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I thought the
commentary below belonged in the FW discussion on Africa and global poverty, especially
in light of the G8 agenda and the root causes of terrorism, which haven’t been
addressed in the rush to war as the main response to 9/11. We know that economic
progress is not made just by aid and trade policy, but broad strategy that
includes healthy local economies and a healthy environment. Western democracy was
born in the US not just out of evolving philosophy and political rebellion against
colonialism but also because of the wealth of natural resources and an
untouched environment, factors that must be considered in a redirected focus on
strategy in the Middle East and elsewhere if we hope to move away from the
neocons’ Pax Americana to a global Pax
Democratica that makes much more sense than perpetual warfare. More to come on Pax
Democratica later, I hope. KwC Morley’s World Opinion RoundUp: A
Blow for Tony Blair, World President: “Terror struck at
Tony Blair's finest hour. As host and driving force of the Group of Eight
summit, the British prime minister was close to assuming the role akin to that
of a world president on Thursday morning. His dream of forging a global
political agenda for the planet was coming to fruition at the moment the
explosions ripped through London's subways and a double-decker bus. Blair said that it
was "particularly barbaric" that the attacks occurred on the day that
world leaders were sitting down to address the problems of Africa and climate
change. Terrorism had trumped his well-orchestrated plan to get leaders deeply
divided about the wisdom of the Anglo-American war in Iraq to unite around a
larger agenda. …Blair insists that long-term progress
depends on capitalist reform: "Britain has also been pushing for agreement on
changes to world trade rules to allow African nations to compete on a level
playing field, and . . . wide-ranging reforms of the systems of tariffs and
subsidies for farmers in the EU and US," noted the Telegraph. In comparison with Blair, other world
leaders seemed to be playing catch-up.” http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/07/AR2005070700955.html Please note that this
doesn’t appear in the MSM (mainstream media) but is part of the healthy growing
alternative and independent media. Africans Can Do it for Ourselves
By
Wangari Maathai, openDemocracy.net, Posted on July 7, 2005
Editor's Note: This
article is adapted from a speech that Kenyan environment minister and Nobel
laureate Wangari Maathai gave on July 2, 2005, at London's African Diaspora & Development
Day. This is a historic time, when the spotlight is on Africa. It
is appropriate for us to recognize and applaud the efforts of our friends, both
within the G8 and in the wider civil society, who are trying to improve the
quality of life in Africa. In 2004, the peace prize award of Norway's Nobel committee linked the environment with democratic
governance and peace. I have compared these three themes and the situation they
create to a traditional African stool. Just as such a stool needs three solid
legs to be stable, so does any stable state. And just as the legs, the body and
the basin of the stool are made from one log, so leaders and citizens must
together mould the three pillars. One cannot build democracy in order later to manage resources sustainably and
create peace. Managing resources accountably and responsibly, and sharing them
more equitably, are essential to nurture a culture of peace. This in turn is
possible only if there is adequate democratic space for everybody; space where
the rule of law and the rights of all, including the weak and vulnerable, are
respected. A time for dignity. As I travel across the world, I find that people
are concerned about this shift in the concept of peace and security. There can
be no peace without sustainable management of resources, justice and
fairness. Indeed, most of the
conflicts and wars are over resources: who will access, exploit and utilize
them? Who will be excluded? Those who feel excluded, exploited and humiliated
can threaten peace and security. One of the worst outcomes of injustices is poverty. It robs
human beings of their dignity. When people are poor and when they are reduced
to beggars, they feel weak, humiliated, disrespected and undignified. They hide
alone in corners and dare not raise their voices. They are neither heard nor
seen. They often suffer in isolation and desperation. Yet all human beings deserve respect and dignity. As long as
millions of people live in poverty and indignity, humanity should feel
diminished. This historic time gives all of us, especially those in leadership,
the opportunity to reduce poverty. There is a lot of poverty in Africa. Yet Africa is not a
poor continent. It is endowed with human beings, sunshine, oil, precious
stones, forests, water, wildlife, soil, land and agricultural products. So what
is the problem? First, many African people lack knowledge, skills and tools
to add value to their raw materials so that they can take more processed goods
into the local and international markets, where they would negotiate better
prices and better rules for trade. In such situations, Africans find themselves
locked out of productive, rewarding economic activities that would provide them
with the regular income they need to sustain themselves. They are either unemployed or underemployed — and they are
certainly underpaid. They may wish to secure a well-paid job, but if they do
not have the tools, nobody will hire them. Neither will they be able to take
care of their housing, healthcare, education, nutrition, and other family and
personal needs. Second, there is economic injustice, which must be addressed
not only by the rich industrialized countries, but also by African leaders.
Africans have been poorly
governed.
