A united Africa was long the hope of men like Dubois, Padmore, Nkrumah, andGarvey. Yet, that reality has eluded the people of Africa. Colonialism and neo-colonialism have been the major culprits, leaving in their wake the assassinations of and coups against the most progressive leaders and their governments. The assassinations of Patrice Lumumba, Amilcar Cabral, Eduardo Mondlane, Chris Hani, Walter Rodney, Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X have stifled and silenced the voices of real democracy in Africa and have encouraged tribalism and ethnic conflict as a tactics to keep the masses in turmoil and confusion.
Africa continues to be the richest continent on the planet and the race for control of its resources is at a feverish pitch. While the Chinese are making strong economic inroads into Africa and are assisting in building much needed infrastructure, the western powers, particularly the United States, have countered with the building of military bases. The United States has established military bases or a military presence in Senegal, Djibuti, Sao Tome and Principe, and Uganda. These so called "jumping off points" are to "fight terrorism" and to "protect oil" resources. Since the United States does not have the economic resources to compete with India and China in Africa, it is ushering in a new era of "gunboat diplomacy," this time with modern technological warfare.
The Zimbabwean land reform movement offers the brightest hope at the moment. If the land and other African resources are not controlled by the people of Africa, all is lost. Pan- Africanism which promotes the economic, political, social, and cultural integration of African people is both a way around the abyss of tribalism and ethnic conflict and a way forward to a brighter future. We must begin this discussion now.
The Zimbabwean land reform movement offers the brightest hope at the moment. If the land and other African resources are not controlled by the people of Africa, all is lost. Pan- Africanism which promotes the economic, political, social, and cultural integration of African people is both a way around the abyss of tribalism and ethnic conflict and a way forward to a brighter future. We must begin this discussion now.
2 comments:
Tom, how does Mugabe's overall policies serve the cause of Pan-Africanism?
I think many Africanist/progressives
Analize the the Zimbawean crisis without dealing with the context or what has cause the crisis.We should avoid personnalzing the struggle in Zimbabwe but rather offer concrete proposals or solutions.Whatever failings Robert Mugabe might have they pale when you realize that no other leader on the continent is raising the land questions which is essential to the future well being of African people.Mugabe's committment to Panafricanism stands on its' own.Isn't it intersting that the Palestinians,the Cubans, and Zimbabwean people had one thing in common and that is they were the best and the brightest in their respective communites.Ye Whoever takes over after Mugabe will have to deal with the land question or betray the people of Zimbabwe.By the way what overall policies are you talking about that you can pin on Mugabe which are not the result of the sanctions? As person who is interested in African affairs what concrete suggestions do yo have for the people of Zimbabwe that are doeable.Finally we must avoid struggle by indidualizing the issue.We should be raising the land question with our representaves and with African Union.A comrade in what was then PAIGC said that when he met Black Americans they were always "claiming that this person or that person was an agents", he then said "he wondered why so many agents were walking around in America."The relavency of this statement is that it is could to criticize our brothers and sisters in struggle, but it is even better if we assist them in struggle.The fear of struggle or the desire to maintain ones position often clouds reality.
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