Congo River
One of my favourite things to debate is colonialism in Africa, and how this has been one of the biggest influences in many a country’s violent history and subsequent state of chaos.
My father probably wouldn’t agree with my somewhat emotive and liberal views, he was born and raised in Zimbabwe, and fought in the Rhodesian War. He got to see terrorism first hand, and my sister missed being born into a country in crisis by a few months, when my parents left for South Africa. I was lucky enough to be born in Cape Town though and it took me a number of years before I started learning a bit about Africa’s dark past.
Watching Blood Diamond the other night, and thinking also about Hotel Rwanda and the events that both started and fueled the genocide, I got to thinking about a common link in all of these things. That being colonial rule and Western interference.
Many may not share my views, but consider these interesting facts…
1. Rwanda
Rwanda Genocide Memorial
Contrary to popular belief, the ethnic ‘flare up’ between the Hutus and Tsutsis did not just happen overnight for no particular reason. The Belgian’s had long favoured the Tsutsis over the Hutus way back when, and determined the pecking order long before things reached fever point. During the independence of Rwanda, Belgian diplomats then made things worse by reversing their favoritism, encouraging nationalist Hutu uprisings in the name of democracy. Eventually, this led to the 1994 genocide, which UN forces not only failed to control, but the Belgian forces abandoned the country. The UN and international community then failed to listen to the remaining peacekeeping troops about the worsening situation, instead they debated about whether or not the events taking place could be termed genocide or not. America in particular made a number of blunders that contributed to the slow response. You just have to read UN soldier Romeo Dallaire’s memoir Shake Hands with the Devil to understand how much the West cared about Rwanda.
2. Democratic Republic of Congo
DRC in chaos
Another French then Belgian conquest, the DRC’s history is seeped in violence, and the lessons about plundering the land of natural resources was taught during the King Leopold rule when about half the entire population died off from the ‘incentive’ based practice of amputating limbs to increase working time in the rubber plants. Independence was won in violence, and ‘democracy’ was taken in violence too. While the rest of the world enjoys the coltan, diamond, rubber and palm oil that the Congo holds within its resources, the country sinks deeper into a total state of chaos. Amazingly, the American’s haven’t tried to take over yet – maybe when they get bored with the Middle East though, who knows.
South Africa in the bad old days
From the first Dutch and later English settlers landing on our shores, the focus was on the resource-rich South Africa. After battling it out to take control, the British found an established colony in Cape Town with 25,000 slaves, 20,000 white colonists, 15,000 Khoisan, and 1,000 freed black slaves. More power struggles ensued, and eventually two very distinct white groups were sharing power – the English (who controlled politics, trade, finance, mining, and manufacturing) and the Boers (mostly controlling farmlands). Then came the Great Trek and the issues with the Zulu tribes, something that was never forgotten. The Anglo-Boer Wars and final union of South Africa eventually led to a balance of powers of sorts before the Apartheid regime and the rest of history as we know it until Madiba.
What does it really matter now though? Maybe not that much really. But as a middle-class white in Africa, I am on the right side of the fence. I have never faced extreme poverty, homelessness, joblessness or major suffering. That doesn’t mean I need to have White Guilt, but it does perhaps mean that a little bit of tolerance may be in order when it comes to my attitude about Africa.
At the end of the day, Africa IS a mess. It has a history of violence, and it’s not pretty. This is still home though, and we are all a part of the mess, like it or not. History has made its mark, and all we can do is make sure that the history we are writing at this very moment is a better one.
Theres no doubt colonialism has had an immense role to play in many African countries progress and history, but how do you feel Africa would have turned out had the ‘scramble for africa’ never taken place?
Had a white person not put a step on the African continent, Africa would still have been exploited. Not by colonialists, but by Africans themselves. Vast resources of natural mineral wealth together with uncontrollable poverty and $$$ from the international economy would surely have plunged any country into power hungry civil wars and exploitation of one group by another?
That’s the thing though, we can only guess how things may have been. There have been many benefits to colonialism too, along with all the negative ‘side-effects’… but how do we really know how things may have been had there been less violence and oppression?
One interesting place to consider is Ethiopia, who are one of the few African countries that have never been taken over, bar a very brief Italian evasion. This is the second oldest Christian country after Armenia, and while that hasn’t stopped them from having wars, at the same time they have also kept their own time systems, and have not fared as badly as some places.
Maybe Africa would have imploded under mismanagement and greed anyway, but at the same time, when independence was granted, many of the colonial forces simply picked a ‘side’ and gave them enough power to throw out the balance, and that has been a factor in many a civil war.
Even more directly, in the case of Rwanda, much of the discontent between Hutis and Tsutis began with Belgians playing each tribe up against each other.
It’s a tricky issue, and there are many ways to look at it… a friend sent me the following article that offers an opposing point of view, worth a read:
http://forums.canadiancontent.net/international-politics/43372-two-cheers-colonialism.html
Very interesting. Another interesting case is Liberia, with no european involvement and formed by freed slaves from USA in the early 19th century (capital Monrovia named after Jamers Monroe, the then president of the USA and supporter of their cause)…tried to model the goverment and politics around that of USA, look where that got them…20 years of intermittent civil war.
Very true!
Was also thinking about how the Republic of Congo, sitting next door to the DRC, sharing a river and all that rain forest… and yet (relatively speaking) they have managed to have a fair amount of peace, and it’s even safe to travel in many parts of the country.
Another thing that always fascinates me and leaves me with a teeny strange feeling of pride to be part of this continent is how even after centuries of colonialism, Africa still manages to keep its own vibe – sure they picked up the language and religion, but they just integrated it into their own cultures and heritage, while still retaining their traditions and own dialects.
