Africa must stop blaming colonialism for its woes: Cape Verde PM

tvarad

Golden Member
Jun 25, 2001
1,130
0
0
Article.

"LISBON (AFP) - Africa must stop blaming its colonial past for its problems and instead point the finger at the continent's leaders, the prime minister of the west African archipelago of Cape Verde said.

Colonialism and its legacy of slavery played "an important role in the deterioration of the situation in Africa" but "Africans have had Africa in their hands for half a century," Cape Verde Prime Minister Jose Maria das Neves said in an interview with the Portuguese news agency Lusa.

"You can't continue to justify the current situation of the continent with colonialism, slavery and unfair trading terms," he said.

"Responsibility for the current state of affairs in the African continent lies firstly in the hands of African leaders who must assume their responsibility to develop a clear strategy for Africa's future that takes advantage of all of its human capabilities and natural resources," he added."

I personally think that Europe has played a huge part in the destruction of black Africa BUT it is refreshing to see a leader take responsibility for the future, as opposed to a criminal like Mugabe who could have done so much with the kind of resources Zimbabwe has but is now going to his thug counterparts in China for a 2 billion dollar handout.
 

beyoku

Golden Member
Aug 20, 2003
1,568
1
71
Ultimately he is right,. Then again its easy to talk stuff from a little teeny island. I think that many are under the impression that Africa gained their independence like 1oo's of years ago. The "history" of colonialism when paired with the history of slavery makes it seem like it happened (or ended) at the same time. That is a false message. Just about ALL countries in Africa gained their independence like 15-50 / 25-50 years ago. Yes some countries in Africa were NOT FREE UNTIL 1990! That was like 16 years ago. This is not like it happened so long ago. So in some ways yes he is right. On a whole, Africa has just had Bad Leadership. Very Bad. Its like a broken record. Get elected.......promise some shyt......Do nothing....divert most funds to their personal bank account......(Mugabe is probably a multi BILLIONAIRE)......Give all your friends and tribe the rest.....Then use a police state to rinse and repeat. It has become no longer about actually handling the administration of the country and more just about "staying in power" and they will do, and have done just about anything just to stay in power for money. Mobutu who we just loved had about the same amount in his personal account as the countries debt. Somewhere around 5 billion dollars......and thats just one example. They figured that since the where some of the founders of independence (and this is why they are so popular) they can enjoy in the spoils. And the problem is some of these people, like Mugabe are still in power. While other African countries are really only on their 2nd leader.

I also think...Well history shows that Europe did too much a lot TOO SOON. When trying to fix some of the issues with colonialism just 25-50 years ago. The basically gave all the aid and the money and confidence to the first generation of leaders, most not turning out so well. Now they fell as if they have done their part. Have they? - who knows.
Also the "unfair trading terms" that African countries are HUGE, they can really be the main factor in how poor some of these countries are. Look at the war between Starbucks vs Ethiopia.
Starbucks has the power inside the coffee lobby to stop a country [Ethiopia] from copyrighting the names of Towns where it grows the best coffee beans in the world (won by taste test) INSIDE ETHIOPIA. Instead Starbucks wants to copyright the names themselves. This is not a little issue for Ethiopia when 90% of their export / more than half the GDP is coffee. And this happens everyday in different countries within Africa. I know Africa really does not get a fair deal a lot of times. Even in the 30's the west didn't care and in some cases undermined the plight of Ethiopia fighting aggression of Italy. Many really didnt support Sanctions by the L.o.N. Black Americans were refused passports to go to Ethiopia fight. But Italian Americans were granted passports to help fight on the side of Italy.

I'm going to stop here. They guy is right but hey. Its like telling Black Americans and Natives "Stop blaming US for the history of land theft / genocide and slavery.....It was only 25- 50 years ago. You should really be looking toward the future."
 

jman19

Lifer
Nov 3, 2000
11,220
654
126
Originally posted by: tvarad
Article.

"LISBON (AFP) - Africa must stop blaming its colonial past for its problems and instead point the finger at the continent's leaders, the prime minister of the west African archipelago of Cape Verde said.

Colonialism and its legacy of slavery played "an important role in the deterioration of the situation in Africa" but "Africans have had Africa in their hands for half a century," Cape Verde Prime Minister Jose Maria das Neves said in an interview with the Portuguese news agency Lusa.

"You can't continue to justify the current situation of the continent with colonialism, slavery and unfair trading terms," he said.

"Responsibility for the current state of affairs in the African continent lies firstly in the hands of African leaders who must assume their responsibility to develop a clear strategy for Africa's future that takes advantage of all of its human capabilities and natural resources," he added."

