Over 25,000 Zimbabweans escaping xenophobia in South Africa are headed for Zambia.
It has been alleged that the individuals are trekking to Zambia through Botswana.
I was not shocked when I heard this news in the local and international media.
With scores of their colleagues dead from brutal attacks by some of our South African brothers, the Zimbabweans only have one reliable destination-Zambia.

Yes, I agree with them.
Let the victims of xenophobia come to Zambia and we shall receive them with both hands. They are our brothers and sisters since the dawn of time. Remember the pre-independence era? We cannot afford to abandon them now, when they are faced with a temporal situation.

Zimbabweans shall forever remain a part of Zambia’s history. As they come, they can be assured of whatever we can manage to put together for them to accord them a decent stay here.

In fact, I am reliably informed that the Zambia Red Cross Society has stepped up a contingency plan where it is going to shelter, feed and treat the Zimbabwean economic refugees.

Zambia is obliged to receive the Zimbabweans because they will come with skills, need for economic development. They will come with new ideas needed in many areas of human endeavor such as trade, industry, agriculture and so on.

Some critics would say that the Zimbabweans coming to Zambia would hurt our economy, but lets look at the opportunities inherent in this people. They say when one door is closed for you, God opens another, and so lets follow this adage.

Those South Africans killing others because of job scarcity must work hard and acquire skills to enable them get employed.
Throwing stones and waving hammers will not help them get skills or an occupation.

Here in Zambia, we desperately need skilled labour and thank God, he has good and mysterious ways of rewarding his children. He has blessed Zambia with an abundance of labour from Zimbabwe and condemned in South Africa.