A cry for the Africa---- By Chidi Emmanuel----
KUWAIT: Africa is a continent blessed with beautiful people, natural resources and good climate. But it is being mismanaged by bad leaders. Everything seems to be working against this world-forsaken continent. Even the HIV virus that was discovered in America is taking its highest toll in Africa. When I hear Al-Qaeda and its cohorts justifying their attack because of Western polices in the Mideast region, I cry for the poor Africans. If there should be any sect or set of people that should take up arms against the West, it should be the Africans. They were humiliated by colonization and downgraded by apartheid on their land.
Africans have suffered the worst form of injustice and humiliation in this world. Many were lynched, a lot were turned into slavery by whites with ‘black hearts’. Civil wars and violence can attract the attention of the world only when it is affecting the global interest like oil production. Otherwise it will remain unnoticed till the rival factions become tired of fighting. The Tutsis, Hutus, Darfuris etc can eliminate themselves or could be eliminated without the world’s concern. But the Middle East crisis will forever be a global issue. Nobody cares about justice in Africa. Shadowy peace is what West seems to care for, neglecting justice, which is the sine-qua-non to peace.
Good a thing- upon all the poverty and penury, many Africans still believe that a living dog is better than a dead lion. They reject suicide bombing and terrorism as the last resort. Many shun the idea of dying in ‘honour’ than living in disgrace upon all that they are passing through in life. Many blacks of African origin were lynched in the US and subjected to slavery by the westerners.
I still wonder why the ‘planet demoters’ have not demoted this continent as a failed continent or as a dwarf continent. Is only in Africa that everything goes wrong. Aid donors only donate rice, meat, flour and other foodstuffs in Africa whereas they donate money, manpower and even cancel debts in other parts of the world. BBC, CNN and other Western media only see Darfur, war-ravaged Uganda, Rwanda, Somalia and the ugly ailing African faces, there by painting the humiliated continent darker than its colour. Beautiful cities like Lagos, Johannesburg, Cairo, Abuja, Abidjan, Accra etc will ‘rather spoil their camera’ if showcased.
Just to mention but a few, when Hariri (former Lebanese Premier) was assassinated, the world cried foul and a panel was constituted to investigate his murder. But most of his kinds in Africa were left unnoticed. John Garang and other African ex-leaders that have been murdered only ended up with lips-condemnation by the manipulated UN and western powers. Hostile treatments to people with African origin have become too visible. Whereas illegal immigrants are treated with little respect elsewhere, African illegals are rather treated like the worst criminals, chased with dogs at canary Island, beaten and sometimes killed.
You can call them anything but you cannot call them terrorists. Recently, Obama the US senate’s only black member (of Kenyan origin) lamented the US absence in Africa. The honourable senator urged Americans to make their presence noticeable in Africa. He noted in dismay how African migrants are being maltreated in Spain and Italy chiding the west to stop treating them like criminals. The cries of dying Darfuris will continue to haunt the world because the whole society is guilty when an innocent man is hanged.
