Tag: Africa

AFRICAN BORDERS AND THE POLITICS OF EXCLUSION: REVISITING THE COLONIAL PAST, Part 1

Posted on by kathiemm
emmanuel image 1 african borders
Figure 1: Nigerian border. Photo by Emmanuel Mbaezue.

By Emmanuel Mbaezue

 

Once known as the cradle of civilization, endowed with a rich cultural heritage, and a communal style of living that was almost equal to none, Africa’s position in the World was once enviable.  The Continent’s conservative but still “uncorrupted” nature allowed her to remain secluded and hidden to the rest of the world for centuries. For some, she was “the unknown world,” and for some others, the Dark Continent, but still in her solitary state, Africa amazingly thrived.

That tranquil and serene environment, and the gradual and peaceful evolution of the Continent, came to an end by decree of the West. In the years 1884-1885, the Continent’s fate was decided by the European powers in Berlin, Germany. Without her consent, an unwilling and un-participating Africa was arbitrarily divided into 53 mostly incompatible units, with little or no cognizance taken of her geo-demographic peculiarities.

Led by Otto Von Bismarck but mostly guided by their economic interests, the Europeans scrambled for the resources in Africa, resources they so desperately needed to feed the industrial revolution in Europe. In the course of all this, Africa not only suffered environmental and physical abuse as vast numbers of slaves and mineral resources forcefully left her shores, she also experienced deep sociological harm.

The arbitrary demarcation of African lands without any respect for its different constituents and cultural landscapes not only led to the forceful fusion of incompatible national groups into single entities and the imposition of artificial boundaries upon them, it also resulted in the distortion of entities that naturally belonged together. By their “divide and rule” system, Europe not only magnified the differentials existent in Africa’s diverse ethnic groups, but also, in some cases, arrogated more powers and privileges to one ethnic group to the detriment of others (as in Rwanda when the Belgians favored the minority Tutsis over the Hutus); thus, Europe set the stage for most of Africa’s bloodiest conflicts.

Mr. Chukwuemeka Emmanuel Mbaezue is a doctoral student of Peace & Conflict Studies, specializing in Boundary & Border Studies, at the University of Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria. He is a co-founder and member of the Border Areas Development Initiative (BADI), a non-governmental organization focusing on the development and security of Nigeria’s northern borders and border communities through education, research, advocacy programs and addressing issues related to forced and undocumented migration. His research area is on the trends and challenges of trans-border radicalization of young people.

 

There’s Blood on Their Hands—Lots of It

Posted on by kathiemm
Anti-colonialism demonstrators before the 1945 Sétif and Guelma massacre of Algerians by the French
Image by Vikoula5 and in the public domain.

The recent massacre of civilians in Paris was horrific, unconscionable, and despicable—as has been the response in Paris, the US, and elsewhere in the West. Revenge, revenge, revenge is the resonating cry. The innocent victims of the terrorist attacks did not deserve their fate; nor did the innocent victims of centuries of French—and other Western, including American–colonialism.

The ethic of reciprocity, that “do unto others” Golden Rule, is a life- and fairness-promoting mantra; too often, we hear instead an “eye for an eye” refrain. Here we go again, with violence begetting violence and  it is fool-hardy to think further violence will put an end to the discontent, the rage, the enmity associated in part with centuries of Western exploitation, repression, and violence in other parts of the world.

Let’s take the case of France. During the 1600s, France began establishing colonies in North America, the Caribbean, and India—although “establish” is a euphemism. What France did was aggressively seize control of areas far from its own borders, and rule them until control was seized by someone else, generally Great Britain (another model of ruthless imperialism).

In the mid-nineteenth century, France extended its strong arm into Africa, Indochina, and the South Pacific. When people whose skin is black, brown, or yellow—“people of color”—are ruled over by white people, history has shown us that the rulers do not grasp the hands of the indigenous people in brotherhood, whatever their national mottos might be. The bloody wars in Algeria and Vietnam were in my lifetime. Hard for me to believe that there are nations in these “modern” and “civilized” times whose leaders view it as okay to take over land long occupied by other people, or leaders who do not think of “colonization” as a dirty word.

