Saturday, August 25, 2007
China's loss, should be Africa's gain
The news has been plagued by massive recalls of sub-standard Chinese made products. I think this is good news for African producers (producers in Africa). With intelligent marketing and massive investment, we can take over business that is wary of being associated with China... this is an opportunity we shouldn't miss out on. Your thoughts?
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
A Response
Dear Sammy,
Thank you for your prompt reply to my post and also for sending in your wonderful article. I really enjoyed reading it. It touched on some of the major challenges our continent is facing today. It also made me realize that even though the issues in West Africa differ from those in the East, our problems are similar in that they are uniquely, African. I relate strongly to the issues that you have raised and have commented on some of them below.
In regard to Africa’s role as a major economic player in the global arena, I agree with you that Africa’s human and natural resources, though exploited for centuries, have not been tapped in a manner that benefits the continent. Due to this, I feel Africa has a long way to go before it can play its rightful role in international trade. I have listed some of the factors I think are hindering this great continent from reaching it’s full potential.
First. By not developing their industries, African nations are not able to add value to their products. This compels them to a future as exporters of cheap raw materials, and importers of expensive finished goods. In Kenya for instance, where coffee is grown in abundance, very few natives can afford to buy a tin of Nescafe or any of the richly blended Kenyan grown coffee, which is processed in Europe and re-imported back as a high end product.
Second. The domestic policies rich Western nations have adopted are killing African industry. The farm subsidies the US government pays its farmers has created an unfair balance of trade in the international arena. African farmers are not able to compete with their European or American counterparts because of these imbalances. Attempts to level the playing field have been met by harsh protectionist reactions from Western policy makers, who in the same breath are arm-twisting African nations to open up their markets to Western goods.
Third. Africa is crippled in trade negotiations. The breadth and depth of negotiating teams Western governments front in both multilateral and bilateral trade meetings greatly outnumber those presented by African nations. It is simply too expensive for most African nations to send sufficient experts to represent them in trade negotiations. The cost of supporting the necessary number of negotiators and experts in NY, for instance, is beyond the budgets of many African states. This handicap overwhelms African nations in trade meetings, sometimes causing them to sign agreements they don’t fully understand or have not had sufficient time or the right expertise to decipher. Western nations know this and use it to their advantage to fulfill their national interests.
Fourth. There is a presence of external forces that do not wish to see Africa rise above its problems. Some Western nations benefit when there is chaos in Africa. It gives them easy access to the diamonds and gold. When there is chaos, these nations also have the opportunity to sell their guns and ammunition. They sponsor one rebel against another or help keep an oppressive authoritarian leader in power. Sometimes they even call in the CIA to assassin enlightened African leaders, as was done to Patrice Lumumba in the Congo. This is done in order to create the ‘right’ environment for a ‘healthy’ gun and minerals trade.
Fifth. Africa is its own worst enemy. Africa’s decay has been accelerated by undemocratic and corrupt leaders, who have stagnated economies and enslaved their people in massive debt. These leaders have misappropriated funds meant for development, education and health care, leading to massive breakdowns in infrastructure, high illiteracy levels and disease outbreaks and deaths through preventable illnesses.
Statistics show that many African economies have shrunk steadily since the 1970’s. Wars, civil strife and famine have created a new face for the African continent. Cries by human rights activists, civil society and right thinking individuals to help regions such as Darfur, continue to fall on deaf ears. Are Africans less human because they are poor? Is the measure of one’s life the value of what his nation has contributed to the global economy? Or is it as you put forward, “what's missing (is) a basic understanding of and appreciation for the true gift of life, the human spirit”.
Regards,
Mark Gaya
Thank you for your prompt reply to my post and also for sending in your wonderful article. I really enjoyed reading it. It touched on some of the major challenges our continent is facing today. It also made me realize that even though the issues in West Africa differ from those in the East, our problems are similar in that they are uniquely, African. I relate strongly to the issues that you have raised and have commented on some of them below.
In regard to Africa’s role as a major economic player in the global arena, I agree with you that Africa’s human and natural resources, though exploited for centuries, have not been tapped in a manner that benefits the continent. Due to this, I feel Africa has a long way to go before it can play its rightful role in international trade. I have listed some of the factors I think are hindering this great continent from reaching it’s full potential.
