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Why Are White People ''expats'' When The Rest Of Us Are ''immigrants''? - Travel (4) - Nairaland

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Re: Why Are White People ''expats'' When The Rest Of Us Are ''immigrants''? by bigfrancis21: 5:25pm On Sep 22, 2015
koife:
Last time I was onboard NLNG vessel for dry docking in ferrol Spain....dude in the community and dock yard were visibly surprised how a black man was able to relate and act quite nicely. They refused calling me an expat tho....probably because they thought I was black. I think its a matter of superiority complex undecided

From spending time with some whites, I have come to see things a bit from their own view. Most white grew up exposed to mostly African Americans as black people and grew up believing that blacks, aka African Americans, are representative of all black people worldwide until they come across immigrant blacks from Africa (Nigeria, Ghana etc.), the Caribbean Islands etc. they get shocked that black people are equally as capable as whites, thus shaking the very root of the white supremacy belief deeply ingrained in them since childhood. There are many whites who have no problem with this and readily accept capable black people as equals. However there are some whites that would rather prefer to live in denial rather than accept a capable black person as equal. Then there are some whites who have issues with a black person (especially black man) being smart or challenging their views (especially if the white happens to be wrong in that respect). This category of white people expects you as a black person to be dumb and allow him or her be the smart one and never challenge what they say or praise their words as 'smart' or 'intelligent'. It is as if they EXPECT you to fit into their tiny illusive box definition of blacks as somehow dumb and have a problem if you don't fit into their category. This is especially more pronounced in the work place or office. And as a smart black person, especially smart black man, expect your intelligence to be poked or 'tested' all the time.

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Re: Why Are White People ''expats'' When The Rest Of Us Are ''immigrants''? by bbdd: 6:43pm On Sep 22, 2015
bigfrancis21:


From spending time with some whites, I have come to see things a bit from their own view. Most white grew up exposed to mostly African Americans as black people and grew up believing that blacks, aka African Americans, are representative of all black people worldwide until they come across immigrant blacks from Africa (Nigeria, Ghana etc.) and they get shocked that black people are equally as capable as whites, thus shaking the very root of the white supremacy belief deeply ingrained in them since childhood. There are many whites who have no problem with this and readily accept capable people. However there are some whites would rather prefer to live in denial rather than accept a capable black person as equal. Then there are some whites who have issues with a black person (especially black man) being smart or challenging their views (especially if the white happens to be wrong in that respect). This category of white people expects you as a black person to be dumb and allow him or her be the smart one and never challenge what they say or praise their words as 'smart' or 'intelligent'. It is as if they EXPECT you to fit into their tiny illusive box definition of blacks as somehow dumb and have a problem if you don't fit into their category. This is especially more pronounced in the work place or office. And as a smart black person, especially smart black man, expect your intelligence to be poked or 'tested' all the time.


Living in the south,
I get this all the time. Southern whites sort of expect a black man to be dumb by default do they're very intrigued (sometimes in a good way, sometimes in a bad way) when they see intelligent black people from Africa.

It shocks them to their core. I had a discussion with a man who was wrong BTW and when I cornered him in the conversation, the only thing he could come back with was an insult to Nigeria.
I just laughed.

3 Likes

Re: Why Are White People ''expats'' When The Rest Of Us Are ''immigrants''? by mysteryman2014: 7:26pm On Sep 22, 2015
pansophist:
In the lexicon of human migration there are still hierarchical words, created with the purpose of putting white people above everyone else. One of those remnants is the word “expat”

What is an expat? And who is an expat? According to Wikipedia, “an expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person temporarily or permanently residing in a country other than that of the person’s upbringing. The word comes from the Latin terms ex (‘out of’) and patria (‘country, fatherland’)”.

Defined that way, you should expect that any person going to work outside of his or her country for a period of time would be an expat, regardless of his skin colour or country. But that is not the case in reality; expat is a term reserved exclusively for western white people going to work abroad.

Africans are immigrants. Arabs are immigrants. Asians are immigrants. However, Europeans are expats because they can’t be at the same level as other ethnicities. They are superior. Immigrants is a term set aside for ‘inferior races’.

Don’t take my word for it. The Wall Street Journal, the leading financial information magazine in the world, has a blog dedicated to the life of expats and recently they featured a story ‘Who is an expat, anyway?’. Here are the main conclusions: “Some arrivals are described as expats; others as immigrants; and some simply as migrants. It depends on social class, country of origin and economic status. It’s strange to hear some people in Hong Kong described as expats, but not others. Anyone with roots in a western country is considered an expat … Filipino domestic helpers are just guests, even if they’ve been here for decades. Mandarin-speaking mainland Chinese are rarely regarded as expats … It’s a double standard woven into official policy.”

