream. They are great motivators.

 How are Black Americans similar and/or different from African people in Botswana or elsewhere on the continent? 

 In terms of similarities we can relate well when we talk about racism even though African Americans experience much more than us in Botswana, we also feel pain for them. They are different from us (Batswana) because I think they are more goal oriented, they can unleash their potential to excellence, they also have good facilities and beautiful buildings. Most of us think they are cool


What is your understanding of racism as it relates to African Americans?

My understanding of racism is when a person is treating another unfairly based on the skin colour of a person. Even though racism has reduced it has not eradicated, we see that in African American people, like a protest that was done recently of a young black man who was killed by a white police man, Michael Brown case. Racism still exist and is affecting African Americans.  
 

How are African Americans motivating to you? What do they motivate you to do? 

Okay, I will start by by stating my day to day activities and how I spend my day sometimes during my spare time when I am in school or when I am operating a computer. Sometimes I visit my friends, most of the time we talk about football particularly European football (soccer), and when I am alone, I would get to a computer and listen to different African American artist, Authors and comedians. For example people like Benjamin Carson, J Cole, Tupac Shakur, Oprah Winfrey, Barack Obama and Myles Munroe, etc. I listen to their interviews/songs and sometimes read their books with the objective of learning life lessons from them and this also motivate me to be a responsible person with dignity and self respect.

You say African Americans have goals and aspirations. What are some of yours? 

My goals? haha!! I have unlimited goals to achieve, okay. My first goal is to graduate from University and probably join the working class, after graduation my greatest goal is to set up a company so that it can help me finance programmes I want to set up for the kids in remote areas e.g  Maun, Shakawe, Seronga and Kgalagadi district and also areas around those places. These areas are the areas that I feel are most neglected. The kids don't get to be empowered because they don't have the same opportunities that kids in Gaborone get (like the academies for teams). The programmes that I want to do are sports academies particularly football (soccer).

What hopes or visions do you have for your own country and your people?
The vision that I have for Botswana and Batswana is for us to create our own industries. That means we should invest more in human capital. We invest in human capital through education with what our nation needs. Therefore, human capital can help us with the skills we need to create Botswana based clothing industries. There is currently a leather industry that is to be implemented very soon which is good.  As Batswana, I believe we are copying most things from the outside world. We are producing beef and providing services such as tourism. We are also making traditional baskets. We can learn how things are done in other countries but we shouldn't just import their goods. So we need to create for ourselves, have our own ideas. This will enable us to import a little bit but not too much. If we have industries in our country, automatically this will increase employment. Therefore our standard of living will increase. I believe one day this will be a reality.
















For more information on the Youth Development Fund check out this article on Dee Zone Productions : http://www.european-times.com/sector/ict/dee-zone-productions/