Expatriate calls a domestic maid ‘slave’: Apologises to Malawi citizens after being rebuked
An expatriate Mike Harper attracted the wrath of Malawians over his comment on social media when he described a faithful Malawian maid as ‘slave’.
Expatriates in the Capital City has a Whatsapp group named ‘Lilongwe Expat Leaving/Arriving’ in which they update each other on who is leaving or arriving as well as informing each other where to get good services.
Apparently, one expat Pennie Ginn is leaving and posted on the forum informing the members that they were sad to leave behind a faithful maid who had taken very good care of them, especially their kids.
Ginn’s appraisal of the maid apparently was to inspire others who might need services of a faithful domestic that they might consider to inherit her.
But Mike Harper responded so ruthlessly by saying: “Hey why don’t you take your slave with you? Just a thought.”
This attracted a backlash from the group and the discussions went viral even on Facebook and other Whatsapp groups.
One comment said: “I bet he is well protected that’s why he can say rubbish. He needs to pack up and go. Before he goes he has to make an apology.”
Another comment said: “This is pathetic at this time and age for somebody to call another person a slave, worst of all [being] black people who suffered as slaves for people like Mr. Mike Harper. If he has a concious and is a human being the least he can do is apologize. Very sad indeed!”
Harper decided to eventually apologise but his explanation of why he went to that extent fell short of someone feeling remorseful and it was received with a pinch of salt.
He said: “Dear Emily. I’m truly sorry my post has offended and I apologised unreservedly on the page and I apologise unreservedly to you.
“My ill thought out and poorly worded post was aimed at the person who, in my opinion, tried to ‘sell’ someone on that group. It made me really angry to see that and I aimed my comment purely at him without thinking of the consequences.
“I have been told that his post had since been taken down. I am neither a bad man or a racist, just stupid now and again. God bless.”
He was attacking Ginn for trying to ‘sell’ the maid when she recommended the maid to whoever might need services of a faithful domestic that they might consider to inherit her.
There are so much mixed reactions to this apology on social media.
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Malawians are a pathetic lot. Go around Indian shops and Chinese shops. You will be shocked to see outright slavery taking place. Nobody talks but hear Mike calling a domestic worker a slave and everyone wants to shout the loudest. Foolishness at it’s best.
In my sober mind, I would urge APM to do a few things. First , he must correct the way Temporary Employment Permits(TEP) are issued in the country. These should be managed by the Ministry of Labour. The Ministry of Labour should annually get a census of how many graduates our University have graduated from Ministry of Education. In a committee where Ministry of Labour chairs, with Ministry of Home Affairs as co-chair with Education as secretary, the committee should work with ECAMA, Institute of Engineers, ICAM and other professional associations to determine and come up with criteria for issuing TEPs. Before a final decision is made on each application for a TEP, Government should check with the individual professional organizations whether we need these street vendors to come to Malawi that claim to be expatriates and all these Indians that shit by the street side back in India. Infact, if Malawi has any expatriates, they are not more than 10 and the rest are just vendors. This is why they loot and refuse to go back home. The situation is made worse owing to lack of a system of auditing who comes into the country and who lives. Home Affairs needs to fix this before the next election. Otherwise, I will do a paper and sell it to MCP, PP, PPM, AFORD and anybody who can address this problem. We have well qualified Malawian students who can do these jobs and yet the same are being given to some ungrateful sons of bitches because they have a PINK skin and are bust insulting us. This needs to stop. The country even accepts Chinese convicts to come to Malawi as traders without shame. WHERE IS OUR DIGNITY?YOU HAVE SOME INDIANS THAT BRING THE ENTIRE FAMILIES TO MALAWI AS SUPERVISORS and yet our children cannot find jobs. APM-WE KNOW YOU ARE MBAVA BUT BEFORE WE DETHRONE YOU FIX THIS ONE.
Another so called expat. It makes me laugh what these people think they are. But then am not surprised that thats how they feel about the locals. when it is an educated or uneducated africans in europe you are economic immigrants assylum seekers, spongers, criminals etc. Europeans in africa whether educated or not ‘expats’ and that includes mercenaries, paedos, Perverts, exploiters, wealth grabbers. Genuine apology, i dont think so. He is embarrased he has been caught out.