First. By not developing their industries, African nations are not able to add value to their products. This compels them to a future as exporters of cheap raw materials, and importers of expensive finished goods. In Kenya for instance, where coffee is grown in abundance, very few natives can afford to buy a tin of Nescafe or any of the richly blended Kenyan grown coffee, which is processed in Europe and re-imported back as a high end product.
Second. The domestic policies rich Western nations have adopted are killing African industry. The farm subsidies the US government pays its farmers has created an unfair balance of trade in the international arena. African farmers are not able to compete with their European or American counterparts because of these imbalances. Attempts to level the playing field have been met by harsh protectionist reactions from Western policy makers, who in the same breath are arm-twisting African nations to open up their markets to Western goods.
Third. Africa is crippled in trade negotiations. The breadth and depth of negotiating teams Western governments front in both multilateral and bilateral trade meetings greatly outnumber those presented by African nations. It is simply too expensive for most African nations to send sufficient experts to represent them in trade negotiations. The cost of supporting the necessary number of negotiators and experts in NY, for instance, is beyond the budgets of many African states. This handicap overwhelms African nations in trade meetings, sometimes causing them to sign agreements they don’t fully understand or have not had sufficient time or the right expertise to decipher. Western nations know this and use it to their advantage to fulfill their national interests.
Fourth. There is a presence of external forces that do not wish to see Africa rise above its problems. Some Western nations benefit when there is chaos in Africa. It gives them easy access to the diamonds and gold. When there is chaos, these nations also have the opportunity to sell their guns and ammunition. They sponsor one rebel against another or help keep an oppressive authoritarian leader in power. Sometimes they even call in the CIA to assassin enlightened African leaders, as was done to Patrice Lumumba in the Congo. This is done in order to create the ‘right’ environment for a ‘healthy’ gun and minerals trade.
Fifth. Africa is its own worst enemy. Africa’s decay has been accelerated by undemocratic and corrupt leaders, who have stagnated economies and enslaved their people in massive debt. These leaders have misappropriated funds meant for development, education and health care, leading to massive breakdowns in infrastructure, high illiteracy levels and disease outbreaks and deaths through preventable illnesses.
Statistics show that many African economies have shrunk steadily since the 1970’s. Wars, civil strife and famine have created a new face for the African continent. Cries by human rights activists, civil society and right thinking individuals to help regions such as Darfur, continue to fall on deaf ears. Are Africans less human because they are poor? Is the measure of one’s life the value of what his nation has contributed to the global economy? Or is it as you put forward, “what's missing (is) a basic understanding of and appreciation for the true gift of life, the human spirit”.
Regards,
Mark Gaya
When the African Past Meets the Global Future
By Sammy Jacobs Abbey, Human Rights Activist United Nations
General picture of Africa in the mid 1990s is that of a region full of enormous potential to be an economic giant in the world. It’s human and natural resources have barely been tapped. However, in the global arena, Africa still stands out as a continent engulfed in civil and political conflicts, poor economic performance and deepening poverty.
We must increase global attention on the plight of African people! I wish I had the money and power to do so but we are obliged to what we can with what resources we have and I believe your passion combined with mine will do just that.
Too many people drag the past around with them as unnecessary excess baggage and too many others dream of a future they cannot find a way to make happen. The only time we really have to work with is the here and now. This is where we tear down the real or perceived barriers and replace them with bridges from the past to the future. We determine our own future by the choices and decisions we make in the present based on what we have learned from the past and our current situation.
It seems to me that in Africa, we must create a generation of Champions of Change from so many victims of circumstance. The young people are the hope and future of Africa. Our generation has it all wrong, waiting on the more developed countries to come to Africa's assistance. It hasn't worked. The cries of infants suffering and dying have fallen on deaf ears in the developed countries. I believe the media is the key. We must find ways to develop people from the inside out, determined to shape their own future while, at the same time, using the media to raise the awareness level of people in the more developed countries. Change will not come through governments or even international organizations. It will only come from people like us reaching out to each other as brothers and sisters.
Reading the history of Asia, I have heard the "development" taking place there and there is a valuable lesson for the African people to be learned from the emerging Asian countries as they "modernize". That lesson is that we cannot afford to sacrifice the past for the future. We cannot afford to lose the traditional values and ways of any ethnic group in the interest of a few dollars. I see that happening Africa and it breaks my heart.
