The U.S. and Europe could start by refusing to ship arms to hostile areas (e.g. Rwanda/DRC border), and refusing to participate in corrupt and inhumane business (e.g. mineral mining in the DRC, diamond mining in Sierra Leone).
The U.S. could also help Africa by funding and/or recognizing comprehensive AIDS programs, not just Abstinence Only/Anti-Condom programs.
The world could also help Africa by putting extraordinary pressure on China to cease its involvement in the genocide in Darfur.
Oh, and maybe European countries like Belgium and France could provide obscenely generous reparations for colonizing countries and destroying people and cultures for generations. And countries like Portugal and The Netherlands could give Western Africa their collective balls for kidnapping and murdering millions of Africans over hundreds of years during the transatlantic slave trade, which caused unfathomable damage to dozens of people groups for generations.
i was thinking more in the direction of community-focused development. i'd like to see how a tribe/city/group in africa has improved itself - succeeded in lowering the crime rate, built a community center, etc. Are the elders doing it? the local church? Who are the local people who make a difference? Outsiders should support them, maybe.
Your suggestions seem very justice-centered, which makes all sense. However, I feel like the solution has to come from within Africa, not from without.
I was just reading an article in The New Internationalist about how people consider Botswana to be Africa's success story. It has uncharted economic growth for something like 40 years, as well as relative peace, etc. The BBC even listed "shopping malls" as one of the signifiers of its success.
But of course, economic success really only reflects the success of a certain class of people. Thirty percent of the country lives in poverty, and diamond mining, the country's economic linchpin, poses problems when it comes to human rights issues.
Also, 40% of Botswana's adult population has AIDS, which is either the highest or second highest rate in the world, according to reports. Analysts suggest that the reason the average income is so relatively high is because there are so few people, due to the AIDS epidemic.
I guess it's hard for me to understand how substantive community development can be when even the "most successful" and stable African countries are 40% plagued and 30% impoverished, and when De Beers operates the main economy.
What made you think of this?
ReplyDeleteThe U.S. and Europe could start by refusing to ship arms to hostile areas (e.g. Rwanda/DRC border), and refusing to participate in corrupt and inhumane business (e.g. mineral mining in the DRC, diamond mining in Sierra Leone).
ReplyDeleteThe U.S. could also help Africa by funding and/or recognizing comprehensive AIDS programs, not just Abstinence Only/Anti-Condom programs.
The world could also help Africa by putting extraordinary pressure on China to cease its involvement in the genocide in Darfur.
Those are my initial thoughts.
Oh, and maybe European countries like Belgium and France could provide obscenely generous reparations for colonizing countries and destroying people and cultures for generations. And countries like Portugal and The Netherlands could give Western Africa their collective balls for kidnapping and murdering millions of Africans over hundreds of years during the transatlantic slave trade, which caused unfathomable damage to dozens of people groups for generations.
ReplyDeleteMore ideas.
i was thinking more in the direction of community-focused development. i'd like to see how a tribe/city/group in africa has improved itself - succeeded in lowering the crime rate, built a community center, etc. Are the elders doing it? the local church? Who are the local people who make a difference? Outsiders should support them, maybe.
ReplyDeleteYour suggestions seem very justice-centered, which makes all sense. However, I feel like the solution has to come from within Africa, not from without.
I was just reading an article in The New Internationalist about how people consider Botswana to be Africa's success story. It has uncharted economic growth for something like 40 years, as well as relative peace, etc. The BBC even listed "shopping malls" as one of the signifiers of its success.
ReplyDeleteBut of course, economic success really only reflects the success of a certain class of people. Thirty percent of the country lives in poverty, and diamond mining, the country's economic linchpin, poses problems when it comes to human rights issues.
Also, 40% of Botswana's adult population has AIDS, which is either the highest or second highest rate in the world, according to reports. Analysts suggest that the reason the average income is so relatively high is because there are so few people, due to the AIDS epidemic.
I guess it's hard for me to understand how substantive community development can be when even the "most successful" and stable African countries are 40% plagued and 30% impoverished, and when De Beers operates the main economy.
Does that make sense?
gosh, that's sad.
ReplyDeletei can't be alone in wondering what africans have done for themselves in the past to alleviate local issues.
oh wait, you deleted the comment. nevermind.
I'm going to look into this, because now I'm curious. I'll ask my aunt, since she knows more about African than anyone else I know. I'll report back.
ReplyDelete