Black Ivory

Black Ivory

Is poverty a Black thing?

The poor performance of African economies and economies where people are a different color than white have led people to question whether poverty is a black or a color thing.

This question about poverty being a black thing has gained credibility in many circles. This question is also asked about Africa, because it is the world's poorest continent. It is a continent in which for 30 years has not been no concrete economic development compared to the rest of the world. It lags behind all other continents in terms of economic and social development. Most, if not all African countries have similar economic problems namely, high unemployment, high inflation, higher deficits, poor infrastructure economic and social including roads, ports, education, airports, telecommunications, health and sanitation and the rail system. Africa is a continent where people die from lack of food, water, and against common preventable diseases. It is a continent full of misery, despair and hopelessness. It is a continent in which very few children in the age of five survive the threat of the six killer diseases. It is a continent where people lack access to basic necessities of life. It is a continent where people walk several miles for water and children have no access to education and health services. It is a continent where rural life is not that a sentence to abject poverty. It is a place where people live in mud / thatched houses with bamboo and raffia leaves as roofing sheets. This is a continent full of wars and armed conflicts. It is a continent of dictators and kleptocrats, a continent where corruption is rewarded and achievement is rejected, a continent where you see the entry into public life / service as a means of acquiring wealth and a means of obtaining top positions. It is a continent where life expectancy is low and corruption very high.

So is it a matter of color or race? I must say that I do not agree or subscribe to the notion that poverty has color in it and infer that underdevelopment and impoverishment that prevails in Africa is deeply rooted in centuries of slavery and colonialism, coups, conflicts armed, the brain drain, endemic corruption and mismanagement, dictatorship, kleptocracy, foreign intervention and the struggle for control natural resources.

Slavery and colonialism

Centuries of slavery and colonialism on the continent private of their human and financial resources. Men and women who were brought to work the plantations of the Americas (in total about 30 to 40 million people) and helped make America and Europe than they are today. Millions of young Africans were forced to leave the continent of origin and were transported to several thousand miles away to a land where they had no historical link. Traveling in deplorable conditions without adequate food, water and air. When they arrived at the worlds called new ones are made to work from morning until sunset the only time he had on his own is the Sunday that they had everything you need on your own suit crop planting, repairing their homes. It was a very unpleasant experience having to work for us, without pay. Some even worked up fell dead. The slave private decision of energetic men and women a vital resource in any development process and sank in the intellectual wilderness continent.

The plundering of resources

About the same time that slavery was being actively pursued, the natural resources like timber, gold, diamonds, tin ore, ivory and many more were stolen in large quantities by European countries namely Belgium, Britain, France, Germany, Portugal, Spain and Italy. After slavery was abolished the plundering of natural resources continues. The irony is that virtually all revenues from these resources are used to finance economic development and infrastructure development in European countries with little or not at all used to develop the various countries where these resources came. A clear example is the case of the Democratic Republic of Congo, where King Leopold II of Belgium to the Africans enslaved and forced to work without pay, killed about 10 million and the country of its resources and almost all looted was used to invest in the country except the weapons that the Belgian army used to terrorize and kill Africans. When the Democratic Republic Congo was transferred from Leopold II of Belgium, the state of looting and killing continued until the Democratic Republic of Congo gained independence in the early 1960. In fact, Democratic Republic of Congo (Congo Free State) was the main supplier of rubber raw materials critical to the tire industry, and all money from the sale of rubber went to Belgium. King Leopold II was able to transform Belgium as one of the poorest countries in Europe into one of the richest tourism enslavement and looting of African resources.

Belgium was not alone in what she did to the continent. Britain, France, Spain, Portugal, Germany and Italy, all of Africa's looted gold, diamonds, ivory, wood, cobalt, coltan, tin ore, bauxite, manganese and all minerals you can imagine. Africans who resisted the illegal activities that were killed in their millions as they did in South West Africa (now Namibia) where the Germans in 1904 to 1907 committed the first genocide of the 20th century for the murder Herero and Namaqua. While Europe got richer Africa became poorer and the trend continued until the 1950 when African countries began to gain its "independence" in 1951 starting with Libya, Sudan, Morocco, Tunisia, particularly in 1956 and Ghana in 1957.

With little or no investment in the continent's post colonial governments inherited different countries virtually no infrastructure: roads, rails, ports, telecommunications, health, education and sanitation and airports. The only areas that were some little infrastructure investment during the colonial period were the raw materials are extracted to a large extent. The achievement of independence did not arrive at the Silver Plate. Algeria, Zimbabwe, Angola, Kenya, Namibia and South Africa to some extent all achieved their independence from their colonial masters through the struggles and arm most cases the poor infrastructure that existed were destroyed by conflict.