The reality is the same in Africa and Europe. Top African professionals going to work in Europe are not considered expats. They are immigrants. Period. “I work for multinational organisations both in the private and public sectors. And being black or coloured doesn’t gain me the term “expat”. I’m a highly qualified immigrant, as they call me, to be politically correct,” says an African migrant worker.

Most white people deny that they enjoy the privileges of a racist system. And why not? But our responsibility is to point out and to deny them these privileges, directly related to an outdated supremacist ideology. If you see those “expats” in Africa, call them immigrants like everyone else. If that hurts their white superiority, they can jump in the air and stay there. The political deconstruction of this outdated worldview must continue.

http://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2015/mar/13/white-people-expats-immigrants-migration?CMP=fb_gu

Nice piece
Re: Why Are White People ''expats'' When The Rest Of Us Are ''immigrants''? by Nobody: 7:56pm On Sep 22, 2015
bqlekan:
Racism

Killer speech by Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe:

“Racism will never end as long as white cars are stil using black tyres.

Racism will never end if people still use black to symbolise bad luck and white for peace.

Racism will never end if people still wear white clothes to weddings and black clothes to funerals.

Racism will never end as long as those who don’t pay their bills are blacklisted not white listed.

Even when playing snooker. You haven’t won until you’ve sunk the black ball, and the white ball must remain on the table.

But I don’t care, as long as I’m sitting my black ass on a white closet and still using white toilet paper to wipe my black ass I’m happy.... grin grin grin

So on point
Re: Why Are White People ''expats'' When The Rest Of Us Are ''immigrants''? by TOKOLOSHE: 9:23pm On Sep 22, 2015
Hey guys and gals, don't be racist, let love rule the day and be aware of differences in culture!

The difference between expats and immigrants according to the TOKOLOSHE is...

Expats come from similar cultures and assimilate into their host nations fairly effortlessly. Immigrants come from different cultures which they hold to rather than assimilating themselves into the host cultures, creating a permanent "difference". Not to say that one is superior to the other, but the cultural difference is what will tell.

Anyhow, being called an immigrant is not that bad. Try going to South Africa and see how the black guys there treat you. You will be called a foreigner up until the time you are called a bbq.
Re: Why Are White People ''expats'' When The Rest Of Us Are ''immigrants''? by koife(m): 11:24pm On Sep 22, 2015
bigfrancis21:


From spending time with some whites, I have come to see things a bit from their own view. Most white grew up exposed to mostly African Americans as black people and grew up believing that blacks, aka African Americans, are representative of all black people worldwide until they come across immigrant blacks from Africa (Nigeria, Ghana etc.) and they get shocked that black people are equally as capable as whites, thus shaking the very root of the white supremacy belief deeply ingrained in them since childhood. There are many whites who have no problem with this and readily accept capable people. However there are some whites would rather prefer to live in denial rather than accept a capable black person as equal. Then there are some whites who have issues with a black person (especially black man) being smart or challenging their views (especially if the white happens to be wrong in that respect). This category of white people expects you as a black person to be dumb and allow him or her be the smart one and never challenge what they say or praise their words as 'smart' or 'intelligent'. It is as if they EXPECT you to fit into their tiny illusive box definition of blacks as somehow dumb and have a problem if you don't fit into their category. This is especially more pronounced in the work place or office. And as a smart black person, especially smart black man, expect your intelligence to be poked or 'tested' all the time.

Spot on
Re: Why Are White People ''expats'' When The Rest Of Us Are ''immigrants''? by mavelos1o(m): 11:36pm On Sep 22, 2015
na things like this dey start War. before you know some people go vex. dey carry bomb for bag dey waka. for heaven who send you weda you be expat? park well jor and enta hell. me i no send, in the end we all DIE.
Re: Why Are White People ''expats'' When The Rest Of Us Are ''immigrants''? by mikolo80: 1:29am On Sep 23, 2015
you're an expat when you're needed
you're an immigrant when you're a nuisance
pansophist:
In the lexicon of human migration there are still hierarchical words, created with the purpose of putting white people above everyone else. One of those remnants is the word “expat”

What is an expat? And who is an expat? According to Wikipedia, “an expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person temporarily or permanently residing in a country other than that of the person’s upbringing. The word comes from the Latin terms ex (‘out of’) and patria (‘country, fatherland’)”.

Defined that way, you should expect that any person going to work outside of his or her country for a period of time would be an expat, regardless of his skin colour or country. But that is not the case in reality; expat is a term reserved exclusively for western white people going to work abroad.

