Africa – Let’s play the Blame Game!
I just read a really interesting review about the previously mentioned book Shake Hands with the Devil by Roméo Dallaire, in which the critic states that he is sick of the former colonial powers being blamed for everything which goes wrong in Africa. He asks why everyone emphasizes the responsibility of the First World as if the African people were children and didn’t have any free will or moral sense themselves. The reviewer summarizes his criticism by demanding to hold “those who actually slaughter people” liable rather than the developed nations, whose “colonial politics can’t serve as an excuse forever”.
While it is very tempting to accept this position and forget about the African conflicts, saying “Phew! I knew that I am not responsible! After all, how could I be? I didn’t do anything.”, I am afraid the reviewer misses a crucial point in his reasoning. Let’s imagine you are witnessing a situation where someone tries to kill innocent women and children using a machete, inter alia, because your ancestors told his ancestors that they belong to a superior race, thereby seeking to consolidate their power. Is that your business after so many years have passed since those dark days of colonialism? Let’s go on to imagine that you are comparably rich as well as armed to the teeth because of some past period commonly known as the Cold War. Even if you are not directly responsible for the killer’s actions, how couldn’t you feel obliged to stop him? For example, shortly after the Rwandan Genocide had begun, heavily armed foreign troops (360 US marines landed in Burundi, 400 French paratroopers in Kigali, etc.) were transferred to the region – to evacuate foreigners and then get the hell out of there!
The reviewer of General Dallaire’s book is perfectly right when he points out the guilt of those who commit unspeakable crimes against humanity. But the conclusion he draws is utterly wrong as sometimes you can get your hands stained with blood even without taking them out of your pockets…
I agree with what I think you are saying.
Basically one may divide people, including reviewers, and reviewers of reviewers, into two camps: those who divide issues into black and white and those who see issues in many shades of grey.
I am one of the latter and I think you are, too. People in the first group tend to believe that at some age their kids become totally responsible for their actions, likely to be their fathers–like conservatives.
People in the second group believe their kids slowly take on more responsiblity for their actions from 0% at birth to maybe 100%, or maybe only 80 or 90%, in maturity. These tend more often to be the mothers–like liberals.
I believe two such groupings exist when assigning responsibility for certain current unfortunate happenings in Africa. As a member of the liberal group I often secretly admire those black-and-white types who can so apparently wash their hands of past failures and triumphs and move on. (They often choose not to let loose of past triumphs as readily as past failures, I notice!) These types look at liberals like me as masochistic wallowers in pain and failure.
I like to think of us grey-toned folks as the mature ones, who can continue to support those from our dark past even though it becomes wearisome.
However, I must admit that sometimes a clean break from the past, including mistakes in the past, which I am loathe to do, can spur growth and independence in that kid.
Unfortunately a clean break with the past can also mean missing great opportunities for helping others as well as the introspection necessary to prevent repeating the mistakes of a young parent.
Maybe that’s why two parents of different natures are the ideal.
F.Keith Mitchell
May 4, 2009 at 23:15
Giving those African nations those e2xpansive boundaries/borders was like giving them a big genetic defect, which was not the fault of the colonizers, but still does lots of continuing damage.
F.Keith Mitchell
May 8, 2009 at 02:27