If Africa is to realize its incredible potential, it must not sell its culture and wonderful history in the process. That is to me, nothing less than moral prostitution and is totally unacceptable. We have a major, major crisis in Africa today. The total decimation of entire populations of adults has brought about a terrible situation. Where are the young people supposed to learn values and principles? You have so many young people left without parents, abused and used for selfish and greedy purposes. These are the real victims and Africa will take a long time to recover from the gap that has been create in recent years. To me, the moral wounds are more severe than the physical ones, though both are connected. Confucius once said that you cannot teach philosophy to a hungry man. This is something I agree with.
One of the problems here is that people in the West do not believe that peace is possible in Africa. Many Africans feel the same and no one could blame them for their lack of faith and hope based on what they have experienced and are seeing take place all round them today. As long as they believe that peace is not possible, it never will be. That's the first step. It is time for all African people to stop using weapons of war to destroy one another and begin using the mind and heart to form their own coalition to take control of their own destiny. You do not need Western governments and corporations coming in to lead the way down their path. That path is not what the African people need. It is a suicide run. What is taking place in the world today, which many refer to as globalization, is nothing more than economic colonialization. It is the subjugation of the poorer nations and their people, a stripping of their natural resources, and enslavement to none other than the almighty dollar. And that's the point. People have replaced God and spirituality with money. That's the philosophical side of things. This war on terrorism in which we are engaged is partly our own doing. We have to address the issues that created this intense hatred of America and the West while defending ourselves against those who would kill innocent civilians, women and children. It is a paradox and an irony that has most world leaders today baffled, but it is also reality. And so simple. It is we humans who are complicating it and this is the reason for so much frustration. People in the West tend to look at Africa and see so much that is overwhelming rather than seeing it as a continent of individual souls and human spirits connected not only to each other throughout history, but also with themselves. Until we all make, it none of us do!
On the practical side, we need to work with the current victims. We need to teach them how to eradicate the wars and poverty and sickness that is wiping out millions of people at such a rate that it is astounding. We need to put an end to the conflicts which no one wins in the end. We need to direct the power of the human mind towards taking care of those who cannot take care of themselves while building nations based on mutual trust and respect. That is how we end war, not with more guns and ammunition. It is true that violence breeds violence and never leads to peaceful resolution. History can teach us that if we but look at the truth and not the way it is recorded by the victors.
The Native American Indians learned that lesson the hard way. The more they tried to "become white" the more they lost in the process. Those who have survived the genocide that took place in many countries only managed to do so by holding onto the old ways while adapting to the evolving situations. Those who did not, perished. That is not to say that the West doesn't have something to offer, however, something the Middle Eastern terrorist groups have lost sight of. You don't have to take all that the West has to offer, just what you need to assist you in attaining your goals. You don't have to remake Africa in the likeness and image of country like America, but our principles of individual freedom and basic human rights are something that you need to instill in African people everywhere. That's what's missing, a basic understanding of and appreciation for the true gift of life, the human spirit.
Best regards
Sammy J Abbey
University of Connecticut
Institute of Comparative Human Rights
General picture of Africa in the mid 1990s is that of a region full of enormous potential to be an economic giant in the world. It’s human and natural resources have barely been tapped. However, in the global arena, Africa still stands out as a continent engulfed in civil and political conflicts, poor economic performance and deepening poverty.
We must increase global attention on the plight of African people! I wish I had the money and power to do so but we are obliged to what we can with what resources we have and I believe your passion combined with mine will do just that.
Too many people drag the past around with them as unnecessary excess baggage and too many others dream of a future they cannot find a way to make happen. The only time we really have to work with is the here and now. This is where we tear down the real or perceived barriers and replace them with bridges from the past to the future. We determine our own future by the choices and decisions we make in the present based on what we have learned from the past and our current situation.
It seems to me that in Africa, we must create a generation of Champions of Change from so many victims of circumstance. The young people are the hope and future of Africa. Our generation has it all wrong, waiting on the more developed countries to come to Africa's assistance. It hasn't worked. The cries of infants suffering and dying have fallen on deaf ears in the developed countries. I believe the media is the key. We must find ways to develop people from the inside out, determined to shape their own future while, at the same time, using the media to raise the awareness level of people in the more developed countries. Change will not come through governments or even international organizations. It will only come from people like us reaching out to each other as brothers and sisters.
