Page 28 - E-BOOK PULSE@FASS ISU NO.01/2023

POSTGRADUATE HIGHLIGHTOSTGRADUATE HIGHLIGHTOSTGRADUATE HIGHLIGHT
PP Felicity Obasi (Nigeria), Department of History
target populations and individuals who are frequently
My name is Felicity
Obasi, and I am a murdered, attacked, hurt, forced from their homes, and
Ph.D. candidate at the have their property and means of support stolen, destroyed,
or usurped. Last but not least, it considers the effects and
Department of History. ramifications that go beyond the intended audiences.
Prior to this, I Xenophobic violence has detrimental socio-economic,
graduated from Imo-
State University in Imo political, and security repercussions for all national
by
residents,
nationals,
including
foreigners
and
State, Nigeria, with a compromising the socioeconomic prosperity of the
Bachelor's degree in country, nation-building, security, and rule of law.
History and
International
Relations. I then moved to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and later I felt a strong connection to the subject. Having been
abroad and currently being a foreigner in Malaysia, it
to Doha, Qatar, where I worked for six years as a classroom allowed me to think about the plight of the xenophobic
teacher, coordinator of key stages 3, 5, and 6 as well as an victims in South Africa. The frequency and occurrence of
instructor of English as a second language to natives. Later violent xenophobic attacks committed by black people
I enrolled in a Master's degree in Strategic and Defence against other black people, also known as Afrophobia, also
Studies at UM. Before enrolling at UM, I travelled to fascinates me. I find it puzzling why a fellow black person
Malaysia twice for vacations to visit my then-fiancée, who would suddenly turn against his own due to mistrust and
resides in Kuala Lumpur. While there, I met a friend who perceived animosity. And as a researcher, I believed that
attended the school; she spoke highly about the school this phenomenon needed more exposure and knowledge
and discovered that it is not only ranked top in Malaysia but because it was understudied.
also top in Asia, having given rise to well-known individuals,
including prime ministers and the best academics across a My doctoral journey has of course seen its fair share of
variety of subjects. As a self-proclaimed fan of excellence, I challenges. The world was put on lockdown a month after
realised that this was the location for me to further my my candidature started in February 2020 owing to the
education. I wasn't let down; UM proved to be every bit the spread of the deadly CoronaVirus (Covid-19), which was
institution of greatness that it claims to be.
not a favourable time to start research, let alone a Ph.D.
Sadly, I was still mourning the loss of my child (stillborn) at
My doctoral research focuses on xenophobic violence the time, so it was a very trying year for me. My first year was
towards Black African migrants who reside in South Africa. marred by fear for my life and the lives of my family
The research focuses mostly on the xenophobic violence in members as we were all on lockdown in our various
South Africa against foreigners, especially those from other locations. Due to the lockdown, I was forced to conduct all
African nations. It studies the nature, causes, and effects of of my research online, which was expensive for a student to
xenophobic violence in South Africa as well as why fellow do. I had to be creative with the limited mobile data I had
African citizens appear to be the major targets of violence in available. Data collection was also exceedingly challenging
the nation. It also looks at the underlying causes that lead because it was impossible to travel to South Africa.
locals to act violently towards foreigners.

Regrettably, I lost Dr. Hamidin Hamid, my three-year
Even though my research is focused on the years 2008 to supervisor, and the news of his passing left me in a state of
2018, I dug deeper to the year 1994, when the nation shock, disorientation, and melancholy, which I ultimately
gained independence from its colonial masters, whose recovered from. The arrival of my rainbow baby, Seth, has
government was known as the Apartheid regime. The been the high point of my Doctoral journey. During the
Nationalist Party, which was dominated by white people, course of this journey, I've grown to be a strong,
gave the harsh, institutionalised system of racial independent, and laser-focused person as a result of
segregation in South Africa the Afrikaans name in 1948. realising that I could survive and overcome every obstacle
Apartheid ended in the early 1990s through a series of that came my way. Further making the trip worthwhile were
events that culminated in the installation of a democratic my two fantastic supervisors, Professor Dr
government in 1994. Through hostility and discrimination, Sivachandralingam Sundara Raja and Dr Nur Dayana Ariffin,
this system primarily targeted native black South Africans.
both of whom have helped me improve my analytical,
problem-solving, and research skills. My research skills and
This period's aftermath was characterised by a rise in capabilities have also been significantly enhanced by
violent culture and a general mistrust of anything foreign publication and conference presentations.
on the part of the populace. The research also identifies the
perpetrators of these nefarious actions as well as the Felicity has passed her Candidature Defense and is currently
working on finalising the thesis and getting published.
27 | Pulse @ FASS