This misgovernment continues to allow the exploitation of resources in Africa,
without much benefit to African citizens. Africa's diaspora and civil society. I commend the African diaspora for believing in small and medium-sized
enterprises, which are key to enabling Africans to fulfill their aspirations
for jobs and economic security. The United Nations Industrial
Development Organization (Unido) reports that 90% of all businesses in
Africa are small and medium-sized. We must support this sector, and ensure that
it thrives. The diaspora can ensure that this sector grows in the home
countries. Africans in the diaspora are estimated to send back some
$200 billion to Africa each year. This money assists both their families and
the national economy. We need to encourage and sustain this interest and
commitment. We need initiatives that are simple, attainable and able to
generate visible success in a short time. This creates momentum, trust, excitement
and goodwill around solutions that ordinary people themselves own and believe
in. A lot remains to be done. But I am encouraged by the
increased willingness of African leaders to commit to gradual improvement of
governance, especially through comparatively more free and fair elections, the
creation of Nepad, sub-regional political and economic coalitions,
and the African Union. The African Union recently asked me to lead a process of
mobilizing African civil society. My role is to create an organ to advise the
African Union on the best way to involve Africans as active participants in the
creation of a new Africa. I was also appointed by the eleven heads of states within
the central African sub-region to be a goodwill ambassador for the Congo basin forest ecosystem. These initiatives are evidence of a
renaissance that needs encouragement and support from friends, partners and the
diaspora. We must support campaigns to save African forests and
biodiversity. The importance of forests to humanity is well-known: ecological
balancing; absorbing carbon; preventing loss of soil and subsequent
desertification; safeguarding against floods; acting as reservoirs for genetic
resources; controlling rainfall patterns; serving as catchment areas for
freshwater and rivers. Without such green life, humankind would not survive. But
many of these services from forests are taken for granted, and environmental
degradation continues despite many efforts. Take the case of the Congo forest ecosystem. 200 million
hectares of forest are under threat of extinction, as are 400 mammalian species
and more than 10,000 plant species; all this, plus the livelihoods of more than
a million indigenous people who depend on the forest resources of the
ecosystem. Africa will be especially adversely affected by climate
change. I recommend to the G8 that the Convergence Plan for the
Conservation and Sustainable Management of Forest Ecosystems in Central Africa be a priority concern. It is an issue
that, like no other, brings together the twin themes of the summit: climate
change and Africa. A lesson from Japan. The G8 countries' cancellation of the debts of
the eighteen HIPC countries is welcome, but I urge that other countries in
Africa also be considered. They may be able to make debt repayments, but they
do so at the expense of education and healthcare, thus sacrificing the
realization of the Millennium Development Goals. The British prime minister, Tony Blair, and his Commission for Africa initiative, deserve great credit. I hope
that other G8 countries will support his and his finance minister Gordon
Brown's recommendations, especially in the area of debt, doubling of financial
assistance and better terms of trade. It is understandable that governments may sometimes wish to
give conditional aid. But a patronizing approach to sovereign states undermines
their authority, and the respect and trust they can receive from their people.
An improvement of governance in Africa means that it would be more appropriate
to give aid that is not tied so as to allow governments to address priorities
identified by them and their citizens. The diaspora is the face of Africa to the world. Its members
have a special responsibility to be good ambassadors of Africa by working hard,
respecting the law of the land, and being responsible and accountable members
of the society in which they live. The diaspora influences the world's
perception of African people. In many industrialized countries like Britain and Japan,
there is a "3R" campaign (reduce, repair, recycle) calling for more
sustainable use of resources. Individuals and groups can engage in initiatives,
which support the spirit of the Kyoto protocol and sustainable development. In Japan, a campaign incorporating the 3R is strengthened by
the beautiful concept of mottainai
("what a waste!), which urges people not to waste resources but to instead
use them with respect and care. Awareness and commitment at a personal level is
very important. These examples are simple and workable ideas that we can
practice individually everywhere: recyling plastic, reusing plastic bags,
planting trees, printing on both sides of the paper, saving water -- all in the
spirit of mottainai. As we continue the struggle on behalf of our people, let us
remember that we are not alone. We have friends and we build on bricks laid by
our ancestors who labored and even died so that we, their children, might
regain respect and dignity. This is our time, let us give our best. Wangari Maathai founded Kenya's Green Belt
Movement. Winner of the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize, she is now Kenya's Minister for
Environment, Natural Resources and Wildlife. Article found at http://www.alternet.org/story/23399/ Original at http://www.opendemocracy.net/globalization-G8/natural_resource_2652.jsp ALSO SEE African agency vs the aid industry by Chukwu-Emeka Chikezie: “The western
aid industry is a trap that locks Africans in the chains of dependency.
Africans’ initiative, symbolised by diaspora remittance flows, is the key to
liberation “ http://www.opendemocracy.net/globalization-G8/aid_2650.jsp |
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