Africa is the second most populous continent in the world and, probably, one of the richest places when talking about natural and cultural resources. In fact, it represents 20.4% of the total land in the world and 15% of its human population. However, at the same time, it has a long history of slavery, abuse and exploitation by other countries over many years.
Thirteen centuries of slavery and another century of colonialism have led Africa to a false independence in worldwide economic trade. In the late 19th century, the European imperialist powers occupied most of the continent and created many colonial territories. Only two countries, Ethiopia and Liberia, kept their sovereignty. Soon, after the Berlin Conference was held in 1884 and these European powers managed to ensure the political division they wanted and set up their own spheres of influence. That division still remains today.
With the conclusion of World War II, these colonial territories gradually obtained formal but not political or economic independence. Apparently, the European powers became weaker but, at the same time, strong individual authorities grew unexpectedly thanks to foreign help. Most of the countries in Africa are republics that operate under a kind of presidential system; and that is one of the many reasons that have prevented democratic, peaceful development. We can see other factors as well; for example, instability, corruption, violence, authoritarianism and ethnic conflicts. Some have been incited by a group of dictators who had been gradually gaining the affection and kindness of the population in their corresponding countries from the beginning. As time went by, that worship turned into fear, and that fondness became hate.
Instability was constant and the military was seen as the only tool to keep and assure peaceful rules. Between 1960 and 1980, there were more than 70 coups and 13 prime minister assassinations. One of the main reasons for these civil struggles was disappointment with the imposed borders of many African nations fixed by Europeans countries during the Berlin Conference. Cold War conflicts between the United States and the Soviet Union also contributed to instability. When a country became independent for the first time, it was often expected to ally itself with one of the two superpowers. Many countries in North Africa received Soviet military aid, while others in Central and Southern Africa were supported by the United States. There was a major famine in Ethiopia and hundreds of thousands of people starved. Some said that Marxist economic laws made that situation worse.
In the 21st century, however, the number of armed conflicts in Africa has decreased. This has to do with the assumption of new worldwide trade rules instead of continuing with the communist systems. And this is the reason why foreign economic investment has suddenly grown, especially from powerful countries like China. Many African nations have experienced a very rapid improvement of their economies over the last three years.
In the meantime, all the African
nations, except Morocco, got involved and joined together in the African Union
in 2002. The idea was to create a common economic and political space where
every country could speak, suggest and contribute to the development of the larger
African community. There were legislative, executive and judicial organs and
all with a highly organized structure. Although each nation ultimately lost a
part of its strength in the continent, the union of these countries resulted in
more power and tougher defense against possible abuses from abroad.
Although it has abundant natural resources, Africa is still the world's poorest and most underdeveloped continent. Some reasons for this include corrupt governments that have often committed human rights violations, failed planning from the African Union, high levels of illiteracy, poor access to foreign money and frequent tribal and military conflicts. According to the United Nations' Human Development Report in 2003, the bottom 25 listed nations (151st to 175th) were all African. Poverty, illiteracy, malnutrition and inadequate water supply and sanitation, as well as poor health, affect a large proportion of people who live on the African continent.
It is true that some of the problems and difficulties that African nations currently have come from bad domestic policies, political corruption and, sometimes, ethnic struggles; however, it is also a fact that external factors have had an important influence on the current situation of abandon and reliance on other countries’ investment, for example, from China. Anyone can have access to poverty and famine statistics for Africa, and in fact, poverty is increasing in some areas of the continent. In my opinion, however, tough control and an scandalous lack of solidarity from rich foreign companies and nations are the roots of the whole situation.
So, for a better understanding, let’s look at several real cases of outrage and exploitation of the African population and natural resources by different institutions, be they nations or big multinational companies.
1.- COLTAN
MINES IN CONGO. As you all know, coltan, short for columbite-tantalite or, in
other words, “the grey gold”, is a mineral with metal that is mainly found in Australia
and in the eastern regions of Africa, especially in the Democratic Republic of
Congo (formerly Zaire), where 80% of the world’s coltan reserves are. Once
coltan is refined, it becomes a heat resistant powder that has unique
properties for storing electric charges. This is why coltan is so important for
the cell phone industry and is a vital component in the capacitors that control
the electric boards of cell phones and other electronic devices.
First of all, how is coltan mined and obtained? The main “tool” is hands. There is usually a large, deep crater where particles of coltan are constantly falling due to its heavy weight after having been separated from mud, water and other residue of non-useful minerals. Mines are open 24 hours a day and a team of miners obtain hardly a kilo of coltan per day. In addition, most of the workers are very young, covered by mud and dust and with reddened eyes.
