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“We and Our Region - A Matter of Perspective” published in Awate.com Fessehaye Woldu presents an interesting perspective on the plight of post-colonial Africa. It is true that many African countries did not make the desired economic and social progress after they won their independence from the colonial powers. But when it comes to identifying the causes for such a phenomena, each nation state has its own package of problems or constraints. So, it is very erroneous to be categorical. The problems of a continent as large as Africa with a population of close to 900 million could not be squeezed into a nut shell. That is to say that , the root causes of the African nation states’ backwardness could be country-specific that merits a much more closer and detailed scrutiny than Fessehaye has attempted to do in his essay.
But when it comes to generalities one cannot downplay the role that the former colonial powers are still playing in Africa. The corruption, ineffectiveness, and other maladies crippling African nation states today could be attributable more to neo-colonialism than any of the factors mentioned in Fessehaye’s essay. Woldu probably needs to read, John Perkins “Confessions of An Economic Hit Man” to appreciate the point I am trying to make here.
"Economic hit men”, Perkins writes, “are highly paid professionals who cheat countries around the globe out of trillions of dollars. They funnel money from the World Bank, the U.S. Agency for International Development and other foreign “aid” organizations into the coffers of huge corporations and pockets of a few wealthy families who control the planet’s natural resources. Their tools include fraudulent financial reports, rigged elections, payoffs, extortion, sex and murder. They play a game as old as empire, but one that has taken on new and terrifying dimensions during this time of globalization. I should know; I was an EHM” Reading through Perkins “Best Seller” book, one can see that the old colonial empires have not at all disappeared. They have just changed their methods. They no longer send colonial armies to Africa. They rather effectively and surreptitiously monitor the fate of millions of African and Latin American people in the boardrooms of Multinational Corporations and other global financial and political institutions. Third world leaders that attempted to stay clean to fight the machinations of these modern day empires have either been assassinated or overturned through coups and countercoups. What I have stated above is commonplace knowledge and I do not want to dwell on it that much. But before concluding my essay, I would like to comment on Fessehaye’s version of Eritrean history. According to Fessehaye, one of the reasons why things are messed up in Eritrea today is due to the fact that the Italians did not train and educate Eriteans during the colonial era. Well, the Eritrean armed struggle lasted for 30 years and the Italians had left the country a decade or more before the struggle started. So, I don’t know how Fessehaye made the connection. Secondly, Fessehaye writes, “As in many other African States, tension between Eritrea’s religious and ethnic communities has always been there since its inception regardless of how much we may wish it away. The outright assault on the ELF by the Christian highlanders during the struggle for secession (and their crime ?) was our own mini Rwanda.” This part of Fessehaye’s thesis perfectly fits my title, History is as you tell it. I have heard from many others that it was the ELF that was responsible for much of the sectarian violence that was prevalent during the early periods of the armed struggle. There are some who allege that the ELF decimated thousands of Christian highlanders who joined its ranks in earnest to fight for Eritrean independence. In fact, many historians believe that the failure of the sectarian ELF to forge a unity between the diverse ethnic and religious entities in the front was the primary contributing factor to the formation of the EPLF. There are many who believe that the ELF would never have succeeded in leading Eritrieans to independence because of its sectarian tendencies. In conclusion, I would like to say that the problems facing Eritrea perfectly fit into the profile John Perkins has outlined in his book. A successful government in Eritrea would be one that tries to have a better understanding of global developments and one that finds a “comfort zone” for our nation in this complex world. We should not compromise our dignity but we need to operate effectively as a member of a family of nations, whose fate, unfortunately is engineered by “modern day” empires. This is exactly what the current government of Eritrea has failed to do. Our people are bearing the brunt of the GOE’s ineptness in diplomacy and international relations. And this is not because, as Feseehaye puts it, “none of today’s Eritrean leaders had ever attended institutions of higher learning.” This assertion is far from the truth. The Eritrean government has at its disposal top notch scholars. Due to massive immigration to the western world, thousands of Eritreans have attained quality education. There are many topnotch intellectuals who are either serving in the government or are very supportive of its policies. President Isayas himself was an engineering student. So education is not the factor here. It is the unwillingness of the government to open up to democracy and innovative approach to development that is crippling the country. It is the government’s reluctance to honor civil liberties that is isolating it from the rest of the world. It is the government’s inability to establish a progressive and transparent government system that is pulling the country backwards. Well history is as you tell it, but frankly speaking I found some of Fessehaye’s assertions not only fallacious but openly frivolous and divisive. |
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