Africa: one continent, two worlds

This is the Maghreb, the western or "sunset" countries of North Africa. They are all Arabic countries, all Muslim. And many of them, along with next-door Egpt and other Arabic Muslim countries of the middle east, are in turmoil.

But the unrest -- dare we say revolution? -- won't easily spread through sub-Saharan Africa, even though countries such as the Congo, Uganda and Zimbabwe are poverty-stricken, chaotic and ruled by corrupt and incompetent "Big Men" who would seem to be ripe for the picking...or should we say "shooting".

Why not? The Globe and Mail's man in Africa, Geoffrey York, provides some answers in a thoughtful analysis, published today. Here's a sample of Mr. York's reasoning.

Revolution is often a luxury of an educated middle class, and much of Africa is too rural and too poor to sustain a national uprising. Dictators in sub-Saharan Africa often defend their power through a politically loyal military – in contrast to Egypt, where the troops tolerated protest.

Technology is another factor: Internet access is still relatively low in most of Africa, making it harder to organize protest. And the ethnic and religious rifts in many African countries are a huge obstacle to the organization of national protests.

Forcus on that last sentence, please, because it's the key to understanding Africa. York is saying, in another what, what V.S. Naipaul said in The Masque of Africa, reviewed here earlier this week.

The problem ... make that a problem with Africa is the culture of Africa. Underneath a thin veneer of western civilization [Is that not an oxymoron? Ed.] you find the real Africa, bedevilled by tribalism, supserstition and ignorance.

All the goodwill and foreign aid we keep throwing into the Dark Continent is not going to change that. The only hope is that the Africans will change themselves -- evolve, in other words -- and that will take centuries. Don't hold your breath.

Coming soon - another "nation" to help

"_________ is one of the poorest and hungriest places in the world, racked [sic] by tribal violence, with rates of child malnutrition and maternal mortality that rank among the worst on the planet."

That's a quote from a recent Globe and Mail article by Geoffrey York. What country do you suppose Mr. York is talking about? Hint: over 90% of the inhabitants are black. Could it be Somalia? Burkina Faso? Eritrea? Maybe Haiti? There are lots of candidates, chiefly African. But the winner [loser, surely. ed.] is... wait for it... South Sudan.

Wait a minute, I hear you pedants exclaim. South Sudan isn't a country yet. No, not yet. But wait about seven months. A referendum on independence -- make that separation from the Arab-dominated northern part of Sudan -- is due to be held in January. The black, more-or-less Christian southern part of the country is expected to succeed in seceding.

Ah yes, the birth of a nation. Call D.W. Griffith. Another member for the farcical talking shop which calls itself "the United Nations". And another large begging bowl to be held out to "the West" or "the North" or "the G8" or whatever the rich countries are collectively called today. Cue Bono and Boob Geldof to tell us it's all our fault that the new baby nation has an excellent chance of being stillborn.

Gerald Caplan, Canada's master handwringer, told Mr. York "Arbitrary boundaries carried the seeds of much subsequent destruction, notably the terrible national/ethnic wars that have plagued Africa.... This will be a frail new state indeed. The south is left with deep ethnic divisions and divisive borders that are a recipe for big future trouble."

Or course. It's our fault that most of the $7,000,000,000 Southern Sudan has received in oil revenue since 2005 has been siphoned off by corruption. It's our fault that its government has given the largest part of its budget to its military and security forces. How could we have failed them so badly?! Two more paragraphs from the article:

"In the capital, Juba, there is no electricity grid, no industry, and scarcely any water treatment. Most people live in mud huts, shacks, tents or other temporary dwellings. Families must pay up to $4 for a barrel of...tainted water [from the White Nile]. International agencies such as Unicef have been obliged to provide emergency water supplies to prevent more cholera outbreaks.

"The independence of southern Sudan...won’t end the illiteracy, malnutrition, maternal deaths, or disease outbreaks. If the impoverished people of southern Sudan don’t see improvement in their lives, the peace pledges could be jeopardized and the tribal violence could escalate."

What's the solution? How can we imperialists make good all the wrongs we've done to these poor people? [Errr... the colonial era ended over fifty years ago! ed.] Throw money at them! That's the ticket!

Don't wait for Bono and Geldof to ask. Get out your chequebook now! Send your donation c/o Walt. And be sure to write on the corner of the envelope: "I'm a guilt-wracked white liberal and I want to help!"

Meanwhile, elsewhere in Africa...

Heading (in our thoughts) east through the Dark Continent, we come to Kenya, the politics and corruption of which is the subject of Michela Wrong's excellent book It's our turn to eat : the story of a Kenyan whistle-blower (New York, Fourth Estate, 2009).

Kenya's capital, Nairobi, is today ranked as one of the most dangerous capital cities in Africa, and that's saying something. In spite of hosting the headquarters of a number of UN agencies and NGOs, it is not a good place for foreigners to visit, let alone live and work. You wouldn't want to be a diplomat or professional do-gooder if it means living in Nairobi.

News has reached us of the kidnapping of a Canadian aid worker, grabbed in broad daylight on Wednesday after dropping his child off at school. This is just one incident in an epidemic of kidnapping which began last year. Most victims [not all? ed.] have been released after a ransom was paid by mobile telephone transfer. No-one ever said Africans couldn't make use of new technology!

About half of Kenyans live on less than $2 a day but there is also a thriving class of "eaters" (see Ms Wrong's book) and other criminals.

The percentage of Zimbabweans who live below the poverty line is probably higher. No-one knows for sure because Zimbabwe's Central Statistical Office gave up on trying to measure such things following the collapse of the Zimbabwean dollar last year. But Comrade Bob Mugabe's quest to destroy the economy by "empowering" himself and his cronies knows no end.

The latest, perhaps the last, nail in the coffin is the enactment of Statutory Instrument 21 of 2010, comprising the Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment (General) Regulations, 2010. Under the regulations, all white-owned businesses will be required to give a 51% share of their enterprises to blacks, meaning "Bob's-your-uncle" and his cronies.

This odious new law does for the rest of the Zimbabwean economy what the infamous land grab which started in 2000 did for the agricultural sector. One of Zimbabwe's leading pundits, Eric Bloch, calls it a "death sentence". Mr. Bloch is one of only a handful of influential whites to have remained in Zimbabwe rather than deserting the sinking ship. Now, however, events seem to have overtaken his optimism. Click here to read his comments from this week's Zimbabwe Independent.

I also recommend "Zimbabwe: a nation with little to celebrate", written by Geoffrey York, the Globe & Mail 's man in Africa. He writes: "A year after a historic coalition government was formed, most Zimbabweans are in no mood to celebrate today's anniversary. Civil servants are on strike, reforms are stalled, farmers are under attack, and the autocratic Robert Mugabe still controls most of the levers of power."

Mr. York's column would appear to have been written before the latest "legalized" theft by the Zimbabwean government. Before he writes a follow-up, Mr. York should talk with Mr. Bloch.