Africa: A Continent Up For Adoption

 

 

"Africa is a land so rich in tradition and resources, and yet so mired in misery...:

I am republishing this article I did almost two years ago. This reason is an article I read in the paper today about continual carnage being visited upon the people who live in this continent.

Let me first say, just so there is no misunderstanding, this article is not a criticism of Africa. I mourn for the people of Africa who endure immeasurable pain and suffering year after year.

I have thought for many years that Africa, a continent made up of many countries should be adopted by and managed by the United Nations. Least wise, until Africa shows the world it is ready to join the league of nations. I hope that did not sound too harsh. I want Africa to succeed, to flourish, and not to fail.
 

Ever since I can remember, there has been some kind of turmoil or unrest in Africa. Some tribal, some nation against nation, and some civil unrest. Whatever the case of the conflict, the end result is suffering, starvation and death. In a continent, which is thought by many to be the cradle of civilization, a land which has vast natural resources, this is wholly unacceptable.
 

Let's for example examine the Congo. It is a nation of 63 million people located in the heart of Africa. A peace agreement signed almost ten years ago was designed to halt a war which attracted combatants from at least eight other countries. The result of this conflict produced a record of human devastation, unmatched in recent history. The International Rescue Committee estimates that 3.9 million people have died from war-related causes since the conflict in Congo began in 1998, making it the world's most lethal conflict since the Second World War! This fact alone is unbelievable.
 

The next example is Sudan. A former U.N. humanitarian chief recently stated there is no question that tens of thousands of additional people have died since a 2006 estimate of 200,000 killed. He went on to say the number now could be closer to 400,000 killed. Think of this happening to a country in Europe or a state in our country. It would be unthinkable and unacceptable - yet we have watched this from the sidelines for years.
 

One of the more insidious examples of the barbarism in Africa was the Rwandan Genocide that took place from April 6 to mid-July in 1994. During that time period, the world witnessed the mass killing of hundreds of thousands of Tutsis and Hutu political moderates by Hutus under the Hutu Power ideology. Over the period of 100 days, at least 500,000 people were killed, although some estimate the total could be over 1,000,000 (which is about 20% of the population). As we saw on the news most every night, AK-47s, grenades, but mostly machetes were the weapons of choice to carry out this butchery. Again, the world did practically nothing to stop this carnage.
 

The Ethiopia/Somalia conflict on the Horn of Africa is also a recent trouble spot. In fact, the number of minor skirmishes and unsettled truces within the continent are too many to mention in this post. However, as we know from the media, this area has also become a hot spot for the resurging Al Qaeda type terror groups.

So what is the answer? Do we keep looking with apathy at distended bellies caused from malnutrition and man caused famine on the nightly news? Continue to watch young people maimed by having limbs cut off with machetes? Endure the horror of seeing young women disfigured by having their breasts cut off so they cannot feed their young? No - this carnage and suffering needs to stop now!
 

The world needs to use the United Nations to "adopt" Africa. The U.N. needs to be peacekeepers, nation builders and teachers to every dysfunctional nation that exists in the African continent. Much of the starvation that exists are not due to lack of food - it is due to food being withheld from people either by an existing government or a neighboring country. The U. N. could put a stop to this immediately. Aid has poured into Africa from all over the world, in particular the United States. And still the carnage continues.
 

Once Africa has proven to the world that it can govern itself as a collection of individual autonomous countries, the U. N. can return control to the African people. Africa, a land rich in its people, resources and natural beauty deserves better - much, much better.