Crossing the millennium:
THE REBIRTH OF AFRICA - MUCH MORE THAN ECONOMICS
To the pessimists, the so-called "developing" countries are moving toward
economic collapse. Many poor nations, in particular those of African
nations, will soon be listed not as countries, but as "ungovernable
chaotic entities," in the opinion of Oswaldo de Rivero, the former
president of the United Nations Conference on Disarmament. Are the
pessimists the enlightened ones?, he asks.
The technological revolution, currently underlying economic policies, and
the globalisation of markets are eliminating from the world economy those
nations that can offer only raw materials and unskilled labour. In this
context is it possible to speak of a rebirth of Africa? Though South
African President Thabo Mbeki was the first to speak of the rebirth of
Africa, former president Nelson Mandela articulated the more nuanced
"official" version in December 1997. The magic of Mandela succeeded in
rendering the discourse convincing, but even a superficial examination of
the key elements shows that he has made a list of good intentions.
Certainly it is not a picture of the unfolding African reality. In fact
the African National Congress felt the need to clarify that the rebirth
of Africa is a concept, a vision, and also a programme. The necessity of
clarification speaks much about the significance and perspectives, which
the phrase evokes, and how it is misleading.
Redeeming pan-Africanism
Perhaps in the intention of Mbeki and Mandela, the rebirth of Africa is a
way to redeem pan-Africanism from the discredit of the 1990s. Perhaps
they want to raise it from the ashes of tribal wars. Is the transition
from pan-Africanism to the rebirth of Africa a step in the right
direction? Pan-Africanism had clear content and precise programmes.
In fact the concept of the rebirth of Africa seems to have been born into
crisis. Rereading Mandela's speech reveals a profound misconception. It
is an economical vision. Of the five key elements, three are purely
economic and the other two have an economic slant.Without wanting to
minimize the importance of economics, to hone the concept of the rebirth
of Africa on economics is limiting and hardly African.No group of people
has ever experienced a rebirth without first courageously facing its own
complex reality. Such an achievement requires more than economists.
Artists, thinkers, creators and true leaders are also needed. Culture is
the foundation upon which everything is constructed.
There is no evidence unfortunately that a cultural rebirth is happening
in Africa. Sam Mwale, a political pundit based in Nairobi, wrote
ironically about President Clinton's exaggerated use of the expressions -
"rebirth of Africa" and "Africa that functions:" As things stand, the
economic development of the continent is occurring in a cultural and
philosophical void. The cultural foundations of every African nation
remain undefined. It does not seem reasonable to speak of an Africa that
functions when the underlying economic and political philosophies are
pondered and financed in the West and are inaccessible or irrelevant to
the real Africa. A glance at those countries that function and those that
do not shows the necessity to encourage institutions, forms of government
and approaches to economic development that reflects the reality of
Africa. That which "functions" is pseudo-Western and it is truly
difficult in this context to justify the use of the word "rebirth."
Encouraging authentic African culture
One possibility would be to finance literature and publications. Another
would be to support artists and intellectuals. But can we expect a
cultural policy from governments that are preoccupied with
self-interests? The principal problem - and here we come full circle - is
that the leaders, the institutions and the dominant political system are
alienated from everything that pertains to the real life of the majority
of Africans. It is symptomatic that leaders often do not know how to
speak more than one language spoken by their people.
The most devastating consequence of colonialism was not the lose of local
control over raw materials and economic resources, but the creation of a
political and cultural dysfunction between leaders and people. The
Africans who assumed the mechanism of political control of their
countries -mechanisms foreign to Africa - all too often were shrewd
persons poorly integrated into the traditional culture. They used the
more ignoble aspects of the indigenous culture in order to augment their
power.
They are leaders who are preoccupied with their personal power and their
bank account. Can we hope that they might know how to guide Africans on
the road to rebirth? The entire discourse about the rebirth of Africa,
however, need not be disqualified. Without allowing ourselves to be
carried away by this vision, it is necessary to search for living seeds
that can germinate, grow and flower.
Seeds of the Rebirth of Africa
In direct contrast to the implications of Mbeki and Mandela, the
Cameroonian theologian Jean-Marc Ela identifies himself in the rejection
of the western model of development. "Africa," writes Ela, "does not
reject development. Africa, however, wants something different than the
growing culture of death and alienating modernity, which destroys the
fundamental values of traditional Africa. In a world that has no more
meaning, Africa recalls that there are other ways of relating to the
world."
What to others see as a failure, for Ela is the affirmation of a possible
alternative. Thus Africa becomes the continent of the future. Ela is not
alone. The stubborn, deaf, often unexpressed and illogical refusal of
Africa to accept the western model of development can be seen as a
fundamental value. It is exactly the opposite of the eminently economical
rebirth proposed by Mbeki.
Another seed of the rebirth of Africa can be recognised in the fact that
the people not only survive, but live, despite all the problems. A doctor
who over the past 10 years has visited regularly one of the most desolate
regions of Sudan told me: "It's incredible. Every time that I go to Sudan
I think that we have truly arrived at the end. Instead when I return, I
find people, mothers, babies, young adults who continue to live in that
hell. I find them with the same smile, the same air of unconcerned
patience. They wait. They know their day will come."
In this extraordinary capacity for endurance, to wait until history turns
the page, which may seem fatalistic, nevertheless, one discovers an
enormous undercurrent of resilience. It is ancient wisdom, which says
that in the end life will win.The "tribe," often misunderstood and
demonised, is another living seed.
Ethnicity is a great richness. The extraordinary diversity of traditions
and cultures is that which makes Africa a precious and multi-faceted
jewel.The ethnic and cultural diversity must be reclaimed and utilized
for the rebirth of African society. Elementary logic suggests that the
starting point for reconstruction should be those things that do
function. And, in a positive sense, tribal identity and solidarity in
Africa are structures that function well and help people to live.
The spiritedness of the informal economy is another force, which should
not be undervalued. In villages and on the periphery of large cities in
the heart of the most abject poverty an economy was born that enables
millions of people to eat.
The crisis of the colonial borders and the displacement of large masses
of persons, refugees and evacuees ironically open up possibilities. As
borders become less difficult to cross, the meeting place for creative
persons enlarges. Distance runners and long term players, as the Africans
are, have an advantage in these wide-open spaces.
In substance the seed for the rebirth of Africa is the people, a people
who do not give up on life, who with obstinate firmness carry within
themselves the convictions of the past and live the challenges of each
day. The rebirth of Africa will come only from the people, not from
politicians. It will happen in the squalour of slums, in the pain of
refugees and of the oppressed and the tortured in prisons, not in the
luxurious palaces of power.
A climate of authentic liberty is a presupposition for every change and
cultural growth, especially if the movement is along new roads. In this
climate of liberty, creativity in all fields must be rewarded in order
not to risk a false start again.Who spontaneously comes to mind when the
people speak of rebirth? Not for nothing this leader is Nelson Mandela,
symbol of the best that Africa has to offer to the world. Nelson Mandela
was forged in nearly 30-years of suffering and imprisonment, but Mandela
alone is not enough.
by Fr Kizito Sesana