Historical memory tends to be very long. For many decades after the last rebellious Native American Indian went to his reward, American children played “Cowboys and Indians,” and all those children, like you, knew who the “bad guys” were–at least according to the stories told to them.

Let’s start working on better ways of dealing with violence then engaging in yet more acts of revenge that can only perpetuate the cycle.

P.S. The attacks on Beirut and the Russian plane were just as unconscionable as the one in Paris and should not be brushed aside just because we are better able to see the French as like us.

Kathie Malley-Morrison, Professor of Psychology

Terrorism personified: The Boko Haram in Nigeria (Part 3 of Fundamentalism vs. Extremism)

Posted on by kathiemm

Third in a series by guest contributor Emmanuel C. Mbaezue

Map of Nigerian states with Boko Haram activity between 2010-2013
Nigerian states with Boko Haram activity between 2010-2013. By Nerika, used under CC Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. From Wikimedia Commons

At first they started as a political interest group, seeking, since the 1999 elections, to return the “Northern Oligarchy” in Nigeria to power. But today, the true face of the group has been revealed and their real intentions exposed.

Boko Haram has gone from a politico-religious extremist group to global terrorists—at least according to the global terrorist watch list published by the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA).

As the state of unrest, chaos, and political instability in Nigeria continues to worsen, Boko Haram has consistently taken advantage of the situation, using it to expand their frontiers and strengthen their affiliation with other terrorist groups operating in sub-Saharan Africa, the Maghreb region, and the horn of Africa.

In recognition of this deepening crisis, the African Center for Strategic Studies (ACSS), in collaboration with intellectuals from both Africa and the U.S., recently came together to deliberate on this developing situation under the platform of “understanding and mitigating the drivers of Islamist extremism in Northern Nigeria.”

This video provides information about those discussions. It also serves as introduction to the development of extremism within a context of colonialism and post-colonialism and its links to religion in Africa, with a focus on Nigeria, Africa’s most populous Muslim country.

Emmanuel Chukwuemeka Mbaezue has a Master of Science in Conflict Management and Peace Studies from University of Jos, Jos, Plateau State. He is a member of the Institute of Chartered Mediators and Conciliators, and works as a paralegal counsel at the Legal Aid Council for the Federal Ministry of Justice in Nigeria.

Violence in your backyard: Poverty in America

Posted on by kathiemm

Recent posts have linked poverty to violence in Greece and Africa. But poverty means violence here in America, too, and the forces that breed poverty and violence can reach into every home if they are ignored.Homeless campsite

A few examples of the link between poverty and violence in the United States:

  • Gun deaths are higher in states with higher levels of poverty and lower incomes
  • Poverty is a major contributor to domestic violence (opens in pdf)
  • Deaths due to poverty-related factors are as common as deaths due to heart attacks, strokes, and lung cancer
  • On average, in Camden, NJ, the poorest city in America, someone was shot every 33 hours in 2012.

We can afford to do better.

The U.S. is the richest country in the world, has the largest number of billionaires in the world, and has the highest gross national product.

It also ranks first (opens in pdf) in defense expenditures and military weapons expenditures.  Indeed, the military budget is so large, the Pentagon had a surplus of $105 billion at the end of FY2012.

A small portion of this money could reduce the violence of poverty—and the costs of that violence– dramatically.

UNICEF has shown that nations can lift children out of poverty and nations around the world are doing just that.

The U.S., however, is lagging in this effort.  We have the second highest rate of child poverty among developed nations. This is indefensible.

For more faces of poverty, check out these photos.

Poverty is violence.  It costs money. It costs lives. We must do better. To address violence, we must address poverty.

Kathie Malley-Morrison, Professor of Psychology