The price big companies pay for a kilo of coltan is very high and it rises daily. Companies like Nokia or Sony have sometimes paid more than 400$ for a kilo of coltan. But, this doesn’t correspond to the salaries that miners receive. It is even more painful that most of the workers in several mines all around the Democratic Republic of Congo are children, because they can retrieve the ore from difficult places and, of course, the pay that owners give to them is even lower.
Secondly, it is known that the coltan trade is financing civil war. Almost all the parties and military forces from the Democratic Republic of Congo and, in addition, neighboring countries like Burundi or Rwanda have obtained enormous profits from coltan which they invest them in military strategies, despite the fact that, for example, there are no coltan mines in Rwanda. Uganda is also implicated in smuggling coltan out of Congo for resale in Belgium.
The third subject has to do with gorillas. One of the biggest National Parks in Africa is located in Congo and its name is Kahuzi Biega. The number of mountain gorillas has decreased surprisingly in the last decades as the wide fields of trees have been reduced due to the growth of mines. And that is not all; another reason for the reduction of gorillas is that their meat is being used as food not only for miners but also for the rebel armies that control the area.
In the end, however, small changes are taking place. For instance, a few companies that belong to the technological industry and usually buy coltan are actually asking their suppliers to certify that the ore they buy does not come from Congo or neighboring countries but from legitimate sources. At last, however, governments and big companies are seeking for other alternatives to African coltan, and as a result they have found small areas in Greenland where coltan could be mined. The problem simply moves…
2.- BLOODY
IVORY TRADE. Behind every object made of ivory that is sold anywhere in the
world, there is probably a trail of human and animal suffering and
exploitation. The “price” that is often paid for ivory production is well known:
photographs in the media show trucks full of elephant tusks or pieces of ivory
decorating zoo fences or many state offices.
At the same time, there is another important problem that has to do with ivory trade: the human toll. It is not just a matter of elephants but also of human beings. Exploitation, political corruption and taxpayer abuses by public officials are sadly frequent, and so criminal interests in the end are being served. Like diamonds, gold or coltan, ivory is taking its own place as a resource conflict in Africa.
International criminal syndicates, corrupt governments and some of the world's most notorious terrorists and rebel armies -for example, Al-Shabab from Somalia or the Janjaweed from Sudan- are financing and strengthening the global trade in illegal ivory. Several governments from African and foreign countries are also deeply implicated in facilitating the extraction, trade and export of ivory for personal profits.
Change, of course, should come from not only the African nations but certainly from those countries, especially in Asia, that can control the demands of ivory and offer guarantees in order to create a fair, reliable ivory supply chain. Thailand is both a principal receiver and a major manufacturing state of illegal ivory products. But what is important here is that Thailand is currently fixing its legal system by trying to control the illegal ivory trade and, at the same time that it reduces the consumption of this product. Finally, citizens can also take action by requiring environmental conservation, public and fair trade policies and, for instance, by trying not to buy ivory objects that have been manufactured illegally. Human rights are here in danger and elephants are sadly on the way to extinction.
3.- BITTER
CHOCOLATE. In Ivory Coast, the West African country that produces half the world’s
cocoa, children carrying long saws and machetes are a common image. They are
soon taken out of school and put to work at big cocoa farms all over the
country. Severe wounds are very usual and they work for hours without any
possibility of resting.
The most important chocolate manufacturers have promised several times to eradicate forced child labour, but the years go by and these big companies do not keep their word even when the US Congress threaten them with economic sanctions. This project is named The Cocoa Protocol and its first and most important goal is taking children off the chocolate farms in Ivory Coast. As the congressman Eliot Engel says: “The bottom line is to stop child slavery”.
These are only three examples of the exploitation
and national and international abuse of African population and their natural
resources. We could mention others, like the diamond scandal in Sierra Leone,
or the long-standing oil conflict in Sudan and South Sudan.
A Harvard University study led by Professor Calestous Juma showed that Africa could feed itself by making the transition from importation, under illegal and dark policies, to self-sufficiency. "African agriculture is at the crossroads," says Dr. Juma. "We have come to the end of a century of policies that favored Africa's export of raw materials and importation of food”. Although there has been a facing up to the reality of discrimination, exploitation and international abuse, Africa is starting to focus on agricultural innovation as its new engine for regional trade and prosperity.
Hope is coming…
Bolandres
No comments:
Post a Comment