Africans are immigrants. Arabs are immigrants. Asians are immigrants. However, Europeans are expats because they can’t be at the same level as other ethnicities. They are superior. Immigrants is a term set aside for ‘inferior races’.

Don’t take my word for it. The Wall Street Journal, the leading financial information magazine in the world, has a blog dedicated to the life of expats and recently they featured a story ‘Who is an expat, anyway?’. Here are the main conclusions: “Some arrivals are described as expats; others as immigrants; and some simply as migrants. It depends on social class, country of origin and economic status. It’s strange to hear some people in Hong Kong described as expats, but not others. Anyone with roots in a western country is considered an expat … Filipino domestic helpers are just guests, even if they’ve been here for decades. Mandarin-speaking mainland Chinese are rarely regarded as expats … It’s a double standard woven into official policy.”

The reality is the same in Africa and Europe. Top African professionals going to work in Europe are not considered expats. They are immigrants. Period. “I work for multinational organisations both in the private and public sectors. And being black or coloured doesn’t gain me the term “expat”. I’m a highly qualified immigrant, as they call me, to be politically correct,” says an African migrant worker.

Most white people deny that they enjoy the privileges of a racist system. And why not? But our responsibility is to point out and to deny them these privileges, directly related to an outdated supremacist ideology. If you see those “expats” in Africa, call them immigrants like everyone else. If that hurts their white superiority, they can jump in the air and stay there. The political deconstruction of this outdated worldview must continue.

http://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2015/mar/13/white-people-expats-immigrants-migration?CMP=fb_gu
Re: Why Are White People ''expats'' When The Rest Of Us Are ''immigrants''? by Nobody: 6:17am On Sep 23, 2015
pansophist:


Well said!

I think its a nationality thing. For example even some group of white people are seen as immigrants too in the western world (e.g non western Europeans like Polish, Bulgarian, Ukrainian, Romanian etc), its apparent in the UK and `ireland, to name a few. If youre are from a 1st world country, its very easy to escape the ''immigrant'' label.

There have never be a situation of mass immigration of westerners to Africa (or to a 3rd world country) and for the past 60 years, its has always been a diametrical opposite quotidian event. An American for example can easily be perceived as an Expat because to most, its very preposterous to immigrate to Africa.

In the western world, the label of the word ''immigrant'' usually mean migrating for a better life and most of the non western migrant fit into this category, thats just the underlying truth. The handful (if not majority) of the Western workers in Nigeria are Expats, not immgrants. They are not here to look for a job, descend so low to jobs most natives will not like to do, thats the difference, although I recognise that not all Africans fit into the category of an immigrant.


How about westerners in Zimbabwe, Southern Africa countries. I guess If the West discovered oil in Nigeria pre-independence, it wont be same thing now. Everybody is looking for better opportunity. West will go to developing countries and invest because of economy advantages. As you rightly said they, the West, have the advantages.Our value system seems weakly and grossly deficient to challenge them. But with God all things are possible.
Re: Why Are White People ''expats'' When The Rest Of Us Are ''immigrants''? by Nobody: 8:49am On Sep 23, 2015
I don't see anything racist here. If you invited to come live and work in a country, then you can be considered an expatriate. But if you are non-invited, that makes you an immigrant.

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Re: Why Are White People ''expats'' When The Rest Of Us Are ''immigrants''? by Africanpride: 9:51am On Sep 23, 2015
Go ask our stupid leaders who have nor value for her citizens, or you might as well ask our ancestors who treated this white animals as mini god.

Better still ask yourself why do you still see white animals as special, or you can as well ask me why i I'm a racist to white people most expecially Asian or Indians.


Every little opportunity i get i like beating the shit out of them or just insulting them.


Fuc-k white animals, fuc-k Asians.
Re: Why Are White People ''expats'' When The Rest Of Us Are ''immigrants''? by tonyx4x44(m): 10:22am On Sep 23, 2015
bqlekan:
Racism

Killer speech by Zimbabwe President Robert Mugabe:

“Racism will never end as long as white cars are stil using black tyres.

Racism will never end if people still use black to symbolise bad luck and white for peace.

Racism will never end if people still wear white clothes to weddings and black clothes to funerals.

Racism will never end as long as those who don’t pay their bills are blacklisted not white listed.

Even when playing snooker. You haven’t won until you’ve sunk the black ball, and the white ball must remain on the table.

