By Jeoffrey Mukubi
After winning Miss Supranational this past week and being the first African to do so, as well as receiving overwhelming congratulatory messages from fans all over the world, one would think that Chanique Rabe would be riding off into the sunset with her crown.
Unfortunately, that is not the case, as some individuals on various social media outlets like Instagram, Facebook and Twitter have chosen to hate and write racist comments under the newly crowned African beauty queens posts and pictures.
Some of the remarks include someone saying that her skin is not melanated enough to be regarded as an African while others say that she is too white. On Twitter, @Kevi0023 wrote
“When we say African please let’s consider melanin…we call these whites African yet in their countries they consider us African Americans…shame on us.”, and @Fidel Otieno wrote “ She is not African,” and @spacejamgarde12 wrote “Fake Namibian”, On the Miss Supranational Facebook page there are also many hateful comments her picture where some of the people are blatantly writing derogatory remarks directed at Rave.
Ariah Hadid wrote “You have to be white or light-skinned with long shiny hair to win supranational,” and Sisi Omhle wrote “So you to be not black to win the supranational titles? Asking on behalf of Dominican Republic, South Africa and Togo,”
Other bitter comments included a handful of Indonesian nationals ganging up on Rabe, saying that she does not deserve to win and that their candidate deserved the crown.
Rabe took to her social media to express her opinion on some of the hate that has been directed towards her writing
“It truly saddens me that so many fans from big pageant countries are spreading so much negativity towards me and the MSO. Just because I am from a third world country with a small population, limited funding and sponsorships and a super small pageant audience does not mean I am less worthy. Spreading negativity truly harms not only your country but the beautiful and wonderful contestants that represented your country at this competition,” Rabe wrote. She added that she joined the MSO organization because of their values and what they stand for.
“They chose me for who I am and not for the publicity and fame my country can bring to the table. I am honoured to be Namibian and to be part of the miss supranational family, my country deserves to be heard and to be seen in the international pageant industry and I couldn’t be prouder,” She said.
