Maravi

Dual citizenship

Dual citizenship
Written by Editor

THIS week, the issue of dual citizenship will be back on top of the National Constitutional Conference's agenda. And this time we hope to see more rationality over this issue because people had time to reflect and meditate deeply. And moreover, we cannot understand why there should be much disquisition over this issue because the Zambian people seem to have made a decision on it.

In both the Mwanakatwe and Mung'omba constitution review commissions, the Zambian people supported and recommended dual citizenship. And this being the case, why should this desire, this decision be stopped by a small group of people at the National Constitutional Conference?

We are not in any way unpatriotic by supporting and calling for dual citizenship. Being a Zambian is something that we value more than ever. But we have always placed humankind above homeland. We are internationalists, first and foremost, without ceasing to be patriots. And our people's overwhelming support for dual citizenship is not only a source of pride for us but a greater privilege than ever to be Zambian. We have very great esteem - not for the land, this isn't love of the land - and love for our people who live in this land. And to borrow from Jose Marti, "Love of homeland, mother, isn't ridiculous love of the land or of the grass under our plants; it is invisible hatred of those who oppress it, eternal animosity towards those who attack it."

For us, homeland means the people, and we have tremendous, ever-growing admiration for our people, because our people constantly improve. Sometime back, our people would have never supported or called for the idea of dual citizenship.

Dual citizenship is becoming more common in our increasingly interconnected global economy. Many countries are now seeing the advantages of dual citizenship and are liberalising their citizenship laws - India, the Philippines and Mexico are recent examples.

Dual citizenship has the advantages of broadening our country's economic base by promoting trade and investment between the dual citizens' respective countries.

And it would appear to be a waste of time to prohibit dual citizenship because so many of our people are today dual citizens. But the government doesn't know it and has no means to know and to stop it. So why try to stop the unstoppable?

Of course, opponents of dual citizenship have their arguments. They say it is dangerous for Zambia because it can lead to conflicting dual loyalties. This is not true. This overblown fear is based on two misconceptions: first, that those with dual citizenship represent misplaced loyalties that are bad for Zambia, and second, that their ties to the countries of birth are something new. But in reality, dual citizenship benefits Zambia by helping to promote our country's interests around the globe. It promotes Zambia's understanding of and connections to the world, to our own benefit economically and politically, and removes practical obstacles to naturalisation.

And also in terms of good governance, Zambians with dual citizenship will be more likely to oppose than to support despots in this country. Throughout history, governments generally have been thrilled when their opponents flee into exile. This is because those who leave a land are most likely to be displeased with its existing government.

Until recently, the fiercest opponents of dual citizenship and absentee voting have been unpopular ruling governments that feared the paper votes of citizens who already voted with their feet. Emigres often have other reasons for wanting to vote in their homelands that have nothing to do with emotion but everything to do with practical issues - especially if they have left behind family they care about and want to visit and support financially.

In many countries, you must be a citizen to own land, work legally, or participate materially in certain kinds of business. We today have many Zambians living in the Diaspora, why should we complicate their lives by denying them the rights and opportunities to be citizens of those countries without the fear of losing their Zambian citizenship?

It is in Zambia's best interest to allow dual citizenship. Political loyalty is far different from nolstagia and the desire to make things better in the land of one's birth, two emotions that we should not discourage. There is clear historical precedent that affection for - and even service to - one's homeland is not incompatible with dual citizenship.

Clearly, dual citizenship does not weaken Zambian loyalty; to the contrary, it strengthens those with dual citizenships' feelings that they are welcome by reassuring them that they will not be punished for loving their homeland any more than a child should be spanked for loving his or her mother.

What kind of country would want to make citizens out of those who do not care about the fate of the land of their birth? The old saw that a man should no more have two countries than two wives is based on a false metaphor. The better comparison is between two different kinds of loyalties, to parent and spouse: an individual is bound to one by nature and to the other by choice. One can love both equally strongly, but in different ways.

Let us seek to utilise the advantages of dual citizenship by liberalising our citizenship laws. It's time we realised that dual citizenship has advantages of broadening our country's economic base, fostering trade and investment between the dual citizens' respective countries. One of the benefits of dual citizenship is the ability of dual citizens to influence economic and political decisions in their host countries in favour of their countries of birth and descent, in our case, Zambia.

Suppose you learn that you have, or a member of your family has, dual citizenship or that you might acquire it. Would dual citizenship be good for you? Would it have more advantages than disadvantages? For some people, dual citizenship offers practical advantages - for example, social security or employment. It may also enhance the feeling of belonging because they have strong personal ties to more than one country.

And as Lusaka lawyer Dr Roger Chongwe has correctly observed, dual citizenship is a human rights issue. And if we claim to respect human rights in this country, we cannot at the same time stand in its way by denying our people the right to live meaningfully in other countries without losing their Zambian citizenship. As we have already pointed out, in some countries, it is not possible to live meaningfully, to live a secure and dignified life if you are not a citizen.

In some countries, you cannot own property in your own name, run businesses profitably, and so on and so forth if you are not a citizen. Let us not deny our people the right and opportunity to live in other countries meaningfully by denying them dual citizenship.

For these reasons, we urge the National Constitutional Conference to respect and uphold the wishes and desires of the Zambian people over the issue of dual citizenship as expressed in the recommendations of the Mwanakatwe and Mung'omba constitution review commissions.

Labels: CONSTITUTION, DUAL CITIZENSHIP, NCC

posted by MrK @ 2:04 PM