Aids, Ebola, Obama.... thanks Africa This was the most infuriating thing I saw on the internet today. In fact, it was below a story about the CDC and ebola that automatically played after I watched an incredible piece of journalism that tailed an ambulance worker in Liberia who is exposed to Ebola every day on Yahoo. So... what disturbed me most about this comment was: A) it had the most likes of any comment on the page B) there were a lot of people who didnt seem to notice its pronounced racism C) there were a lot more people who just didnt care. Now the question is: why does Africa seem like the most miserable place on the planet. Why does it seem like a breeding ground for everything horrible. Why do all the terrible and tragic things happen over there? Let me enlighten you. So for the past 6 centuries the entire African continent has been chronically stripped of its resources by Europe. Now, Im not talking merely Northern Africa, including the middle east, Im also talking about the rest of Africa which is big enough to fit China, India, and the United States within its borders and still have room for a chunk of Austrailia. This part of Africa was harder to get to - but more of that later. Africa is a delicate and dying land from the beginning. The same phenomena that creates deserts in the first place, exists in Africa, the wind strips the land of its moisture over long periods of time. This can leave vast deserts, or barren grasslands. Its like most of Austrailia, and also the North American southwest. Desert and barren grasslands exists in much of the Northern part of the country, and in fact provided a natural barrier for land based exploration. For early conquerers, there was no point in venturing to deep into the continent, the rewards would be too few and the losses would be too many. All that changed with the discovery of the trade-winds, which initiated globalization. With most of Europe, ravaged, over-populated and spoken for - the kings and queens of some of its most prominent nations took a chance on exploration. The goal was to find faster routes to the riches of the far east, including, spices, fabrics, technology, gold and other precious metals. In the early days, many had sailed off to find new places and never returned. So, old European powers would have known the risk. But the reward changed everything. That is why Columbus had to sail from Spain, instead of his native Italy during his 4 trips to the new world (which wasnt that new, but thats a different topic entirely.) The Spanish were willing to take the gamble on him. Obviously, the Mediterranean sea had been well explored for thousands of years before Columbus. Seaman must have realized quick that going due West from any point in Europe was a bad idea. But what about South? In fact, that was the only choice. So boom, Europe slowly rounds the rest of Africa, and indeed does make it to the far east as planned. They also discovered the rest of the world in the middle, that had probably been around longer than them. So that discovery thing is questionable... anyway.... Basically, when globalization was initiated by Columbus, any place with a resource that could be taken with military force was now a target of various European nations who could afford to transport the goods. The motivation for this was European nations hostility with each other. It took a lot of work to get a shipment of gold, from South America over to Spain or England. The systematic raping of indigenous peoples of their resources, land, values, and culture was the expectation and the right of Europe, because the truly powerful nations were always concerned with each other. There was always the threat of a more serious war with someone closer to home, so why worry about those uncivilized natives? They hardly wore clothes. They had a strange culture. Because their skin is different, because their eyes are different, because their noses are different. In fact, because they are different and look different - we easily de-humanize them. Because obviously, they dont matter as much. Well just keep doing what were doing until everythings almost gone 500 years from now, and no one will pay as much attention to it because were writing the text books by then. So..... Dear Africa, Because of the 500-600 years European globalization has spent stripping you of your resources. African children are mostly born in a land barren no matter where they are. Europe took everything deemed of value and left a long time ago. Then after stripping you of their resources, they impose their value system and legal system upon on the world, however only after you are unable to get back the resources stolen from you before you were told of the rules. The money that is now accepted and backed by gold stolen from your continent sits in their banks, where they still write all the rules and barely think you human. So because your land has very little to offer, and has been pacified for centuries by those in chairs on a different continent entirely. You cant even call on Africa now. Africa cant provide the resources needed now, because they have been taken. Africa doesnt have the money to make programs, and build schools and have order for the size of its populous, because to systematically rape a continent you have to keep it torn apart within. So without the tools for mobility, Africa is left standing still. Without roads, schools, or hospitals, progress goes slowly. So without those tools of mobility, Africa is nearly as it was 100-300 years ago, with some small improvements that arent good enough for a continent bustling with humans. So when AIDS or Ebola happens, it spreads because there isnt enough purel for people in Africa. Also, there arent enough schools - so people dont understand the concepts of germs, viruses, bacteria and how they spread. Some of those people hardly believe these things are real. This makes it easier for horrible things to spread. Because Africa doesnt have a major economy or military power - most of the world ignores it. Because it is ignored by the world atrocities are allowed to play out. Whether its dictators, child soldiers, or apartheid. Within the last 20 years or last 5 minutes. Because Africa no longer is a player in the world economy like the middle east - it has been left to die. It is only when something in Africa threatens the world, does the world pay attention to it. Because there is nothing left there. Everything has already been taken. And the only thing left is hope that one can leave and find a better life. If not, one is always praying for a future. ******This isnt something to fuel a race squabble, its simple facts about conquest, geography, globalization, sociology, economics and social mobility (part of sociology) I hope whoever made that comment on Yahoo knows how to read a book. Meanwhile, I thank god every day that I was born in this country and have amazing people that exist in my life.
Posted on: Thu, 16 Oct 2014 22:41:15 +0000
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