I personally think that Europe has played a huge part in the destruction of black Africa BUT it is refreshing to see a leader take responsibility for the future, as opposed to a criminal like Mugabe who could have done so much with the kind of resources Zimbabwe has but is now going to his thug counterparts in China for a 2 billion dollar handout.

:thumbsup:

At some point you have to stop blaming others and spend your energy trying to make things better. Life isn't fair; pointing this out doesn't get you anywhere. Taking action does.
 

sandorski

No Lifer
Oct 10, 1999
70,231
5,806
126
I'd agree as well, but Europe must still bear some responsibility for it as well. It's similar to Child Abuse: The Abused needs to find a way to put the Abuse behind them, but the Abuser needs to also make amends in some way. There is no way for the Abuser to undo the Abuse, that can only be done by the Abused who consciously makes the decision to put it behind them.
 

imported_Lothar

Diamond Member
Aug 10, 2006
4,559
1
0
Originally posted by: tvarad
Article.

"LISBON (AFP) - Africa must stop blaming its colonial past for its problems and instead point the finger at the continent's leaders, the prime minister of the west African archipelago of Cape Verde said.

Colonialism and its legacy of slavery played "an important role in the deterioration of the situation in Africa" but "Africans have had Africa in their hands for half a century," Cape Verde Prime Minister Jose Maria das Neves said in an interview with the Portuguese news agency Lusa.

"You can't continue to justify the current situation of the continent with colonialism, slavery and unfair trading terms," he said.

"Responsibility for the current state of affairs in the African continent lies firstly in the hands of African leaders who must assume their responsibility to develop a clear strategy for Africa's future that takes advantage of all of its human capabilities and natural resources," he added."

I personally think that Europe has played a huge part in the destruction of black Africa BUT it is refreshing to see a leader take responsibility for the future, as opposed to a criminal like Mugabe who could have done so much with the kind of resources Zimbabwe has but is now going to his thug counterparts in China for a 2 billion dollar handout.

:thumbsup:
 

daniel49

Diamond Member
Jan 8, 2005
4,814
0
71
memo: Fax a copy to all professors teaching classes on colonialism and imperialism.
 

beyoku

Golden Member
Aug 20, 2003
1,568
1
71
He should have added and ended with "AFRICA NEED TO FIND ANOTHER WAY IN HANDLING ITS TRIBALISM ISSUE"
 

ProfJohn

Lifer
Jul 28, 2006
18,161
7
0
Maybe we can get some of the minority leaders in this country to adopt the same approach. We are now two generations away from the civil rights movement of the 1960s and yet the ?old guard? still wants to blame every thing on slavery and the segregationist past.

There are certainly lingering effects of segregation and slavery in this country (lack of a large middle and upper class, lack of generational wealth with businesses being passed from generation to generation and, most notably, large areas of poverty)
In general though a minority born today, or the last 20-30 years, has many of the same opportunities as anyone else in this country.

The problems facing large portions of the minority community are no longer racially oriented, but are more economically oriented. Poor minorities face the same kind of problems faced by all poor people in this country. Lack of access to good educational systems, lack of jobs and economic opportunity and an overall sense of hopelessness and despair seen in many poor communities. These types of problems are faced by anyone living in a poor area, whether you are a black person in Detroit or a white person in rural West Virginia.

There are also problems in these communities that are self inflicted such as the high rate of out wedlock births, single parents and most importantly a general disdain for education. When education is the key to success in society you are in big trouble when large segments of your population looks down on those who study hard and excel academically.

There are those within the minority community, such as Bill Cosby and many black conservatives, who are critical of the community itself and how it handles itself. But they are in the minority when compared to the Jesse Jackson and Al Sharptons who still look at things as black vs. white. (Don?t believe me? Look at the Duke rape case, it has been black vs. white since the day it started.)

I am sure as time goes by more leaders in Africa will realize that the problems they face are theirs to solve and that blaming them on the past will not get them any where. Just as, hopefully, a new generation of leaders in the minority communities of this country will come to the same conclusions. Slavery and segregation were huge injustices forced upon our minority communities, but focusing in the past will not solve the problems you face in the future.
 

HombrePequeno

Diamond Member
Mar 7, 2001
4,657
0
0
I think a large part of their problems stems from their governments, poor health, and poor infrastructure. You can blame multinational corporations for some problems but they're just taking advantage of the lack of competition. The reason there is not much competition in Africa is that it costs too much and takes to long to get a business going. In some African countries it can take several times the average yearly income and a year to get a company started. The main people that are going to have the resources for that are going to be large multinational corporations. Allowing businesses to start up easier would go a long way to adding competition and growth into the countries.

