Good News for Africa?

The World Bank recently released a study stating that corruption in African countries was on the downfall in comparison to other countries around the world.  The report measured the quality of government in over 200 countries from 1996 to 2006.  “Legitimate and effective political authority in managing society’s affairs is crucial to eliminating poverty and lifting the standards of living of the citizens in a country, the report concluded.” [BBC News/Africa  http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/6288400.stm]  Most of the heartache and violence is due to the fact that most African governments are plagued with corruption.  A great step forward in the fight for peace in African countries.

Unfortunately, African countries that have been raveged by political corruption saw no change such as Zimbabwe and the Ivory Coast. 

A Pan-African Government?

Muammar Gaddafi, Libya’s leader, has called for African countries to become unified and form a Pan-African government.  The African Union Summit, held in Ghana this year, has had their focus on coming up with ways to unite the entire continent of Africa and end the countless civil wars plaguing its countries.

There are many leaders, however, that disagree with this campaign including Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu, citing that that African countries should be more concerned with the conflict of Darfur.  Many feel that to become unionized, they must pull together to help other countries and the people of those countries.

It seems to me, that more than a few African countries are being led by corrupt governments.  It would take an overhaul, such as this Pan-African government idea to root out some of the corrupt.

But what about the people of Darfur?  It seems that if a government could be put in place that was stable and firm, genocide would be a thing of the past.  But how long would it take?  I think by the time a Pan-African government was constructed, time would have run out for the peoples of Darfur, Zimbabwe, Chad, Rwanda, and Somalia to name a few.

But we can’t just keep saying ‘that won’t work’ either though.  So I remain in my predicament.  How do we help, being so far away and without resources such as Oprah and Bono?

Donations Not Allowed in Somalia

This is why people find it difficult to donate, whether food or money or anything.   There is never an assurance that our donations will arrive to its destination without being picked through, stolen, or denied.  Apparently, in Somalia, a goodwill truck carrying food and supplies was stopped from coming into the country.  The supplies have been sitting at the border for a month now.

Hungry and upset, the people of Mogadishu, Somalia ambushed a police station – a place where food and supplies are handed out.  In response to the people’s anger at not having any food, the police opened fire on the group killing 5 people.  Most of the area’s people have fled to other countries, most of which take advantage of the refugees by raping and killing them.

These people are starving to death and there are few ways in which we can help them, but there has to be a way.  A way that we can come to together and and show that we are here for them. 

 

Zimbabwe – On the brink of collapse?

According to news coming from Harare, the capital city of Zimbabwe, the currency has fallen to new lows.  The central bank has reported that compared to the U.S. dollar, one would need 170,000-200,000 Zimbabwean dollars.  This number is up from 15,000 just in April.

This is crazy, I’ve heard where a country’s currency has fallen to like 3,000 or so, but hundreds of thousands?  How do you even begin to fix this?  There is no exportation, the people are fleeing.  Economics 101 tells us that you have to create a supply and demand environment to recover and sustain itself.  So what do you do? 

I haven’t heard any news on the ‘talks’ that are going on in South Africa between the two political parties.  But it seems to me, that whoever has the power should kick Mugabe out.  He’s 83, and obviously doesn’t care about his people.  He seems to be more concerned with plots of coups rather than helping his country out of such a devastating state.

It has been predicted that the inflation rate could reach as high as 1.5 million by the end of 2007.  All I know to do is shake my head. 

But I think if we, as American citizens could show our government that we do care, something could be done.  We have whole sections of government that deals with foreign affairs.  I feel this is one affair that should be on the top of that list.

Zimbabwe talks prove to be promising…

This past weekend, talks regarding the ever declining economy of Zimbabwe began in South Africa.  The present political party – ZANU – and the opposition party – Movement for Democratic Change were both represented along with South African President Thabo Mbeki who just recently was given the task of mediating between the two parties.

The talks will be centered around not only the near collapse of Zimbabwe’s economy but also of the upcoming presidential elections in 2008.

Zimbabwe’s economy is currently in a state of hyper-inflation.  In fact, it has the highest inflation rate in the world at 3,700%.  Due to the fact of President Mugabe’s re-distribution of land, the continued spread of HIV/AIDS, and food shortages, the economy is speculated to last only 6 more months before utter collapse.

There is sufficient cause for alarm for the upcoming elections as well.  In the past, Mugabe’s party has been responsible for intimidation, fraud, and violence against those who support the opposition.  Even though the talks are still preliminary there are reports of the Zimbabwe elections being conducted by international officials.

I will  keep you posted on the results of these talks.

Zimbabwe Education

I remember being in college and being so excited to live on campus in one of the dorms.  My parents came with me and helped decorate my dorm room and meet my new roomate.  I had received a partial scholarship and my parents picked up the remaining difference.  It was great, I had wonderful experience in college and only had to worry about my classes and grades.

I then begin to think about the college students in Zimbabwe.  The few who get the opportunity to attend a university in Zimbabwe, let alone in Africa, number very few.  In the past, Zimbabwe was a good place to go get ones education, but now, with the land re-distribution, AIDS killing off it’s teachers, and food shortages, even less are able to attend school.  In addition to all these problems, Zimbabwe is in a state of hyper-inflation so tuition costs rise drastically each semester.  Students are barely able to afford textbooks and many have had to stop attending classes all together.

