In February 2020, a shocking video began to circulate on Chinese social media. A group of African children are being instructed, by a voice off-camera, to chant phrases in Chinese. The kids repeat the words with smiles and enthusiasm — but they don’t understand that what they’re being told to say is “I am a black monster and my IQ is low.” The clip ignited outrage in China and beyond.
But no-one ever answered the crucial questions: Why was this filmed? Where was it shot? Who made it?
These questions send #BBCAfricaEye and #BBCEyeInvestigations reporters Runako Celina and Henry Mhango on a journey into a Chinese video-making industry that exploits vulnerable children across the continent.
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Africa Eye brings you original, investigative journalism revealing secrets and rooting out injustice in the world’s most complex and exciting continent. Nothing stays hidden forever.
You can check out all #BBCAfricaEye investigations here: https://bit.ly/bbcafricaeye
CREDITS:
Investigated and Reported by Runako Celina and Henry Mhango
Filmed, Produced and Directed by Chiara Francavilla
Assistant Producer – Runako Celina
Executive Producer – Dan Adamson
Open Source Investigators – Aliaume Leroy and Edward Tian
Film Editor – Matthew Bradley
Motion Design – Emile Costard
Camera – Godfrey Badebye
Additional camera – Jake Tacchi, Michael Jenkins, Kevin Okai, Lameck Luhanga
Online Editor – Chris Stott
Dubbing Mixer- Jez Spencer
Colour Grader – Boyd Nagle
Reversioning Producer – Anna Payton
Digital Producer – Suzanne Vanhooymissen
Social Media Producer – Anusha Kumar
Impact Producer – Courtney Bembridge
Production Managers – Simon Frost and Helen Swindells
Production Coordinators – Maxwell Murrain, Charlotte Fraser, Emily Dubois, Neil Williams, Negin Vaziri
Digital Technician – David Smith
Production Support – Lonjezo Blake
Translators – Adrian Mvula, Alefa Bisiyere, Clifford Munthali, Florence Phiri, Steven Mkandawire, Towera Moyo, Yang Siong Sim
Archive – SVT- Sveriges Television AB, Kobina Ackon aka Wode Maya
Original Music – Madalitso Band
Drivers – Blessings Emmanuel Bonface and Hillary Mwagomba
BBC Africa Eye Editor – Tom Watson
Head of Investigations – Marc Perkins
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Website: https://www.bbc.com/africa
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bbcnewsafrica/
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/bbcafrica/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bbcafrica/
source
🚨UPDATE #BBCAfricaEye expose: Chinese man extradited from Zambia to Malawi to face charges relating to racism and child exploitation. Read more ➡️ https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-62196765
Beware of treacherous, evil foreigners bearing "gifts".
Do not take their financial investments as good natured. The Chinese are taking over your country and will one day own you. They are trying it here in the US and our greedy politicians and biz leaders are letting them. I confront them & don't do business with the Chinese. They are also incredibly racist & the main opponents of affirmative action so they can keep others out of various vocations. Very cunning. CONFRONT THEM!
Now tell me again that racism is a product of white priviledged cisgender western capitalistic societies.
thank you for all the good work you accomplished on this documentary, a story that most be told.
真丢中国人的脸，他自己说国外的人排华，就是因为有他这种恶劣的人在国外做这些坏事才会让其他人对中国人有偏见。作为一个中国人，真的为感到有这样的同胞觉得丢脸。
An unsolicited racist clip was recently sent to a relative's phone, I was shocked. It was thoughtlessly included as part of a stream of humour based videos, but it was not at all funny. Laughing at people simply because of their skin colour is so obviously racist. It is the exploitation of humour to exercise a very negative aspect of human nature, namely cruelty and sadism. It tells us something most uncomfortable about people that see these cruel videos as funny.
You know what would also help is if the Africans that come to the US, don't look down on the African Americans. You immediately hold hands with the white supremacists & call them akata. They have gone through a lot more then you ever will.
Surely this is a human rights outrage! Which organization will make this exploiter pay for his actions and bring justice to these children .
THANKS 👍
The Chinese nationalists and patriots audience are so obsessed with the illusion of a wealthy and powerful China (and "a pethetic place the rest of the world").. so this kind of video would get a market. Thuth is, they not only buy "black people love China" kind of videos, white male vlogger claiming "I love China and China is the best country in the world" kind of videos also get a huge traffic there.
Chinese young netizens call this kind of video "wealthy code", referring to these foreign faces making money by means of saying good things about China.
I think most educated and clear-headed Chinese people hate this kind of video, both the African ones and the white vloggers ones. But the government choose to be blind to the African ones (or they just ban them by filtering the #African videos on social medias), and promote publicly those foreign vloggers whose videos correspond with their ideological doctrine.
It is worring from the long term, and runs counter to their claiming of "build a human community with a shared future".
Many respect to the journalist. Hope this horrible man get sanctions.