Foreign participation

As if slavery, colonialism and the looting of the resources of the continent was not enough the continent became a battlefield during Cold War as the two superpowers and their allies fought for influence and control in the continent, especially of its resources. As a result, many African governments to consider for Russia or the United States were overthrown in the military. An example was the overthrow of Dr. Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana in February 1966 24. Another example is the overthrow and murder Patrice Lumumba of the Congo on January 17 1961.Other leaders like Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for either independence or advocate for improving the conditions of Africans. The CIA and Western intelligence services have been involved for engineering the murder and overthrow of elected leaders in Africa. For example Larry Devlin, head of the CIA station in the Congo during the days of Patrice Lumumba told The Washington Post in December 2008 saying that he refused an order to assassinate Patrice Lumumba, but his refusal did not prevent the CIA and the Belgian government to overthrow and assassinate him. The assassination attempt on Gamal Nasser Egypt on October 24, 1954 and the assassination of President Anwar Sadat in 1981 were accused of being the work of the M16 in Britain because of its refusal to hand over the administration Suez Canal to the British.

The CIA, the KGB and its allies encouraged and financed the wars and political instability across the continent. Angola became in the field of battle for the CIA, KGB and Chinese, as each tried to gain control over the country, its people and resources. The civil war that engulfed Angola in 1975 only ended in 1991 after 26 years of conflict. When the war ended the few facilities that remained after the War of Independence (1961-1974) had gone.

On March 7, 2004 Simon Mann, a British citizen, a mercenary and former senior officer of the elite British special forces (SAS), and 69 other mercenaries were arrested at a military airport outside Harare, Zimbabwe. Their destination was Equatorial Guinea in West Africa. Its mission was to overthrow Teodoro Obiang Nguema, president of the oil-rich Equatorial Guinea, a country of 600,000 people. In his defense referred to some powerful Member of the British establishment and its financiers and sponsors including the UK, Jack Straw, the justice minister, Peter Mandelson, former European Commissioner Trade Union and now Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, Sir Mark Thatcher, a businessman and son of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, Jeffrey Archer a key Conservative member who was convicted of perjury and Ely Calil stinky a Lebanese oil trader accused of financing the plot. Mark Thatcher was arrested in South Africa and accused of supplying the aircraft that led to Simon Mann at Harare. Mr. Thatcher pleaded guilty in South Africa and later became to pay 300,000 pounds for a prison sentence. The coup put Severo Moto, the opposition leader living in Spain by the country. The coup was to give both the conspirators and their supporters unquestioned access free of oil resources in the nation. If the coup had succeeded Mann and his cronies have become Equatorial Guinea in a long sad stories in Africa, bloodshed, corruption, mismanagement, poverty and what you have. The governments of Spain, South Africa and other western countries were involved in serious and be aware of the plot. Thanks to the vigilance of the regime of Robert Mugabe, the coup was cut root. Unfortunately, most resource-rich countries in the continent have not been entirely successful.

Among the mercenaries who try Africa returning to their former colonial masters was Bob Denard. In fact, Simon Mann is a minnow compared to Bob Denard, a French who made a career overthrow the leaders of the mercenaries in Africa. When Bob Denard died in 2007, more than a dozen hits to his credit. Four of the hits of State took place in the Comoros island alone. The French writer Jean Guisner, followed Denard has written extensively on race and the French government did nothing Denard says than it was against the interests of France - and has acted in close cooperation with intelligence services. Mercenary Denard's career took place between 1950 and 1980. During that period, is reported to have participated in the post-independence Nigeria, Benin in 1977, Angola, Zaire - now Democratic Republic of Congo and the former Rhodesia - now Zimbabwe. Registering your frustration and lack of justice for the Comoros, Mr. Abdou Soule Elbak, former president of the Grand Comoro, said: "This man stained our history, "referring to Denard." I regret that was not responding to all crimes committed in our country, murder and torture that he was guilty, "said Moustoifa said Sheikh, leader of the Democratic Party front. All these activities of mercenaries held in the continent due to natural resources.

The product of all these were the political instability and destruction they want from lives and property that have plagued Africa today. As the elected leaders of the continent were killed, overthrown and subjected to all kinds of cold war tactics including bribery, pressure and blackmail of the continent degenerate and fail in all aspects of human endeavor. The new generation of leaders who replaced the independent post-colonial leaders and were largely puppets of U.S. and European governments became increasingly authoritarian and corrupt. Joseph Mobutu Sese Seko, who became the choice of the Americans after helping assassinate Lumumba of the Congo ruled for 32 years and in those years the country became poorer and Mobutu his cronies got richer and, in particular the Western U.S. and its allies had a free hand plundering of the most important minerals of cobalt a very important mineral needed for missile development. Little development of the activities carried out by Mobutu. As today's result can only be accessed Congo boats and canoes, mainly through the Congo River.

