Issue 279

There is a thing that has stroke my imagination beyond control and comprehension. It is and will perhaps remain for too long without any plausible answer. This is the thing: Why is it that, whenever the microphones, cameras and pens of major news media in the Western world are directed to Africa, they only broadcast or publish negative news? Does it mean that nothing positive ever happens in the 53 or soon 55 countries (when South Sudan becomes independent in 2011 and between now and early next year, when Somaliland gains full-fledged international recognition), on the continent of Africa? Think not that, I am an amateur of good news only. But all I want and pray is that, one day, the International news media from the Western world, will endeavor, whenever they want to show Africa, feel the urge to broadcast positive as well as her negative aspects.

To some westerners, who have long been groomed by a section of their biased media, which are largely dominated by racists who always claim to be liberals and thus friends of Africa and other poor parts of the globe, the continent ( Africa) that, is claimed to be the cradle of civilization is hell on earth. To a point that, whenever a western journalist from one of those doom and gloom media outfits reaches an African country, and discovered a semblance of order, as one western newspaper journalist recently discovered she was shocked. Why? She was shocked to discover the orderliness of the Nigerian capital city, Abuja. She fumed, and wrote that, Abuja looks more like a Washington DC suburb, than a normal African city and she asked: why is Abuja not like Lagos? Lagos, the former capital of Nigeria is euphuism for African cities and their trade mark seediness and chaos. Much of Lagos is in reality a dirty and disorganized place where to eke a living is a matter of life and dead. She was angry at why Abuja never had hawkers and street urchins like in Lagos or in any other African city.

If Abuja is clean and orderly, it is because her administrator is fighting tooth and nail to respect the original master plan of the city, even at the expenses of some rules of Human rights. Hopefully the new president of Nigeria will respect Abuja’s master plan as Obasanjo and El Rufia have done. While Abuja is an example that shows that when Nigerians and black Africans are serious they are magnificent, the second case of urban sanity will soon be discovered again in Nigeria, when the new Kaduna city currently under construction is completed. But this simply shows that, there are positive things happening on the continent. Before I leave this aspect, have you not all noticed that, whenever western media are covering the continent, they always sort the catchy clichés of slums, and street children, without which, their story or stories won’t be complete? The succeeding businesses, democracies and other things happening in Africa are seldom on the menu of western news media. The most sort after food about Africa these are Zimbabwe and Western Sudan.

Africa success stories such as Botswana, Cape Verde, Mauritius, Namibia, Seychelles and South Africa are seldom mentioned by western media, for it will contradict the stereotypes and invite questions from their own people whom they have been deceiving for quite a long time now. But can we or do I need to really blame Western media outfits for their colossal bias on Africa? Not really, we are the cause or architects of our own insults. As a Bassa proverb so nicely puts it: if there is no link from one river bank to the other, ants won’t cross. Zimbabwe now is the focus of the International media. There are on her like ravenous wolves. But the president of Zimbabwe Robert Gabriel Mugabe’s land reform is a noble idea.

However, the way he has decided to execute it is the problem. I thought that man is or was too intelligent to have known that, the path that he took may have been right, but the reality of the world warranted him to be a realist and not an idealist. Furthermore, the land reforms that he has undertaken have affected most Black Zimbabweans than the Whites. And finally, it is of no good to always want to visit history, for it contains too hash memories that, opening it is like throwing an atomic bomb. Zimbabwe is down today not just because Mugabe wanted to right the historic wrongs as he rhetorically claims, but more because he wanted to keep power. But why are South Africans and their government being forced to act into Zimbabwe’s internal problems with signs of threats? Why must Mbeki be punished for the crimes of Mugabe?

Has China, India, Thailand and South Korea been threatened because of the deeds of the governments of Burma and North Korea as it is currently the case with pressure mounted on South Africa and countries of the southern Africa zone? I suspect that, since Zimbabwe supported the ANC during apartheid, there are some people who want the ANC to do the same today against the government of Zimbabwe. Yes the government of Zimbabwe is violent, but as the former apartheid regime in South Africa has demonstrated, no dictatorial regime will hold power forever, that is simply why, the South Africans, their president Thabo Mbeki must be left alone, for he and his country have a lot of problems of their own to start another one in another country.

Sudan has also touched the summit of polarity for the wrong reasons. The Genocide in western Sudan is appalling. But there has also always been some obfuscation of facts about the country. The first want is that wish holds that, Arabs are killing Africans? And this question: are Sudanese not Africans? I have always thought that, there is a desire somewhere to keep Sudan in the state of war and fuelling it in through one way or the other. The used of the word Arab is a calculated attempt to divide the entire continent along ethnic or racial lines with Sudan serving as the epicenter or experimental ground.