Health is obviously a major roadblock in their growth. It's hard for a company to get decent growth when a third of your workers are out sick with malaria or complications from AIDS. Unfortunately they don't have the resources to fix that crisis.

Another roadblock is well...lack of decent major roadways. It makes it extremely hard to do trade when some major roads are washed out half of the year. That's another thing they would need help with.

Corruption does play a part but I think its a fairly small part overall. There are many African countries that have decently low corruption. There are other countries outside of the region that have much higher corruption and enjoy higher standards of living. Obviously corruption is going to play a large part in countries that have a high amount of it like Zimbabwe or Chad but overall their corruption isn't that bad compared to how low their standard of living is.

I really think they need to open up to business and allow them to operate more easily. By making it hard to operate, the only ones that are going to operate are the larger corporations that care nothing about the communities there. Also open up trade between each other would help a lot as well. Tariffs between African countries and countries like the US are low but between each other I recall reading they are fairly high. They're taking the wrong approach. The US isn't going to help them, we're just looking out for ourselves even if it hurts their country. They need to look to each other and make trade between each other easier to get out of their poverty traps.
 

CanOWorms

Lifer
Jul 3, 2001
12,404
2
0
Unfortunately, Europe hasn't stopped its attempts at colonialism. France just organized a genocide in Rwanda last decade.
 

daniel49

Diamond Member
Jan 8, 2005
4,814
0
71
Originally posted by: sandorski
Originally posted by: daniel49
memo: Fax a copy to all professors teaching classes on colonialism and imperialism.

Why?

Because My son takes classes in these subjects and the class material, to me anyway .looks like only one side of the story...I believe op is presenting the other side.
 

judasmachine

Diamond Member
Sep 15, 2002
8,515
3
81
As screwed as they have been by virtually everybody, it is time Africa take care of Africa. We shouldn't abandon them, but we should give them a kick in the pants to get them started. That being said, it is hard for them to just restart w/o cutting into some of the most sensitive ecosystems on the planet. Much like Brazil, if they develop too fast, the planet will lose countless species, medicine oppurtunities, and some weather stablization mechanisms.
 

sandorski

No Lifer
Oct 10, 1999
70,231
5,806
126
Originally posted by: daniel49
Originally posted by: sandorski
Originally posted by: daniel49
memo: Fax a copy to all professors teaching classes on colonialism and imperialism.

Why?

Because My son takes classes in these subjects and the class material, to me anyway .looks like only one side of the story...I believe op is presenting the other side.

If it's History, then what they are teaching is likely unrelated to this.
 

daniel49

Diamond Member
Jan 8, 2005
4,814
0
71
Originally posted by: sandorski
Originally posted by: daniel49
Originally posted by: sandorski
Originally posted by: daniel49
memo: Fax a copy to all professors teaching classes on colonialism and imperialism.

Why?

Because My son takes classes in these subjects and the class material, to me anyway .looks like only one side of the story...I believe op is presenting the other side.

If it's History, then what they are teaching is likely unrelated to this.

How so, he is placing the entire scope of the story in historical terms?
And this is basically what the class is about how western Civ has raped the 3rd world thus causing them to be where they are now. Rendering them incapable of improving thier lot in life and embittering them to the colonial powers.

While there is certainly argument for that, op's argument is oh yeah,well what have you done for yourselves in the last 50 years since gaining independence?
 

sandorski

No Lifer
Oct 10, 1999
70,231
5,806
126
Originally posted by: daniel49
Originally posted by: sandorski
Originally posted by: daniel49
Originally posted by: sandorski
Originally posted by: daniel49
memo: Fax a copy to all professors teaching classes on colonialism and imperialism.

Why?

Because My son takes classes in these subjects and the class material, to me anyway .looks like only one side of the story...I believe op is presenting the other side.

If it's History, then what they are teaching is likely unrelated to this.

How so, he is placing the entire scope of the story in historical terms?
And this is basically what the class is about how western Civ has raped the 3rd world thus causing them to be where they are now. Rendering them incapable of improving thier lot in life and embittering them to the colonial powers.

While there is certainly argument for that, op's argument is oh yeah,well what have you done for yourselves in the last 50 years since gaining independence?

History is history, not feel good excuses and trying to blame the Losers. Some Social Studies teachers will certainly add these recent comment(s) in mainly because their focus goes beyong just the Past, but that doesn't mean that these recent comments really apply to all classes.