As the tyrants and dictators gained the support of Western governments and made what they wanted with their economies, without question, his people became poorer and the hopelessness and despair were the hallmarks of their lives. As the little money that came into the government coffers were taken by corrupt government officials and civil servants were almost no money to carry out the development infrastructure and poverty deepened. Poverty, despair and hopelessness visited the village and together with his inability to change their leaders democratically, dissent were sown in the population they serve as a breeding ground for more coups, civil wars and civil unrest. This is evident in Ghana, Nigeria, Niger, Côte d'Ivoire, Gambia, Liberia, Mauritania, Algeria, Gabon, Togo, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Central African Republic, Chad, Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda and Sierra Leone experienced strokes in the 1960, 1970, 1980 and even in the 1990's. These waves of coups were followed by wars civilians that occurred in Liberia, Sierra Leone, Ivory Coast, Congo, Chad, Central African Republic, Somalia, Uganda, Sudan, Angola, Niger and Guinea. These wars, besides the human cost has also contributed to the destruction of roads, ports, airports, railways, telecommunications, hospitals, schools and media of people's lives. With the lack of infrastructure of the countries have been unable to make any progress in terms of economic development.

World Bank, IMF and the role of foreign companies

The World Bank and the IMF (Bretton Woods) and foreign companies have also played their part in making poverty endemic in the continent. Most African countries made billions of debt through loans incurred by the Bank and the IMF. Most of these conditional loans were used to pay debts and property of poor countries. The loans also were used to pay foreign expatriates who came to the continent as "technicians."

Some of these loans were used also to carry out projects and programs that benefit only the rich. Again, a portion of the loan was diverted too far from the corrupt politicians and public officials.

The structural adjustment program (SAP) forced the poor African countries by the Bank and the IMF forced the various governments to abandon their support for the public sector, with serious consequences. The removal of agricultural subsidies, in particular, has made it difficult for farmers to compete with their Western counterparts who receive millions of dollars in government subsidies each year. The disturbances and alterations in food shortages and prices foods that are produced in Egypt, Haiti, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mauritania, Indonesia, Afghanistan, Eritrea, Somalia and Sierra Leone in 2008 were the direct result Bank and IMF bitter pills prescribed to these poor countries.

Because SAP and other investment policies of the World Bank and IMF education, health, transport and other sectors of the economy was considerably reduced. Governments were forced to privatize state enterprises. The sad aspect this exercise was that most companies went to foreign funds used to pay off debts and property of these poor nations. Unable to pay its debts and more money trapped these poor countries turned to the bank and the IMF for additional loans and the Bank's response was to open their markets to foreign goods and accept globalization. As a result, the continent has become a dumping ground for foreign goods. You can not compete with cheap foreign products enter most local businesses do not have forced to close, lay off millions of workers and devastating many families. Mr. John Jenkins, the author of 'Confessions of an Economic Hit Man' Much has been written about how the Bank, the IMF and the big cartels different companies conspired to keep African and developing countries in the state where today. Please see John Jenkins on youtube as he tells his remarkable story on YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yTbdnNgqfs8

The presence of companies such as Shell, Mobil, Chevron, BP, Total, Rio Tinto, Chevron, BHP Billiton, Anglo American and others have contributed to high levels poverty on the continent. These companies, which are mostly resource extraction in nature have destroyed the once rich soil of Africa, which forced many farmers to abandon their farms and losing their livelihoods. Rivers, wells and streams used by people for their daily activities such as washing and drinking have been contaminated by non-profit companies. Fishing in most mining communities and oil extraction has ceased as pollution has killed the stocks in these rivers and lakes representing the unemployed fishermen. Communities that were once life is radiant ghost communities such as land, rivers, lakes and wells have been destroyed. Breathing, nausea and other mining-related diseases are increasing in many communities where mining and oil extraction are ongoing but non-profit companies have abandoned their social responsibilities to be people. In August 2006 a company Dutch Trafigura called highly toxic waste dumped in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, killing 17 people and sickening thousands. byTrafigura Such inhuman acts are only the tip of the iceberg.