Most Africans who are ethnic Arabs are not all ‘White skinned’. Even though it must also be pointed out that, although real Arabs are light skinned or ‘Whites’, they are not of Indo-European stock. More, the appellation Arab in some parts of Africa especially the zone of the Sahalian region that borders North Africa, is a mixture of trademark, pride, confusion and religion. In the same region most that call themselves or are being called Arabs are either Touaregs or Maures both Berber clans. And in both there exist blacks as well as those who are light skinned or ‘Whites’. Another twist with the danger of calling people what they are not, as it is currently the case in Darfur is that, there is a long contention between Black Africans and Arab Africans that and I suspect, the West wants reactive or is fuelling it already in Sudan via Darfur. The repercussions are already visible and this has been manifested in the positions taken in the conflict by both organizations that Sudan belongs to or is a member: the Arab league and the African Union.

None of those specialists and neo-lovers of Darfur have ever bothered to tell the world that, the Sudanese Army is made up largely of Darfurians. And also that, the Darfur crisis has nothing to do about race. It might be tribal as noticed in most African states but it is far from what many specialists are claiming. For those called Arabs and who are now known via the inglorious Janjaweeds are in reality Black Arabic-speaking Sudanese who are mostly herdsmen. But there are also some Sudanese ethnic Arabs who are light skinned. But both who are herder tribes. They are the ones fighting against none Arabic-speaking Blacks.

Why? Darfur’s problems which is different from those that, South Sudan had with the North of which Darfur is part, is that of the much heralded negative effects of global warming or the changes vegetations. Darfur’s population and livestock have grown in the last four decades, while her vegetation or land to graze animals and farm has kept on shrinking. This means that, there was bound to be conflicts between black farmers who are Muslim but none Arabic-speaking against black Arabic-speaking Sudanese who herd Cattle, Sheep, Goats and Camels, because of lack proper used of scare resources, failure to adopt new methods of farming and animal husbandry. There the same ethnic mixtures found in Darfur are found in neighboring Chad, Cameroon, Niger, Nigeria and Mali. These countries also have Negro and light skinned populations who call themselves Arabs. Their population might be smaller, but it must be stresses that, the appellation: Arab, has nothing to do with color and religion, it is more a matter of culture or shared values. Furthermore in the current dispensation of the world, it is important to know that, not all Arabs are Muslims and not all Muslims are Arabs.

Finally most people or ethnic groups in Africa who call themselves Arabs are in reality distinct ethnic groups with their own appellations. The cases of the Touaregs in Mali, Niger, Libya and Algeria and Maures in Mauritania are fine examples. Maures are divided into two groups, black Maures also known as Harantine (the majority in Mauritania) and the minority light skin Maures who liked to be called ‘White Maures’. Between both Maurish groups, further two things unite them, their religion which is Islam and the pretentiously borrowed or given name of Arab. Even in North Africa, were some of their elites want them to be known as Arabs, most natives are not ethnic Arabs. However as far as Darfur, Sudan is concern, there are certainly some centrifugal forces at play in Darfur whose roles or actions has exacerbated the conflict. The first such negative force is the Sudanese central government in Khartoum.

Because of the absence of democracy in the country, most government officials in Khartoum may talk about dialogue, but believe more in the use of military force to settle the current crisis just as they did for 21 years with southern Sudan. And the second negative forces are the roles of countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, Russia and China in Sudan. The first two are in support of the rebels, while the second pair is supporting the government of Sudan. And in between both, are ordinary Darfurians black Arabic-speakers as well as none Arabic-speakers. The conflict in Darfur pitting farmers and herders is common place in Central and West Africa these last decades because of climatic changes. For example, in the greater northern French-speaking provinces of Cameroon and in the North West English-speaking province of the same country, there are occasionally such problems pitting on one side herders in search for grazing land for their animals and farmers and in most cases the conflict ends up with mutual killings, until the government intervenes.

However it does not get inflamed as it is the case with Darfur because; the stakes are not the same. This therefore means that, serious steps must be taken to solve the problem in Darfur instead of accusing China or Russia as it seems to be case now or attempting to attribute the cause or causes of the crisis to factors that are not real. Why are the roles of Western countries financing Darfur rebels who are equally causing havoc as the government not being mentioned and questioned? And who is the western leader who will want to be in the position of General Al Bashir? He is going to loose Southern Sudan in 2011 and he does not want to be the one who presided over the disintegration of his country, that above all else, is one with one of the most prestigious history in Africa. Hence, General Al Bashir and Sudan need the help of all coated with cautious criticisms that we may make or are making.

African Path

BIOGRAPHY

ELIE B. SMITH

My name is Elie B. Smith. I am 33 years old and a holder of a Diploma in Mass Communications and a Bachelor in International Marketing. I am a Broadcast Journalist by profession and have worked with the English services of Radio France International and Canal France International, respectively as a correspondent in Africa and sports commentator here in Paris where I am now living.

EMAIL:
eliesmith@yahoo.com

Home | Contact us | Links | Archives