By Obo Arada Shawl
March 23, 2011
Introduction
Somalia-Eritrea-Libya had common colonial heritage, an Italian heritage at that. But after
Independence each country has passed through its unique transformation and development.
Somalias aspiration is based on self-rule with limited national government of the day. For this reason, the EU label it as a failed state in response to the self-rule concept and the USA is concerned of the concept of limited government for fear of a breeding space for terrorism.
Eritrea fought a dual struggle for Independence long overdue as well as democratization process from
Ethiopia. For strategic purpose, the United States remained unenthusiastic for
Eritreas independence whereas the EU is adamant of the democratization process in Eritrean societies.
Libya has installed the Green Revolution but because of its erratic leader has shifted sides numerous times the result of which is the abandonment of EU, the AU and possibly the
USA.
Libya is on the verge of losing its cash resources.
The Second wave of colonialism
What is happening now in this digital colonial age is nothing new to these three countries. Globalization is simply about trade and export for the
United States, for EU, it is also about trade but with emphasis on immigration. For the Arab world, it is about employment and corruption. For the United Nation and the African Union, globalization is just confusion, maybe it is about trade and people.
Trade and people is nothing new to Somalia, Eritrea and
Libya. The peoples of these three countries have been conducting trade and development with or without money. Their motivation and inspiration were based on trust with profit or no profit, it did not matter. The peoples of those countries used to enjoy free traveling if not within their own vast territories but around the globe.
Geographically, the Libyans are sandwiched by the Arabs of Egypt, Tunisia, and the
Sudan. Psychologically, the Eritreans are sandwiched by religious and cultural factors. Socially, the Somalis are sandwiched among themselves. It is no wonder that these populace are in trouble of no faults of theirs.
So what was wrong with these peoples way of life? It was being disrupted not by trade but by no trade. They want to show the world how to trade with people outside the WTO. If they are obstructed by free trade, their youth will live by other means necessary as pirating in Somalia, emigrating as in Eritrea and protesting as in Libya. These trends could not be stopped by the digital age, it could only be enhanced.
Conclusion
These days, the global world as led by knowledgeable but not wise young leaders of France, England, Russia, China and
America are striving hard how to trade and export. Their model of WTO may be of little help to the little world. It is time to incorporate the models of Somalia, Eritrea and
Libya. One has to look into their positive side not their negative aspect. The Libyans are circulating their cash via investment, the Eritreans are debt free through self-reliance and the Somalis are in for self-rule.
What is wrong with the underlined concepts?
We know that their respective leaders are dictators. But the question is dictators of what? For them, dictatorship is the same as authoritarian, democracy or rule of law. We are not communicating with them or with the people they rule. It is a futile attempt to change their way of life (culture) by force.
The leader as in Libya is full of threats, the leader of Eritrea has no language for diplomacy, and the leader of
Somalia has no spokesman. If the World takes the threats of Colonel Gaddaffi as real, if the West takes President Essayass silence as terrorism or
Somalias leaders plea as helplessness, then we have problems with the peoples of that region not with their leaders.
Currently, the western world is engaged in
Libya to democratize or destabilize. Africans are regrouping to send troops to
Somalia. They seem to forget that
Libya is an African member state. We may see Western leaders supporting Meleses regime to invade
Eritrea to submit to globalization. The question is who are the countries behind Meleses regime? Will it be NATO, the Pentagon or the Peoples army of
China? I hope it is not the UN or African Union. Who can forget what the League of Nations did to
Ethiopia in 1935?
Todays problem are not leaders of
Africa, it is their untapped resources. In order to exploit their resources, we should give them the chance to be educated not in terms of value and belief but in terms of respect and interest. The West as well as the East is focused to gain an immediate gratification from the resources of
Africa.
In order to carry out the second wave of colonialism, let us take the following UN Survey conducted on a joke level
The survey was a huge failure: In
Africa they didn’t know what ‘**food**’ meant,
In
India they didn’t know what ‘**honest**’ meant, In
Europe they didn’t know what ‘**shortage**’ meant, In
China they didn’t know what ‘**opinion**’ meant, In the
Middle East they didn’t know what ‘**solution**’ meant, In
South America they didn’t know what ‘**please**’ meant, And in the
USA they didn’t know what **’the rest of the world’** meant! *
People of
Africa, just like the rest of us, have kept their resources for posterity not to be squandered by globalization phenomenon.
The real solution may come from our understanding of the fake UN survey. Let us change our attitude, as attitude is everything.
Dear readers,
Please”Would you please give your honest opinion about solutions to the food shortage in the rest of the world?”,
Use the above question in relation to the reading of article “role models for transformation and development in Africa.” that was missing in the article.
For comments, questions and concerns
woldetewolde@yahoo.com