Wonder what’s wrong with us. We call these guys “Expatriates”. If you go to their country they call “Aliens” or at best “Economic Migrants”, who in this country , they are, in the truest sense.
Kamuzu could have given him 24 hrs to leave the country but I am not expecting anything from our sleeping president. He’s busy hiding K145m. However, this is what mzungu thinks about black pple. It upsets me when I see Malawians busy kissing mzungu’s ass in our own country.
The British are always ASSHOLES.I wonder why they should be talking about our people in such derogatory terms. My request to Ministry of Internal Affairs and Immigration is just deport the BAGGAR,.. These are people that cannot find any jobs back in their shithole country and pretend to be well off when they come to Malawi when they are supposed to be behind bars.AM REALLY ANNOYED AND I WILL MAKE SURE THIS BRITON GOES BACK HOME AND CONTINUE TO WORSHIP THAT WOMAN CALLED THE QUEEN..
Where are the so called human rights defenders? What are they doing? This is the issue they should be fighting not politics. Osangokhalira kudya mang’ina ku bwandilo or chilambula.
Send me his house number-like now! NOW!I WANT TO TELL HIM IN PERSON AND BUNDLE HIM OUT OF OUR BEAUTIFUL MALAWI
Dis one now na shithole muzungu.
Mike Harper looks like white trash/trailer trash, I wouldn’t lose any sleep over this ignorant fool, he needs to go back where he came from
They are all the same even here in Europe they all racist they think they are superior just boot him out after all
What is he doing there.
Even facially you can always tell a racist blood idiot big nose and ears
l wouldn’t waist my time with this mzungu!! he looks like white slave himself. apology not accepted any way! !!!
But have we all consulted our dictionaries? Esp Cambridge?
But there are a lot more of these type of so called expariates some of whom are not. They are very good at making sure that they in live in neo-colonial thinking. Some od them are littered everywhere in organisations some of whom are really less educated than Malawians and yet Malawians bear the blunt of there unrelenting nagging and shouts. There in need to scruitnise them thoroughly well before granting them the permits
Harper is IGNORANT! no matter what! you don’t go to a country and after all the hospitality they offer you you end up calling one of them a slave! shallow minded ! Uneducated! limited intellect! Mr Harper you can try but no more slavery in Africa ion case you are not up to date!
Mike Harper looks at our head of state as a slave of the West. in fact, in his world, all africans/indigenous Malawians are slaves good enough for slave wage. This is a pathetic view of the world. I would cry if the authorities don’t arrest and lock up Mike Harper. A white woman was jailed for 6 years for calling an African a monkey just a few months ago in RSA. Why would a sovereign state like Malawi ruled by a Malawians accept a white male to refer to his people as slaves. The president and the law needs to rise to the occasion this time around. This is much serious than the corruption. At least we can deal with the corruption and get the political leaders to account but this racist attitude by those who have come into the country for jobs, is totally unacceptable.
I once worked with an “expatriate ” in a reputable manufacturing company with MDC and Press Corporation shares, but the guy did not even attain secondary school education but was a “production manager” hiding behind Malawians.
That’s an honest mistake. I, a Malawian native, can see what Mike was trying to do, but obviously it didn’t come out the “correct” way. I think he was being sarcastic! I will forgive you Mike.
Harper is an idiot. Imbecille. He has slave mentality. He needs to be deported like yesterday. Mbuzi ya munthu
Dear Mike harper the best you can do is to apologise in person to Emily.Make efforts of allocating her and apologize. She is the one who is hurt and only she can forgive you sincerly.
Malawi is going through enough problems already. Be courageous enough to redress the psycological damage you have caused to Emily
Saying about the slave is bad. Since he apologised,let us give a benefit of doubt. But somehow we may also look at how maids are treated. Arent they treated like slaves?
Typical, there is even a bigger suspicious transaction where one is constructing a house at maula costing over K800 million without any traceable source of funds.
You say this thing Harper calls my sister a slave and this thing still lives in Lilongwe?
What’s it doing in the land of slaves? Sonofabitch
Can we have the CV of this racist to assess him whether he qualifies to be called an expatriate? Some of these racists do not even have enviable educational qualifications.