But it’s the recent years and Western influence (or interference) that is still causing the most impact in some countries – especially in the Congo and Central/Western regions that are rich in minerals and resources.
Perhaps if the original settlers had tried to make peace with the locals rather than see them as another commodity, we would have gotten the best of both worlds?
P.S. Another thought just occurred to me about the Americans and the Native Americans they all but decimated… if they hadn’t put them in reserves and given them casinos, I wonder if they would have also continued to fight?
Very intersting and thought provoking post Rox. My thoughts: Zambia has had independance since 1964 and it’s still in a shit state. Mines that were being run at profit and then handed over to governments are losing money due to corruption and loose controls despite training. Roads are almost non existant, our only arteiral road for trucks and cars coming from Livingstone to Lusaka is single lane and full of potholes and winds up and down steep hills. Yesterday due to the steep hills there was a massive back log of trucks and vehicles blocked by a jack knifed truck who couldn’t handle the uphill…this one shouldn’t expect from a Country that imports nearly all of it’s goods due to having no port? The second border road towards the Lower Zambezi was financed by the Chinese in exchange for business rights, less than 2 years after it was created half the road over a rivine caved in and fell hundreds of meters to the ground. You would think the leaders would put money into what makes them money. Ndeni fuel manufacturing plant was due for it’s yearly maintenance but Government refused to pay their share (they own 50% the other belongs to TOTAL) so TOTAL refused to pay, instead of the fuel plant being serviced and cleaned Government demanded they continue making fuel no matter what the quality. This had lead to dirty, cat piss fuel which has stuffed up plenty of engines costing honest tax paying people ZMK millions. Owens diesel Mitsubishi is now so stuffed from bad fuel, it needs 4 new injectors at ZMK 5,000 each (Nearly R10,000 each). I think it’s an easy excuse to blame the Western world but they brought in huge development into many African countries. It’s up to the present leaders to manage it properly but I have to say greed gets the better of them and money ends up in personal pockets. It’s a mentality that is hard to change. I’m not accepting any blame or guilt for the past, what matters is the future and how we each contribute. Africa can no longer play the ‘poor us’ card, I think most of the educated population is sick of it.
Thanks nyak.
I don’t think we have to accept any guilt or blame, and I also believe that at some stage leaders need to stand up and take responsibility for the now. There is no excuse for the corruption, greed and violence that is still going on in Africa, and while western interference may have set a tone, there is always a point where things need to change and progress.
You are also right about the good things that colonial rule brought, but I still believe that the oppression and exploitation that happened across Africa has had an impact, like it or not. Even closer to home here in the Cape, the wine farmers paid the slaves in alcohol, and many slave women were used as concubines (or just plain raped) by white farmers – aside from the Malay influence, this is often the origin of the so-called coloured race, and also the beginning of our bergie nation.
I also think that decades of being without power also led to a lack of understanding and knowledge about management and control of a country. Many leaders had the education, but years of fighting against the ruling forces could never have seen them suddenly then achieve their dream of freedom, and then get given control – without having the experience to know what to do with it. It’s like a pendulum… keep it one way for long enough, and first it has to shoot across the other way before it stabilizes.
What I have a problem with now is that too many of us educated masses lack tolerance and patience, and we forget how important these factors are for creating a new Africa that we all share. I may be an idealist, and maybe I do tend to favour the liberal left side, but I think that we would have a very different outlook if we were a different colour.
Africa is a mess, no one can deny that and maybe it would be a mess even without western influence. But nevertheless, it hasn’t all been infrastructure and control – much blood has been shed, and freedom came at a very high price. I just can’t forget that all along, I’ve never had to fight for anything really… whereas it’s not that simple for many others.
We need to do away with blame altogether now, and aim towards a more unified Africa. I don’t think we can achieve that when there are still left-over resentments on either side though. Tolerance and motivation both in order!
Rox you make valid points. I agree that there is good and bad that came out of Western rule. What frustrates me is the excuses that come from it, i’m sorry but through experience living, working and running a charity in Lusaka which is very different to South Africa in many ways it is clear to me that it is peoples attitudes that needs to change. The white man is always expected to be rich, which is not always the case. Whites pay a different ‘fine’ to corrupt cops which is double the ‘local’ rate. Through the charity work i’m doing i’ve realized that it is hard to help Africa because they don’t know how to help themselves. The poorest of the poor, have 6 or 7 children that they cannot possibly look after properly because this makes them ‘rich’ and the kids will in turn look after them. Do they not have the intellect to reflect back on their ancestors mistakes and see that having so many children in poor conditions is not only cruel, it doesn’t pay! It makes me sick to my stomach to see these millions of African children suffer because the adult race make the same mistakes over and over again.
It is a mindset that needs to change, no more ‘give me give me’ attitudes it is about time Africa stood up and took some responsibility for itself instead of relying on outside help to bail them out.
I think Africa could be great, but there are too many polluted minds at the moment not really seeking the good for the continent. It’s going to take a few generations, if the planet can handle, to sort it’s mess out.
You’re right Ilks, and living in ‘real’ Africa you get to see things as they really are. Here in SA we don’t have much of a clue really, we have it easy!
I guess it’s up to future generations hey, teaching the leaders of tomorrow that it is possible for everyone to take responsibility for the continent and lay all those ghosts and previous histories to rest for once and for all.
That’s why I think it’s good to get involved as you are doing, do whatever we can, and help teach children from a young age that they have the power.
I’ll be back again, thanks for the info.