The Continuing Fall Of Africa - Dictator Mugabe's Idea of Democracy
Several black bloggers have been taking African Americans to task for not paying attention to what is going on in Africa. They are right, we should as black people pay more attention and be better informed, but I'm not exactly sure what we can do to help. All the United States can do is talk tough, we don't have troops to sent over there and sending money or supplies without a guarantee which hands they will end up in is no answer either. There must be solutions for the African nations and it will need the help of African Americans to do it. I just have no idea how to begin. Any suggestions?
Update - UN says fair elections in Zimbabwe impossible!
5 comments:
We need to be careful of how we judge the leaders of these African countries. When some of these leaders don't do what Westerners want them to do, they can be put in a very negative light. Find out the real deal before you condemn them. Europe and the US does not like it when certain countries refuse to be under their thumb. They then stir up violence and economic hardships and the blame goes of course to whomever is in charge. If their interests are being catered to, no matter how bad the African (or Caribbean )leader is, it's all good.
Hi Professor Tracey,
Africans themselves have proposed and tried to work out several solutions to the issues facing their respective nations. There is so much happening on the ground that is just not reported in western media. I'm mostly familiar with Nigeria and Zimbabwe and there are so many groups in Nigeria working to combat issues not only in Nigeria, but in other countries, as well. Not all Africans are waiting for Americans be they white or black to save them. Many do not wish for more US interference/intervention.
What is happening in Zimbabwe is atrocious and I spent my last year of university researching the land issues there and working with NGOs there and in the US.
What black Americans can do, along with other non-Africans, is be "supporting" but I don't think that there is a clear cut answer. It's a bit tricky. Perhaps in the US we can call upon the US government to withhold aid and troops. Believe it or not aid can be counterproductive in some places. I have read about this being the case in the Sudan and it has been written about regarding aid to the Biafrans during the Nigerian civil war.
There are many books out there and one I recall is The Humanitarian Enterprise. I've written a bit about aid to Africa on my blog (in 2006-2007 re William Easterly, a former economist at the World Bank/ 'The Elusive Quest for Growth'/Live 8/mosquito nets (2008)/etc)
Here are a few articles from my research archive which you may find interesting (note, I don't profess to share these points of view):
http://select.nytimes.com/2006/06/13/opinion/13Kristof.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=foreign+aid+has+flaws&st=nyt&oref=slogin
http://www.foreignaffairs.org/20050901faessay84511/stephen-ellis/how-to-rebuild-africa.html
I have the text of the entire last article. If you or anyone wishes to read it, I can email it to you upon request.
it is, what it is.
and either way the truth is Going to Rise to the Top.
no one can hide The Truth.
@femmeautonome,
thank you for such
in depth information.
the situations there are multi-layered. your experiences are full of value.
i just wanted to thank you for sharing.
be well
Encourage them to start their own businesses, as many new businesses as they can.
Build schools, learn English, computers and science.
Drop Christianity and Islam and tribal religions.
Build more cities. Don't be dependent on foreign aid and charity. Encourage elections and constitutions with bill of rights.
Stay out of the UN. Be autonomous nations or continent, not dependent on the West.
Post a Comment