How to Write about Africa

I had to read this article today for class, and I actually laughed out loud while reading it. I know that quite a few readers of this blog are interested in Africa, so I thought I would share it.

It's entitled "How to Write about Africa" by Binyavanga Wainaina, who lives in Kenya:
http://www.granta.com/Magazine/92/How-to-Write-about-Africa/Page-1

It's only three pages long and a quick read. Let me know what you think. Enjoy!

Africa, Part Four: Become a Peace Advocate from Your Living Room

We each play a role in the conflict in Africa because our demand for electronic resources is what fuels it and guns from our country perpetuate it. Therefore, we should each play a role in peace.

John Prendergast discussed the need for a mass movement of people in the United States who want to stop genocide. It is up to us to put political pressure on Congress and the president to act. We must use our political voice. When we raise our voices in unison, it makes a difference.

Prendergast outlined several things each American can do to bring peace to the region, which could save millions of lives, and it would only take about fifteen minutes. Start by just trying one of the following:
1) Join the anti-genocide movement. Sign up for an organization like Save Darfur, STAND, or Enough. These organizations lobby members of Congress, and have power simply because they have a large number of people behind them. It is free and easy, and even if you don't read the emails they send you, you are helping just by being on the list.
2) Call Congress and/or the White House directly. They tally up the number of calls they receive. There is even a special phone number for this issue: 1-800-GENOCIDE. You can call as many times as you want.
3) Tell Obama your opinion. He has set up a special website to hear people’s concerns before he even enters office: http://change.gov/page/s/yourvision
4) Get in touch with members of Congress. For California Senators: Click here to email Barbara Boxer. Click here to email Dianne Feinstein. Click here to get information on how you can write to your representative in the House. According to John, if you don’t vote or write to the people you vote for, you don’t really exist in the system. We elect them and are their bosses, so they listen to us.
5) Write to your local media or call them. Tell them that you want to see more news about what is going on in war-torn places like Africa. We are their bosses also, because we buy their newspaper.

The biggest changes have come about because of large-scale people’s movements. Think about the abolitionists, the women’s movement, the civil rights movement, the anti-apartheid movement, and others. Now is time for an anti-genocide movement. This may be the most compelling moral issue of our time, according to John. We must raise our voices to stop the first genocide of the 21st century. This is our chance to prevent the deaths of millions of people.

Africa, Part Three: Peace is Possible

There is great hope for peace in Africa, because it has been accomplished many times in the past. Over the previous twenty-five years, more conflicts have been resolved on the continent than not. Peace agreements have been signed in Ethiopia and Eritrea, Burundi, Mozambique, South Africa, Southern Sudan, Sierra Leone, Liberia, and others.

The problem is that the current approach is not working. The symptoms of conflicts are being addressed as billions of dollars are being spent on humanitarian concerns, but the root of the problem is not being focused on. The goal should be peace.

According to John Prendergast what is needed is a Peace Surge in Africa, using the soft power of U.S. diplomacy to create international coalitions to end these wars. Since Obama has voiced interest in using dialogue and diplomacy instead of only the U.S. military, there is a lot of hope that this could happen soon. The U.S. does have the largest military in the world, but it also has the largest diplomatic core. This would not cost the U.S. extra money; it would just have to use the resources it already has. Ultimately in the long run, it would save the United States money, and there would be positive byproducts for the country, like a better relationship with China. China has a rooted interest in the region, because they have already invested billions of dollars there that they would not benefit from if war continues and spreads. For example, China has invested 8.5 billion dollars in Southern Sudan in oil, which if war were to spread to this region, China would not be able to have access to this investment.

John Prendergast suggests that Obama send high power officials to China, and then launch the Peace Surge. This would include a multilateral approach to peace where experienced negotiating teams are sent to the region, backed up by Obama, so they have credibility there. The time is quickly approaching for this Peace Surge to begin, because these leaders in Africa are waiting to see what will happen with this new president. John received several phone calls from Africa when Obama was elected, because people are excited for what this means for the continent. Many in Africa have trust in and respect for Obama, so this presents an incredible opportunity for peace there.

Each American has a key role to play in achieving peace in Africa. This will be addressed in the next and last post on this topic.

Africa, Part Two: Sudan and Uganda

In the DRC, an inhumane war is taking place where widespread rape is used as a tool to advance political agendas, and genocide is being committed in Darfur, Sudan. John Prendergast calls this area the 21st century version of the Holocaust. In Sudan and the DRC, 7.5 million people have died. In Northern Uganda, the Lord’s Resistance Army has kidnapped thousands of children to use as soldiers in their military (the United Nations estimates that there are about 250,000 child soldiers worldwide). They often make these children kill people in their family or their community so they are too scared to go home. Uganda currently has the highest child abduction rate in the world, and this abduction is spreading into Eastern Congo and Southern Sudan. Another grave aspect of these conflicts is the displacement of people, which results in a large part of the population living in refugee camps. In Northern Uganda, 1.5 million people have been displaced. In Darfur, 2.5 million have been displaced, and in the DRC over 1 million people have been displaced, with 250,000 of those occurring in September and October 2008 (according to the UN).

On average, the countries in Africa are only fifty years into their independence. When our country was at this stage of its formation, we were experiencing economic explosion on the backs of African slaves, who were completely dehumanized and killed in the process. We were still in the process of displacing Native Americans from their land, a development that resulted in the destruction of almost an entire people and their culture. And we hadn’t even fought our civil war yet, which ended up being one of the most deadly wars in history. We are not too different than Africa then, except for that they are trying to build their country in the midst of a military-industrial complex, where they have easy access to affordable weapons. The United States and Russia are the leading arms dealers in the region. Once again, we are already playing a role in this area.

However, there is hope for Africa, and we have a role to play in bringing peace to the region. More to come on this in the next few posts.

Africa, Part One: The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)

For the past two weeks, we have been incredibly fortunate to have John Prendergast at the School of Peace Studies as a guest scholar. John has worked in Africa for years, including under the Clinton administration, where he played a key role in establishing a peace agreement between Ethiopia and Eritrea. He led many events, lectures, and discussions while he was here, so I will do a series of posts on Africa as a result based on what John spoke about.

The war going on in the DRC is the world’s deadliest war since WWII. 5.2 million people have died in the past decade. One of the especially devastating aspects of this current conflict is how rape is being used as a tool of war. Mass rapes are taking place throughout the DRC right now, and have been incredibly effective in removing people from their land and humiliating the population affected. The DRC is the most dangerous place in the world to be a woman. Rape is being used as a “weapon of mass destruction.” If we allow this to continue, historians will look back and say it was a turning point where rape was proved to be so effective as a war tactic that others began using it.

Every American has a role in this conflict, because this is a conflict over resources that we all use. We are all personally benefiting from the War in Congo because the minerals extracted from the country are used to produce our electronic devices such as computers, i-pods, and cell phones. The atrocities taking place are fueled by our insatiable demand for resources.

This is not a hopeless situation though. Peace has been achieved in various parts of Africa, it can be attained here, and we can all be a part of the achievement of peace in this region. More to come on these topics in the next few posts.