Why don’t you march for your stolen money?A slave is someone who works for someone so what’s wrong there?Just google understand the word SLAVE
That’s how they fooled you? They why did they ban slavery anyway? My friend, don’t side with people who don’t like you, it doesn’t help.
THAT IS HOW MOST OF AZUNGU FEEL ABOUT US, HIS APOLOGY WILL NOT CHANGE HOW HE FEELS, UNFORTUNATELY, THIS KIND OF THINKING IS SUPPORTED BY SOME AFRICANS INCLUDING “KANYERE” WEST. WHEN TRUMP CALL US MAYIKO AKUNTUMBO OR NYELO WE AGREE WITH HIM.
If the Govt does not give him twenty four hours to leave, we will teach him what Africans know best. Yes, we may be called slaves, but we have our own science that can destroy this son of a coloniser. Wait for the rainy season to come
Malawians.. So fast to deal with a stupid small issue like this, instead of dealing with bigger issues at hand like thieving presidents and K145,000,000 issues… People in the Facebook threatening to go march on the streets and beat the mzungu for a comment on social media, where are you when its time to march against the thieves in government!
True word. Sleeping Malawi
Well said my brother/sister, the guy has apologised and to me the apology is well articulated
The problem we have Malawians is we have too much anger but we express it where it is not necessary.
I second you typical
This is a bigger issue than the president thieving. At least you can deal with the president by impeaching him or not vote for his family party DPP. racism is an issue of continental/regional interest. If the colonisers don’t think much about Africans then we have a huuuuge problem in our hands. technically it means you don’t exist Mr typical as a human being other than as a slave. It explains why today Mr Typical you don’t feel like you deserve to be on this earth as an equal but a ball to be kicked left, right and centre by the colonisers. This is why you don’t see anything wrong with a fellow African being referred to as a slave. In any normal country people have been arrested for being racist. A white woman was sentenced to 6 years in jail in RSA for calling a black person a monkey……this is how serious the issue is. having said that, probably you are happy to be a slave, Mr typical and if that’s the case I am very sorry. from where other Malawians stand, they are as good as any citizen on earth.
While it is true that the incessant plunder of public resources is a national disgrace that require urgent and decisive action; we should not trivialize this matter. It is an insult to the maid and the nation that should not be condoned. The Government of Malawi should ask this rude, arrogant, and impudent stranger to go back to his home. Sad!!
But its true, that is some sort of slavery.
no sir in UK when a white woman cleans my house and feeds my children I don’t call her a slave! I call her a help and I thank her even though I pay her! Come on stop deamining yourselves! if you are unhappy with the sate of pay then make noise via correct channels and get that corrected! DON’T EVER THINK OF YOURSELF AS A SLAVE! work towards recognise that other people should never think of you as a slave!!!!
nothing wrong. Ain’t Malawians slaves? Check people’s salaries. All Malawians know is sex and mabodza. Nanga mumthu cant be ambitious enogh and find a better job than kuseta ana aazungu
May the creator show you why some people end up working such humble positions.
Do we need to be reminded by a coloniser you stupid Jampie????
@7777999
I have just realised that you are an imbecile. ARE you telling me that your late father was a well educated man ?
I doubt , and would not wrong to suggest that anasetapo Ana azungu as a claim.
Don’t play smart ambwana , you are NOBODY in the society
Not sure how to react to this story. He did put in a good explanation why he used those words
As for Madame Holly…..we have not yet forgotten your tweet…..we see you
I will help you make a decision. Most of these people after staying in the country for a few years don’t pay long service pay to these employees. They only help them get another job. It’s just like slavery. That is why Mike made that comment. Unfortunately he has been misunderstood by a society that cares more for trivial matters than real issues
Why accept an apology from such a racially charged creature? The best is let him leave slaves in their country and he must, at any cost, follow his fellow masters in his country. This us a deportation candidate. He can’t be enjoying fruits of slaves.
The problem is that nothing will be done about this, Indians have been doing worse for the past decades
This man must pack and Go
Kamuzu would have sent him packing straight away! Some of these expatriates are nothing here in England or Europe. So don`t treat them like gods!