Brain drain

The poverty in the continent also has occurred as a result of serious brain drain that has afflicted the continent in recent times. The flight of physicians, engineers, architects, lawyers, judges, bankers, accountants, teachers, nurses, planners, agricultural experts and others have limited our ability to implement projects and programs. The flight of these intellectuals has made many very weak government agencies. In some communities, hospitals without doctors and nurses. In other cases there are universities and schools without teachers and teachers. Countries as Malawi, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Ghana and Liberia, have lost much of its professionals to rich countries of Europe and America to the point that many sectors have resorted to hiring foreign expertise to cope. For example, there are more doctors from Malawi in Manchester City, only the combined set of Malawi. The irony is that governments use scarce resources to train these scholars only for them to leave the country for greener pastures abroad. Great Britain and the U.S. are the main recipients of the brain drain, and although they are aware of the enormous negative impact it is having on poor developing countries have not done nothing to discourage, in most cases have encouraged.

Corruption and mismanagement

Corruption is another cancer that has been tragically poor continent. From South Africa to Egypt is a country not where corruption is endemic. According to the African Union (AU) around 148 billion U.S. dollars have been stolen from the continent by its response Lead and public officials. In the Forbes 2006 list of most corrupt nations had 9 of the top 16 countries from Africa. Since oil was discovered in Nigeria 50 years ago, several billion dollars have been realized but today the entire population still lives in extreme poverty and the country has nothing to show. As a result of men and women are able to fight just to get dangerous seas in Europe and some luck. Other 419 have resulted in a popular scam used to deceive the people give their money and valuables. Those who appear to have benefited from the oil are corrupt politicians, government officials and big oil companies like Shell, Mobil, BP and their American counterparts. In fact Nigeria has always stood at 1% of the most corrupt country in the world. Between 2005 and 2007, several state governors and their immediate family were arrested by Scotlandyard in London on money laundering and corruption charges. Among them are James Ibori of oil rich Delta State and his wife Teresa, who had his $ 35 million of assets frozen by court English. Mr. Ibori wins over a thousand dollars a month, but during his eight years as governor of the state managed to acquire wealth worth $ 35 million and was a key financial contributor to the campaign of the current president of Nigeria. He owns a private jet and luxury London home. Another is corrupt governor Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, governor of the oil-rich state of Bayelsa, who was also arrested in London on charges of money laundering. Mr. Alamieyeseigha broke bail conditions and elude capture in the UK by dressing as a woman. When police searched his home in London discovered one million pounds worth of cash at home. Another governor who was arrested in England was Joshua Dariya Plateau State. He was arrested in a London hotel to steal money intended for development your state. In South Africa, Jacob Zuma continues to struggle with the court for his involvement in the multibillion-dollar arms deal in 2001 in South Africa. He was forced to resign as vice president South Africa. The late Mobutu in his 32 years as president of Zaire, now Democratic Republic of Congo accumulated several billions of dollars belonging the people of Congo. In 2006 former Malawi President Bakili Muluzi was arrested for pocketing $ 12 million donated to his poor country by foreign governments. Again Zambia's former president Frederick Chiluba, was arrested along with two businessmen Faustin Kabwe and Aaron Chungu and charged with 11 counts of stealing money earmarked for the development of of Zambia. In Equatorial Guinea, where oil exports earned the country billions of dollars, 600,000 people still living in the country in poverty, while Teodoro Obiang Nguema and his cronies continue to siphon oil revenues without accountability. countries in Gabon and Angola, both exporters Oil is no different. In fact, the governments of Gabon and Equatorial Guinea can best be described as a "kleptocracy" that is government by thieves. In countries such as Nigeria, Egypt, Cameroon, Gambia, Sudan, Uganda, Libya, Tunisia kleptocracy class of people have replaced democracy nothing. In these countries, very few people remain in power and the people have no voice in the way their country is governed or run. For example Gaddafi of Libya has been in power for 39. Omar Bongo of Gabon, 31, Teodoro Obiang Nguema of Equatorial Guinea, 28 years, Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe, 28 years, Hosni Mubarak, Egypt, 27 years, Paul Biya of Cameroon for 26 years, Yoweri Museveni of Uganda, 22, Omar Al Bashir of Sudan for 19 years, Chad Iddriss Derby 17, Yahya Jammeh of Gambia for 14 years, and the list is endless. What is clear is that these elected leaders do not continue to accumulate wealth at the expense of poor countries are mismanagement what remains of their corruption. Since most of the leaders are former military or former rebels without understanding of economics and management, are unable making any sound economic policies that will make their economies grow thereby, poverty has become a part of the people, but their leaders do not know Why is poverty. A visit to the Niger Delta region of Nigeria shows that majority of the population is unemployed. Years of oil spills have made the soil unfit for any agricultural activity. Streams and wells are contaminated and people have no access to basic necessities of life despite billions of dollars realized from the sale of oil from the region each year. In the 1990 financial difficulties, extreme poverty and environmental destruction environment forced the people of Ogoniland to demand a say in which Shell operates, but the military regime headed by General Sani Abacha, environmentalists arrested led by Ken Sorowiwa and executed. These are the funds for the development of the states that these state governors have been caught trying to bank away in Europe. Everything possible to ensure that the government of Nigeria to develop the oil-rich areas fell on death ears to young people unemployed rose in arms against the federal state. They kidnapped foreign oil workers and demanded a ransom before their victims were released. That disrupted oil production forcing oil companies to move several miles out of their own safety, but were not sure either. Finally, companies had to cut production by 25% in 2007-8. These disruptions affected oil supplies in the world market, forcing the price skyrockets to $ 140 a barrel in the summer of 2008.

