Pan-Africanism

I don't really have anything inspirational to say, I just have the opportunity to use the internet and honestly I am slightly bored. Also, I drank a glass of Café Touba, coffee that is made by street vendors with normal Nescafé and various spices, which is three or four times as strong as normal coffee. This has nothing to do with this blog, and very little to do with much besides the fact that in writing this opening stating I am trying to find the inspiration for this blog entry.

I think we, as Americans, tend to simplify everything too much. One example is the idea that everything in Africa is similar, and although things in African by and large are similar relating to themselves, this is not to mean they are the same. Similarities do not entail homogeny. This idea is similar with European societies, that by and large general trends do exist, but overall there are distinct differences that seperate persons, even if on a microscopically small sociological level. Yes, African cultures did at one time use spears to hunt in the bush, and yes, many of them did shun the large cumbersone clothing in favor or loin clothes and beads. Yet, to expect all of Africa to be like this, and ultimately to remain like this would be the same as expecting to travel to the U.S. today and find Cowboys fighting with Indians.

I would take this opportunity to put a little blame on the media.

Yet, there are these similarities, but I am unsure whether they are things that are necessarily tied to Africa that make these similarities. This struck me as I watched news reports about the conflicts in Chad. Despite the fact that the people looked similar, at least to me, as much as all white people look similar to most foreigners, there were bizarre trends that I didn't expect to notice. As stupid as it may sound, and as trivial as it may seem, the people I saw fleeing their houses in Chad all wore the same foam and plastic flip flops that are sold on a mass scale here in Senegal. Also the buckets they used to carry their belongings, these small cheap plastic buckets that appear tye-dyed, were exactly the same. Chad is not relatively close to Senegal, not in the least bit, but these things were exactly the same. One has to wonder if the same consumer products get pushed on all of Africa, even in the relatively stable and "developing" nations such as Senegal. Senegal, like it has been for centuries before and for countless other explorers, has become a window out of which I can see the other African countries.

The United States of Africa, this is actually a real concept, and was for a while a relatively popular concept. It was largely developed by Senghor and his allies before the independence of Senegal in the 1950's. This is what gave birth to the Mali federation, a federation of associated French colonies that was formed before the federation was disbanded in favor of national independence. Senghor originally fought against this decision, stating that creating a strong pan-african state was more important that creating a series of independent nations. The remnants of this idea have been transfered largely through economic pratices, such at the use of French CFA's as the currency in the former French colonies. Also, the use of the West African bank, as the basis for this currency, ties most of the members of this former alliance, together based on their common currency. Even the democratic leader Abdoulaye Wade, expounds the need to create a strong African state, like the European Union, in order to be more effective in brokering deals with other powerful nations. Ultimately this would cause better trade agreements, because in working together the countries could boycott unwanted political affiliations and also unwanted trade agreements. This recently has been happening with the APE, the "Accords partenariet economique", the economic accords between Europe and the African countries. Abdoulaye Wade called for many other African countries to boycott this accord, and for the most part I believe many of the members of the old Mali Federation have boycotted the trade agreements. Unfortunately, many African leaders have embraced the trade agreements, which utimately give the goods of Europe free reign in African markets, but restrict the amount of goods and persons that can pass from Africa to Europe. Pan-Africanism doesn't work when countries don't agree, and thus, ultimately, it doesn't work. Yet.

At least that is the hope. People still debate the validity and the longevity of the European Union. With the members growing each year, many of the wealthy countries are fearing that the newer countries are going to drain their strong national economies of their resources. Also, the open border policy allows for the free travel of all Europeans between member countries. This has already had its side effects, with many Western European countries, such as France, complaining that Eastern Europeans are coming into their country and will work for less money, and thus steal the Frenchmen's job. Sound familiar America. Yet, how can you expound open borders and free trade of goods and then be upset when it actually works like this. Ultimately, I think these people want to export whatever they want, they want to spread whatever they can spread all over the world but want their country to stay the same. This is why they get upset when African's come to France: "Why couldn't they just stay in their country!". I mean after they exported their language, their culture, their televisions shows, their school system, etc. to Africa they get upset when the Africans, who in times past they expected to act like "proper frenchmen", act in just that manner and try to travel to France. Its this xenophobia.

Its colonisation in reverse.

If this Pan-Africanism works, and an African Union does exist, who will be left to make our dollar shoes? Who will be left to sell all of our recycled clothes? Who will be left to dump all of these late model computers, televisions, etc when we can't sell them in the U.S. anymore?