Maravi

(TALKZIMBABWE) Africa, Obama's punch bag

Africa, Obama's punch bag
Prince Kahari - Opinion
Thu, 09 Jul 2009 18:59:00 +0000

I READ with utter disgust and sadness US President Barack Obama's recent statement that the United States and the West cannot be held responsible for the problems that afflict the African continent today; and especially the problems in Zimbabwe.

The irony of this statement is that it was made at a time when he (Obama) has renewed sanctions against Zimbabwe. The disastrous effects of these sanctions is no longer a subject of discussion.

For many Africans, Obama's statement comes as a huge blow and dashes the hope that many people thought his leadership would bring.

His predecessor George W. Bush is often criticised for his stance on Zimbabwe, but he never made such a reckless statement absolving the West of the consequencies of years of plunder and divide-and-rule on the continent.

President Obama talks of the last 15-20 years as if the problems bedevelling the continent started then. Why the last 15-20 years? Is it because that's when he developed an interest on the continent?

The US system of segregation which started centuries ago is still affecting black people in that country; some of whom live in absolute poverty in a country seen as very rich by the rest of the world.

The Apartheid system in South Africa left a dent which the current Government is still battling with. The land problems in Zimbabwe and elsewhere on the African continent started many years ago, not 15-20 years ago.

The challenges facing leaders in Africa today have a lot to do with Western imperialistic concerns; then and now.

President Obama does not appreciate the divisions that have been caused by the West in Africa and the promotion of subversive activity against those deemed to be threats to US interests abroad.

For a man whose father endured years of second class citizenship during colonial rule in Kenya, this was unexpected and shocking, to say the least. Revising history in such a manner is an inexcusable sin.

President Obama fails to contextualise and appreciate the daily struggles of the common people on the Africa continent. Yes, there is corruption in government; but corruption is endemic in many systems including the US. Corruption cannot be used to justify decades of plunder faced on the African continent starting with the slave trade.

Africa lost many able-bodied people during that epoch and development stagnated, and social structures disintegrated. The continent also endured years of colonial rule where the white race only benefited from the resources that the continent had.

Many of us would love to live in a peaceful world, but would never forget or try to rewrite history.

Wars that have been fought on the continent have, to a large extent, been promoted by the West; the US and UK in particular. All territorial wars fought today on the continent are a consequence of the arbitrary divisions that were drawn by the West.

The Berlin conferences of 1886-87 partitioned, arbitrarily, Africa. The problems we witness in Ethiopia/Eritrea today are a direct consequence of that era. The Rwanda/Burundi war was also encouraged by the West. The guns that are found everywhere on the continent today are manufactured mainly by the US.

I could cite many more examples of the machinations of the West on the continent.

President Obama should let us know when the effects of the slave trade, colonisation and neocolonisation stopped being felt on the continent. He should also let us know how Africa is supposed to develop when the international trading system favors his preferred country, the US.

He should also tell us how the continent is supposed to develop when his country imposes sanctions on any country that does not see the world the way America sees it.

For a man who promised so much during his campaign, and a man whom many people on the African continent thought was a beacon of hope, he has been a total let down. He has even shunned his own country of origin Kenya, whose history is chequered by British imperialism and whose current problems can be directly linked to British and US imperialistic concerns.

Obama's condescending attitude is a blow to may of us Africans who hoped for the best.

It would be interesting to see how the Arabs and Jews in the Middle East would respond if Obama was to say the problems in the Middle East cannot be blamed on the West and US. Such bullying somehow is only reserved for the peace-loving people of Africa.

It would also be interesting to see how the world would react if Obama was to say the West cannot be blamed for the problems that the holocaust brought to the Middle East and elsewhere in the world. Somehow Africa seems to be an easier punch-bag for these leaders.

The people of Africa should rise against such bullying and determine their own destiny.

________________________
Prince Kahari
princekahari@yahoo.com

Labels: BARACK OBAMA, NEOLIBERALISM

posted by MrK @ 7:22 PM