Comments | kique: Back to Normal

kique

Back to Normal

Jul 27, 2005 15:44

I’m leaving you guys and going to Africa.

I gave my presentation on US national security issues in Africa today and I’m tired of the bullshit. Africa will no longer be ignored and will not be exploited by neo-imperial powers who continually enforce sporadic borders created by greedy, old-school colonizers. I’m tired of combating terror in ( Read more... )

Comments 5

Will you marry me? blimeyzawn1 July 27 2005, 20:57:36 UTC

I want to go save Africa too. But then I feel guilty and then am like, "I'm using my white privilege to impose my views on these people." and so then I just do nothing, which is my usual way of dealing with the world's problems.

I seriously want to go to South Africa next summer. We should plan a trip.

Anyway, funny story: My mom has a friend who is going to Sierra Leone for the Peace Corps. I mentioned to my mom that I would looove to go to africa and the conversation went as follows:

Me: I'd really like to go to Africa one day. Maybe I can go visit Tanya.
Her: Why would you want to DO that? You'll get AIDS!!!
Me: You don't get AIDS just from walking onto the continent.
Her: Well, I don't understand. That's why when I go to visit Tanya I'm meeting her in Egypt. I don't want to go to Africa, so it's a good meeting place.
Me: Mom, Egypt IS in Africa.
Her: No it's not. The people there are Egyptian, not African-American.

And this is from someone with a PhD!!! I thought I was going to faint.

pristinekandis July 28 2005, 03:15:31 UTC

omg @dude aboves mom! but i feel you michelle. this world needs to be started over with smart people!

xbisousx July 28 2005, 21:27:03 UTC

lots of people from egypt and morocco don't accept the fact that they really are african. it just kills them inside. :( but yeah shotty. good luck with Africa! bring me back a mandigo-in-a-box? or at least a manding sized.. nevermind

angelkissez03 July 29 2005, 01:37:00 UTC

good luck!! and be careful- you never know what can happen when you are in a new land let alone a new country- so i wish you all the success- and thank you for caring about a country which many others try to neglect!!

rjhatl July 29 2005, 15:41:33 UTC

Howdy, I just browsed by your LJ and thought I'd comment. I'm a GSU PoliSci student who used to live in Nigeria. While I'm glad you're upset at the mess in Africa, the issues involved are rather complex. Yes, the border situation is crazy- they're all arbitrary creations of European Powers dating back to the Berlin Conference. But it's not the rest of the world that is enforcing them- it's Africa. If the Yorubas in Benin decided to rejoin Nigeria, or the english-speaking ex-Nigerians that are in Cameroon (and feeling persecuted) decided to do the same, the UK and France aren't going to send troops in to stop them. The aforementioned nations, however, will indeed step in to crush the movement. Inertia is hard to overcome. Redrawing the borders might be a good thing in the long run, but it's almost impossible to implement (unless the West came in and enforced it militarily, but that would just be more of the same mess). The same goes for the AIDS situation- it's terrible that pharmaceutical companies won't sell cheap drugs in Africa, ( ... )