Malawi condemns racist video made for sale in China

Runako Celina

The Malawian government has told the BBC that the racism revealed in a BBC Africa Eye investigation about Malawian children being exploited in videos made for sale on Chinese social media is an “insult to the Malawian children and it is also an insult to the Malawian nation”.

Patricia Kaliati, the minister for gender, disability, children and social affairs, says the government has launched an investigation into the claims.

It’s a lucrative industry – the so-called blessings videos sold on Chinese social media sites can fetch up to $70 (£57) each.

Many of the videos are to wish happy birthday or good luck, but some have offensive and racist content.

In one such video, a group of young children is made to chant – in Chinese - “I’m a black monster. My IQ is low” – clearly unaware of what they are saying.

BBC Africa Eye tracked down one Chinese filmmaker, Lu Ke, whose racist views were caught on camera as an undercover reporter posed as a potential buyer.

The government says it’s launching an investigation into the claims made in the documentary.

“It is really, very bad, and we are investigating on that – we have reported this to the Director of Children, as well as the Director of Social Affairs on the ground, to investigate about it and for the person to be arrested. It is an insult to the Malawian children and it is also an insult to the Malawian nation," said Ms Kaliati.

"We have people, we have investors, we have visitors, we have foreigners in our country but we do respect them and respect their rights. There is no way that when they are here in the country, and they start abusing our children. That we cannot tolerate as the Malawian government."

In the BBC Africa Eye report, Lu Ke denied that he made the “low IQ video” and says he made his videos in order to spread Chinese culture to the local community.

This article originally appeared on BBC News

Photo: BBC