There are political adversities the professors are constantly struggling with as well.  It has been reported that many teachers have fled Zimbabwe due to physical violence inflicted upon them by Zanu-PF – the current political party in power.  The teachers (as most of the population of Zimbabwe) showed favoritism for the opposition party – the Movement for Democratic Change.  That was their crime.  Reportedly, the teachers were violently beaten in front of their students.

 

Zimbabwe News

“How do you tell your children it is important to get an education when jobs – if you are lucky enough to get one – have worthless salaries,” asks one Zimbabwean mother.  This is what parents are faced with living in a country that is hyper-inflated.  Imagine living in a country where your money was almost useless.  Think about having to get the most basic of items like bread and milk off the black market – having to pay thousands just to survive.

Think about being in college and having tuition jump every semester and you can’t afford textbooks.  As a result, more and more students are having to drop out of school. 

“It is so hypocritical,” said one young student.

“All those people in power received free education under [former white minority leader] Ian Smith or from the missionaries. They don’t care that we can’t afford the education; also all the good teachers have left. Is it any surprise we look for other ways to get money?”

Zimbabweans are now hearing there are wheat shortages in addition to being in a state of hyperinflation with a rate of 3,700%.

The struggle is much more than any of us can even imagine.  We live in a society with a solid infrastructure and a fail-safe economy.  The people in Zimbabwe didn’t even elect their leader so how can we not pity them?  How can we not reach out and help in their time of need?

 

BBC International Version, May 25, 2007 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6688755.stm

Zimbabwe – An Overview

I could start out with the good things about Zimbabwe.  But, there really aren’t any.  This country is like many other African countries; poor, sick, and hungry.

Zimbabwe is a landlocked country in southern Africa with its capital being Harare.  It has been thought that Africa is home to some of the oldest civilizations in the world.  There is widespread evidence of Stone Age hunters in Zimbabwe dating back to 5,000 years or more.  Now, approximately over 12 million people inhabit this country of a little more than 150,000 square feet.

The adult literacy rate rests at 90% – a good thing.  And the country’s top officials typically hold multiple degrees many of which are on the PhD level.  So, why do the country’s problems include shortage of foreign exchange, soaring inflation, and supply shortages?  Who’s in charge, who’s running this country?   Robert Mugabe.  He is the current president and member of the ZANU party – a political party that has been in power since 1980 when Zimbabwe won independence from Rhodesia.  

President Mugabe was the Prime Minister, then in 1987 he revised the country’s constitution and made himself President.  He has been ruling ever since.  There has been much outcry of the tactics used to keep Mugabe in office.  There has been word of vote rigging, fraud, and intimidation.  It is also been said that his party is using these tactics to keep him in office until 2010.

It seems that there were two events that sent Zimbabwe into a downward spiral that still has not stopped spinning. The first event was involvement in war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo for 4 years.  Between 1998 and 2002, Zimbabwe was drained of hundreds of millions of dollars. 

The second event which seems to be the more serious, is President Mugabe’s plan of land re-distribution that took affect in 2000.  Essentially, Mugabe’s plan evicted 4,000 white farmers from Zimbabwe’s farm land.  It was hard enough for the white farmers to produce adequate crops.  But now, there were no new farmers to replace the evicted ones.  Take a rather successful crop for Zimbabwe, tobacco.  “Tobacco production decreased by 65% between 2000 and 2003. Diminishing production is directly linked to the loss of commercial farms that cultivate tobacco as a result of Mugabe’s land reform policy.”(May 4, 2004 ICE Case Studies, http://www.american.edu/TED/ice/zimbabwe.htm)

As of 2007, Zimbabwe has been in a state of hyperinflation.  And its starving people are risking their lives fleeing into neighboring countries in search for food and money.

This has been a brief overview of Zimbabwe and its problems.  For the rest of this week, I will be posting news and detailed accounts of the lives of the people of Zimbabwe.

 

Plight

Each week, I will do my best to post on a new country in Africa.  Every day of that week I will investigate and bring you the news and current situation of the country.  It is just too hard to figure out what to write about because there is so much to uncover and bring to the light of the rest of the world.  It especially gets tricky when finding un-biased news from American sources, because, well it’s just non-existent. 

I’m choosing Zimbabwe as the first country to talk about in hopes of bringing new attention to the in-humane lifestyles and ways we can help.

What are we about?

My husband and I were talking and we were trying to figure out who the leaders of our country were.  And I mean on a deeper level, not just the President, but people that stood up for things like injustice.  We couldn’t think of anyone.  We could think of people who died doing things they loved and believed in like Pat Tillman.  But I dare say, there are a few who have never heard his name.  My husband  and I were thinking of someone more on Martin Luther King, Jr.’s level.  Then I realized our country was not in turmoil like it was in the 60s.  With all due respect, we seem to pull together only when something happens to us, Americans and typically white Americans. 

We live in a day and age now where we can choose what ways we would like to help others.  We can actually make that decision.  We can make the decision to show the world that we’re not a selfish, materialistic country; but that we’re a country that’s interested in more than what Paris Hilton is wearing to the movies.

There are people in countries in Africa that walk 25 miles just to get water for the day.  And there are so many more that aren’t educated on how to protect themselves from contracting AIDS.  As Americans, we’re about more than this.  We’re about something.  Lets show it.