Thank you for exposing yet another example of demonic and racist spirits operating. The true monsters? In this video, it appeared to be this Chinese individual who exploited the African village of the most precious resource, the economically poor and children.
Would the Chinese gov’t or citizens allow a representative from another country to exploit their children in like manner, singing songs which denigrate their dignity?
The enemy only comes to steal, take life and destroy regardless the ethnicity. However, there is a day of reckoning for sure.
I'm thoroughly disgusted by this. He should be in Malawi prison, while an estimate of his earnings is made, then this paid towards the chiefs of those villages – by his family-, with him staying in prison there until the wealth is transferred and the dishonor, effected.
Not just did he dishonor the Malawi people – he dishonored the Chinese with his monstrous act.
请在中国社交媒体上分享这段令人震惊的视频，并附上字幕。
After watching this documentary, i felt heart broken…. this is racism,wickedness of the very first order,
Kudos to BBC team for this exposure.
Black Jamaican British here! I’m genuinely shocked how surprised and upset you all are in the comments! When will we wake up and realise that no matter where we go non blacks think of us as lesser! Stop trying to gain acceptance from these folk and let’s do better. Use this hatred to fuel excellence and change. It starts from within!
Swear to God if I met this guy, he'd definitely be catching these hands…
The next time you see a foreigner filming in your village, strike them with an iron rod…
In Africa money talks and b.s walks
They don't care they what money and will do anything to get it. If you look at yourself that's why you are on u tube
Chinese are incredibly racist towards African people. Just want to exploit them and gouge their countries.
China and America behind the scenes are 100% partners
If this man was in South Africa and doing this he will hate Africa and Africans for the rest of his life.
I am Asian/Vietnamese and I am so disgusted by this. My best friend is Ethiopian and she's beautiful and smart. I wish people can see that everyone is a beautiful creation of God. To witness such racism accepted in a large scale from a country is abhorrent.
it is even more funny that some chinese are racist like how do they even start..hahahahaha.. I am really angry by the way!!,I would not want to meet this susu{urine in child language} in person.
If racism is such a problem stop going to these foreign countries you don’t see them migrating to Africa so let’s stay in our country and make it better stop running
So the lady just watch somebody beat her son? I don’t blame the Chinese us Africans allow everybody to exploit us. Even the BBC is exploiting them what did they gain from this documentary? Meanwhile BBC made some money smh
when is africa going to stop being exploited by the entire world ? Why do they accept to humiliate themselves by dancing in front of a camera like 5:08 and let complete strangers make their children acts as clowns ?? China was less advanced than Africa 150 years ago and now look at the difference between them. If africa doesn't change they will be condemned to suffer these horrible humiliations forever. There will always be horrible human beings ready to exploit the weak
23:21 a skinny little man comes from the other side of the world, takes children and beat them, and no african man decides to stop him and get him out of the village ? I really don't understand how this is possible. Why do the villagers even allow the presence of this bastard ? I think that's the root of the problem, why do africans make it this easy to exploit their children ? I can't imagine going to any country, go into a poor village, go into a house, take children, beat them and walk freely without getting beaten or murdered by the locals !!
Why does everyone hate us so much? Hugging my son and crying cause this is so sad like really? 😢
Question is did he make it out alive? What's truly sad is he could have spread the wealth in those villages and earned not only profits but also honor, respect, love from the people and a peaceful existence wherever he walked through those villages. It's unfortunate that he chose evil and profits when he could've chose what's right and profits and earned 100 times more in good rewards from Allah and the people. Moral of the story is evil is cheap and must be repayed in self-destruction.
Very sad,I am glad it is being addressed.
Susu I curse you for the rest of your life, may you never find peace, the rest of your life will be filled with pain, misery and when you ask for help no one will raise their hand to give you help. 🙏🏿🙏🏿🙏🏿
Our systems are dead with stupid hopeless leaders for a race with the highest DNA series. We need to wake up, such despicable acts need to be punished. This susu man has to be arrested with no deportation. He is implanting generational curses on those children, slavery all over again.
Even the BBC misses the essence of the problem – the locals ignored of hateful racism because they believe outsiders can bring more benefits than their local government.
If more and more African children in the depths of suffering do not receive the basic education they deserve, it will only make them more discriminated against in the international arena.
Think it. Peace.
This makes my cry I am American maybe this is why but as a women of God I want to get that man thrown into prison but since I can not do this God is just and he will pay prayers for all God Bless
Utterly revolting🤢😢…the same Africans being demeaned are the ones helping them rise in the hierarchy through exploitation. African leaders should be intent in protecting it's people.
I'm not surprised by this video. It was designed to destroy the next generation future of Africa. The Chinese see African global diaspora and on the continent as a serious threat at all levels. And like racism white supremacy to deceive, disrupt and undermine us. Wake up Africans we have no friends in this world just each other. They do not want us to progress, nor control our own narrative. What I perceive from these videos, African culture is not being promoted. We need to learn from digital racism or colonialism otherwise we are repeating history all over again. Peace.