But I don’t care, as long as I’m sitting my black ass on a white closet and still using white toilet paper to wipe my black ass I’m happy.... grin grin grin
speech or no speech


mugabe is also a racist...
Re: Why Are White People ''expats'' When The Rest Of Us Are ''immigrants''? by Rotji(m): 10:46am On Sep 23, 2015
You need to come to the Oil and Gas industry in Nigeria to understand the magnitude of this write up, I've always been pained when I see the great injustice we allow even against ourselves in our own country. In fact from today I'll never call any foreigner an expat and just like Kinta Kunte I'll refuse to be addressed as an immigrant but an expat when I go to the West. Shikenan!!
Re: Why Are White People ''expats'' When The Rest Of Us Are ''immigrants''? by pansophist(m): 2:58pm On Sep 23, 2015
Africanpride:
Go ask our stupid leaders who have nor value for her citizens, or you might as well ask our ancestors who treated this white animals as mini god.

Better still ask yourself why do you still see white animals as special, or you can as well ask me why i I'm a racist to white people most expecially Asian or Indians.


Every little opportunity i get i like beating the shit out of them or just insulting them.


Fuc-k white animals, fuc-k Asians.

Treating others as you treat yourself is the fundamental way to relate, do not stoop below this standards. Where the problem lies is treating others better than you treat yourself or your own peoplem this is where the problem lies.

Historically, African culture has always be receptive unlike the western culture, we should derive pride from that. Another crux is the ignorance of life in the west to most Africans.
Re: Why Are White People ''expats'' When The Rest Of Us Are ''immigrants''? by Fulaman198(m): 5:58pm On Sep 23, 2015
GlorifiedTunde:
grin

The word "Expat" is just used for sourced from another country.

But in Nigeria we worship any white skin we see - Terrible mentality sad

Not all Nigerians do, especially not Fulani people.
Re: Why Are White People ''expats'' When The Rest Of Us Are ''immigrants''? by Nobody: 10:36pm On Sep 23, 2015
pansophist:
In the lexicon of human migration there are still hierarchical words, created with the purpose of putting white people above everyone else. One of those remnants is the word “expat”

What is an expat? And who is an expat? According to Wikipedia, “an expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person temporarily or permanently residing in a country other than that of the person’s upbringing. The word comes from the Latin terms ex (‘out of’) and patria (‘country, fatherland’)”.

Defined that way, you should expect that any person going to work outside of his or her country for a period of time would be an expat, regardless of his skin colour or country. But that is not the case in reality; expat is a term reserved exclusively for western white people going to work abroad.

Africans are immigrants. Arabs are immigrants. Asians are immigrants. However, Europeans are expats because they can’t be at the same level as other ethnicities. They are superior. Immigrants is a term set aside for ‘inferior races’.

Don’t take my word for it. The Wall Street Journal, the leading financial information magazine in the world, has a blog dedicated to the life of expats and recently they featured a story ‘Who is an expat, anyway?’. Here are the main conclusions: “Some arrivals are described as expats; others as immigrants; and some simply as migrants. It depends on social class, country of origin and economic status. It’s strange to hear some people in Hong Kong described as expats, but not others. Anyone with roots in a western country is considered an expat … Filipino domestic helpers are just guests, even if they’ve been here for decades. Mandarin-speaking mainland Chinese are rarely regarded as expats … It’s a double standard woven into official policy.”

The reality is the same in Africa and Europe. Top African professionals going to work in Europe are not considered expats. They are immigrants. Period. “I work for multinational organisations both in the private and public sectors. And being black or coloured doesn’t gain me the term “expat”. I’m a highly qualified immigrant, as they call me, to be politically correct,” says an African migrant worker.

Most white people deny that they enjoy the privileges of a racist system. And why not? But our responsibility is to point out and to deny them these privileges, directly related to an outdated supremacist ideology. If you see those “expats” in Africa, call them immigrants like everyone else. If that hurts their white superiority, they can jump in the air and stay there. The political deconstruction of this outdated worldview must continue.

http://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2015/mar/13/white-people-expats-immigrants-migration?CMP=fb_gu
Re: Why Are White People ''expats'' When The Rest Of Us Are ''immigrants''? by Nobody: 10:40pm On Sep 23, 2015
Its probably because white people own those economies. That's why they also do not need visas to visit the "third world." Where is the second world, by the way..
Re: Why Are White People ''expats'' When The Rest Of Us Are ''immigrants''? by goldedprince: 4:22am On Sep 10, 2016
The reason why africa especially Nigeria will never go forword is because of people with ur type of mentality.
An expat is someone that legally travels to another country to work legally. While ab immigrant is someone that just leaves jis country to a country uninvited. Most africans, asians and arabs travel to countries uninvited.
Nigerians especially will travel to europe with tourist or social visa then run away and start lookjng for illegal jobs. Guys resort to drugs abd girls resort to prostitution. Why the flying fck should they be adressed as expats. When i worked as a quality control officer in a company in Australia, i was classified as an expat. Guy, your post is senseless

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