A day to remember
A day to rememberBy Editor
Wednesday October 24, 2007 [04:00]
Today, October 24, we remember many things. Apart from the well-known fact this is the day we gained our independence from our former colonisers, Britain, we remember that the journey to freedom in 1964 was a process which began many years earlier and it was preceded by several other factors and events.
And the struggle for freedom was not an easy one because those against our wishes and desire for political independence, for self-determination, were many and were not an easy force to contend with.
With courage, determination, resilience and a clear sense of purpose - and thanks to our liberation heroes - today we are here together as a nation of the people of Zambia as well as many others of our fraternal friends and colleagues remembering this significant day. For many years to come, if not eternally, we are certain that this day will continue to occupy a significant place in our annual calendars.
At the risk of sounding like cry-babies, it is important to recall history for a moment because for us to understand our present and even where we are going, it is necessary that we have a full appreciation of where we are coming from.
More than a century ago, around 1884/85, we remember how at the instigation of Portugal, then German Chancellor Otto von Bismark converged a meeting of Western powers in Berlin to agree on questions to end confusion over their control of Africa.
It should be recalled that at the time of the so-called Berlin conference, at least 80 per cent of Africa was still under traditional and local control. The result of this so-called Berlin Conference was a confused mixture of geometric boundaries that divided Africa into fifty irregular countries. Essentially, this new map of the continent was superimposed over the one thousand indigenous cultures and regions of Africa.
Merchants like Cecil John Rhodes even had a dream to see the British Empire stretch from the Cape to Cairo. In fact, Cecil Rhodes spent the rest of his life trying to achieve this and we know how Zambia was once owned by his British South African Company (BSA).
And the rest is the history we are remembering today.
We are saying all this not for ornamental purposes, but in order to appreciate that much as we are here today, celebrating our independence from Britain in 1964, we are living in a world in which the consequences of Western imperialism are still being felt. We must understand that much as we can claim political independence today as an African country, Western imperialism has not relented in its quest for global expansion and domination.
As we celebrate our independence today, Western countries continue to expand in our countries in all forms to the point where some of them want to set up military bases on our soils, apart from the fact that they are already in control of our economies and they still determine our position or influence in world affairs.
Much as Western countries may want us to stop crying over spilt milk insofar as the question of colonialism is concerned, it will not be in order for us to keep quiet when we continue to see our nations being used as playgrounds or chessboards for rich nations where our resources continue to be plundered while our peoples remain trapped in dehumanising poverty. We cannot overlook the fact that the process of expropriation of our resources started many centuries ago and the sad reality is that it continues unabated to this very independence day.
Therefore, as we remember our existence as an independent state for the last 43 years, we should be asking ourselves if it is not strange that several decades after the end of colonialism, we continue to find ourselves in extremely difficult conditions as if to make the whole idea of independence a very big joke. Yes, we are independent on paper, but we have to bear in mind the strength and force of imperialism. As long as we fail to realise this fact, we will continually be engulfed in the present flux of stagnation and underdevelopment.
The need for a break with the past is necessary, especially in terms of economic determination. Of course we do recognise that we operate in a global economic system, which is not only unfairly skewed in favour of the rich world but also under the tight control of the same rich world.
But we can make a big leap if we begin to address our problems with an internal introspection, collectively as a people of this nation. In such a process, not to be overlooked is the fact that we have natural resources which we have been careless about in terms of exploitation and management. In the case of copper, for instance, it is difficult to understand up to now why our copper mines were thrown into foreign hands just like that.
There are numerous areas of our economy which we have failed to manage for the benefit of our people and we have not been judicious enough in terms of agreements with foreign owners who are taking away everything they are making from our own resources.
We are very aware that whether they like it or not, leaders of poor nations are in a difficult and weak position because much as they would want to show that they are independent-minded, strong and resolute, and they can chant a few radical or revolutionary slogans in favour of their nations, they always find themselves locked into the global capitalist orbit, co-operating perforce with the First World nations for investment, trade and aid.
And we see this every day, everywhere, including right here in Zambia where President Levy Mwanawasa is always begging for investment, trade and aid from rich nations. We remember very well how Levy told the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that the Zambia National Commercial Bank (ZNCB) would not be privatised under his watch. Today, we know who is stronger between Levy and the IMF because ZNCB is gone.
We can have a leader chanting all revolutionary and radical slogans against this or that powerful nation, the next day we can be assured of seeing the same leader being feted by the same 'nemesis' states. Recently, Levy was telling the United States how he was not interested in their setting up a military base not only in Zambia but also in the region. Well, we will wait for history to judge as to who is stronger between Levy and the United States.
So as we remember this significant day, we should bear in mind that imperialism is a self-preserving and self-reproducing phenomenon, and it continues and will continue to be the most powerful force in world affairs for many years to come.
Our destiny as a nation will be determined only in terms of how we position ourselves in a world which continues to be dominated and controlled by a few rich nations.
All that said, October 24 is still a significant day for us to always remember.
Labels: ECONOMIC EMPOWERMENT, EDITORIAL, INDEPENDENCE
posted by MrK @ 3:55 AM
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