In DR Congo is estimated that gold and diamond deposits alone could bring the country 23 trillion dollars not to mention the abundance Wood and several other minerals found in large quantities as coltan (coltan) and cassiterite (tin ore), but years of corruption, mismanagement, conflicts and foreign participation has made ​​this nation's rich resources of the poorest in the world. Coltan by example, is used in all mobile phones and a range of electronic devices in the world. Cassiterite cards used in electronic circuits is the metal most traded on the London Stock Exchange. It is often said that Western nations can not maintain their current lifestyle without the Congo and most companies in the west may go bankrupt without Congo. question is whether the Congo is the blood line of the west and west is rich because of the Congo, then why is it so poor Congo? "Where are the billions of dollars from the sale of these minerals? The answer lies in the history of the nation that is corruption, slavery, colonialism, murder, armed conflicts and foreign implications. Since independence from Belgium in 1960 there has been peace in the country. Several million Congolese have died about 4 million of them in the last eight years alone, and most of the dead are civilians. The conflict in Congo is largely about who controls the resources that great country. The sheer size has made ​​administration difficult. And the problem is exacerbated by weak, poorly trained and undisciplined Congolese army very corrupt who kidnap, terrorize, rape and murder of people instead of protecting them.

The various militia groups operating in the east of the country have made ​​life very difficult and unbearable for the civilian population. These armed groups supported by Rwanda and Uganda have largely operated in the region with impunity - abducting, raping, killing and robbing the poor. Jean Pierre Bemba, now facing war crimes at The Hague was a famous leader whose activities have not escaped the International Criminal Court (ICC). Another notorious warlord who continues to operate with impunity is Laurent Nkunda. A visit to Walikale town in the east of the country explains in vivid terms why people are so tragically poor. People have abandoned their farms and moved to the mines, but what makes the mining is carried away by the Congo army and predators always present, namely armed groups. These armed groups to force the people to mine the minerals without pay. Unable to farm and pay for their work, most of them have food credit survive. Walikale Every day about 16 planes flying out of town with a lot of ores to Rwanda. These minerals find their stolen more road in west London market minerals and Switzerland. The resources are shared by the warlords in the Congo, generals, politicians and entrepreneurs in Rwanda and the rest is used to purchase weapons used to terrorize people and prolonging the war. Please click the link to view a video of the Congo.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Io8c81xHLmw

Recommendations and conclusion

It is clear that various forces within and outside the continent, have contributed to making the world's poorest continent. But there is no time for looking back, but a time to look ahead and that our acts together, get organized and start doing something. The progress made ​​by China, India, Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Gulf countries like Bahrain, Kuwait, UAE and Qatar, Saudi Arabia in the last 30 to 50 years shows that poverty has nothing to do with color or race. Nations become poor because their leaders fail to develop policies and programs addressing their problems.

To reverse the negative impact of centuries of slavery and colonialism on the one hand and decades of coups, civil wars, corruption, mismanagement and interventions foreign on the other side, governments should focus on reforming its democratic institutions and allow free and fair elections are organized. It should be more to fight corruption and mismanagement, to establish independent monitoring bodies in corruption, strengthen the judiciary, and be accountable to the people.

It should limit the power of the army and embark on concrete, sound and the result of policies promoted and provide more incentives to discourage brain drain.

Governments should undertake the construction of social and economic infrastructure - schools, hospitals, roads, railways, telecommunications, airports, ports, markets, will lay the foundations for economic and social development. Must be established research institutions to find the best way to use various natural resources to benefit the people. As the saying goes "no resources, but they become" is ie you can have all the natural resources in the world but if you do not have the ability to turn them into useful goods / consumption to benefit the people are nothing.

The African Union should be more worried about the fight against poverty that was just a gathering of kleptocrats corrupt dictators.

About the Author

Black Ivory Don't Turn Around Live 1972