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