Reading the history of Asia, I have heard the "development" taking place there and there is a valuable lesson for the African people to be learned from the emerging Asian countries as they "modernize". That lesson is that we cannot afford to sacrifice the past for the future. We cannot afford to lose the traditional values and ways of any ethnic group in the interest of a few dollars. I see that happening Africa and it breaks my heart.
If Africa is to realize its incredible potential, it must not sell its culture and wonderful history in the process. That is to me, nothing less than moral prostitution and is totally unacceptable. We have a major, major crisis in Africa today. The total decimation of entire populations of adults has brought about a terrible situation. Where are the young people supposed to learn values and principles? You have so many young people left without parents, abused and used for selfish and greedy purposes. These are the real victims and Africa will take a long time to recover from the gap that has been create in recent years. To me, the moral wounds are more severe than the physical ones, though both are connected. Confucius once said that you cannot teach philosophy to a hungry man. This is something I agree with.
One of the problems here is that people in the West do not believe that peace is possible in Africa. Many Africans feel the same and no one could blame them for their lack of faith and hope based on what they have experienced and are seeing take place all round them today. As long as they believe that peace is not possible, it never will be. That's the first step. It is time for all African people to stop using weapons of war to destroy one another and begin using the mind and heart to form their own coalition to take control of their own destiny. You do not need Western governments and corporations coming in to lead the way down their path. That path is not what the African people need. It is a suicide run. What is taking place in the world today, which many refer to as globalization, is nothing more than economic colonialization. It is the subjugation of the poorer nations and their people, a stripping of their natural resources, and enslavement to none other than the almighty dollar. And that's the point. People have replaced God and spirituality with money. That's the philosophical side of things. This war on terrorism in which we are engaged is partly our own doing. We have to address the issues that created this intense hatred of America and the West while defending ourselves against those who would kill innocent civilians, women and children. It is a paradox and an irony that has most world leaders today baffled, but it is also reality. And so simple. It is we humans who are complicating it and this is the reason for so much frustration. People in the West tend to look at Africa and see so much that is overwhelming rather than seeing it as a continent of individual souls and human spirits connected not only to each other throughout history, but also with themselves. Until we all make, it none of us do!
On the practical side, we need to work with the current victims. We need to teach them how to eradicate the wars and poverty and sickness that is wiping out millions of people at such a rate that it is astounding. We need to put an end to the conflicts which no one wins in the end. We need to direct the power of the human mind towards taking care of those who cannot take care of themselves while building nations based on mutual trust and respect. That is how we end war, not with more guns and ammunition. It is true that violence breeds violence and never leads to peaceful resolution. History can teach us that if we but look at the truth and not the way it is recorded by the victors.
The Native American Indians learned that lesson the hard way. The more they tried to "become white" the more they lost in the process. Those who have survived the genocide that took place in many countries only managed to do so by holding onto the old ways while adapting to the evolving situations. Those who did not, perished. That is not to say that the West doesn't have something to offer, however, something the Middle Eastern terrorist groups have lost sight of. You don't have to take all that the West has to offer, just what you need to assist you in attaining your goals. You don't have to remake Africa in the likeness and image of country like America, but our principles of individual freedom and basic human rights are something that you need to instill in African people everywhere. That's what's missing, a basic understanding of and appreciation for the true gift of life, the human spirit.
Best regards
Sammy J Abbey
University of Connecticut
Institute of Comparative Human Rights
Let's Talk
Dear reader
My name is Mark Gaya and I’m a former in-country coordinator for village volunteers in Nairobi, Kenya. I have been engaged in a discussion with Sammy Jacobs Abbey, a Human Rights Activist for the United Nations in Ghana. Sammy and I have been debating Africa’s role in 21st century global politics. We have decided to air this debate on the Village Volunteers blog, and are inviting ‘you’ to participate in this discourse. Please feel free to air your views on these or any other developmental topics. We look forward to hearing from you.
Best regards,
Mark Gaya
My name is Mark Gaya and I’m a former in-country coordinator for village volunteers in Nairobi, Kenya. I have been engaged in a discussion with Sammy Jacobs Abbey, a Human Rights Activist for the United Nations in Ghana. Sammy and I have been debating Africa’s role in 21st century global politics. We have decided to air this debate on the Village Volunteers blog, and are inviting ‘you’ to participate in this discourse. Please feel free to air your views on these or any other developmental topics. We look forward to hearing from you.
Best regards,
Mark Gaya
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)