Africa and the Collapse of the Berlin Wall

Scribbles from the Den revisits the collapse of the Berlin wall in 1989 and its impact on Africa:
“Just as in Eastern Europe where images of the consumer societies in the west had contributed to the revolt, so too did images of unarmed citizens heroically standing up to communist dictatorship have a profound effect in Africa. Pictures of the collapse of the Berlin wall, and later, of the Romanian revolution and later and the bullet-riddled body of Ceauşescu, made Africans believe that their time too had come…

Although African regimes tried desperately to deny it, the similarities between the discredited regimes of Eastern Europe and Africa were obvious – bureaucratic strangulation of the economy, excessive and crippling centralization, the unbearable weight of an ever-increasing debt burden, a dramatic drop in living standards for the majority of the population, a massive exodus into the black market sector, very severe austerity programs, a loss of confidence in the official ideology, the squandering or dilapidation of valuable human capital through coercion and terror leading to what Achille Mbembe described as “the inertia of political and intellectual structures”, etc.
The climate in Africa was therefore a very fertile one where the seeds of political liberalism brought in by the “East wind” could blossom into beautiful plants.”

Louder than Swahili laments about the state of education in Tanzania:
“Tanzania has not gone through the same conflicts and problems [like northern Uganda and South Sudan], and have moreover received non-stop development support since the 1960s.

That makes me rather emotional. Not just about the state of education in Tanzania,but the fact that this vast human potential, creativity, personal drive, eagerness and motivation 365 days a year in a large range of Tanzanian villages just isn't utilised, but ignored...
In many cases, the schools are there... but often they don't provide enough space for the pupils enrolled... some teachers don't show up; don't teach; don't speak the tribal language of the children in that area; that they take bribes or demand other services.

But teachers are also directed by the government where to work, paid an absolutely ridiculously little salary considering their role and tasks. According to the teachers I spoke to last week, a Tanzanian teacher makes about 75 - 300 USD monthly, that is if they are paid at all...
The list is long, however, what is fundamental is that Tanzania has an educational system which simply doesn't meet the need for the vast majority of the watanzania.”

Moses Kimbaro writes about his recent experience of being connected to social media networks during a nationwide blackout in Kenya:
“Last night was indeed interesting on many levels. There was a countrywide blackout in Kenya from around 6.00 pm to around 11.00 pm. Since I was sitting in the dark at home for most of the time, the first thing I did was whip out my smart phone and decided to get on Twitter and Facebook via Safaricom’s 3G connection that was working in spite of the blackout. In a matter of seconds, I had replies that it was not just in Westlands and Kileleshwa that had a blackout but that it was indeed countrywide! This is kind of “peculiar” since even though I did not have access to television or radio the whole time, here I was able to get the latest news via the Internet on Twitter and Facebook on the extensive Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) blackout. It was Citizen Journalism at its best! I soon found out that Mombasa, Busia and Nakuru we’re also in the dark as Facebook and Twitter users living there replied…Whatever the case, it goes to show that the Internet is truly mainstream in Kenya, even when there is no electricity, but Safaricom, Twitter and Facebook are still online!”

African Loft comments on a recent BBC documentary on African hair:
“In a recent BBC debate “The good, bad and ugly hair days” (African Manes), a documentary examining the culture of African hair, I read a troubling comment that:
‘In Africa, the preferred look seems to be straightened hair over natural, kinky hair. Natural hair wearers are perceived as being deliberately non-conformist or religious.’

Wait a minute! Why the stereotypical perception on going natural? What is so wrong with the natural African look? It is obvious the ideal of beauty in most African countries has changed, and continues to change by the season. The typical African has dark ebony skin, big brown eyes, big lips and a short nose but not anymore! Many are going Western!

My fear is if we Africans continue to view things through the ‘Western eye’, our unique African identity will vanish totally. From our hair, language, and even our music, all of those things that make up ‘the African identity’ are undergoing drastic modification into Western stereotype. It’s like Africans are ashamed of their indigenous identity — and the only way to cover-up the shame is to wear that foreign identity even if it is ill-fitting. No doubt, the rich and buoyant African culture is going extinct!

Gathara’s World

cc Patrick Gathara

Gathara's World uses homophobia in Kenya as the backdrop for a discussion on privacy, and the clash between personal and community rights:
“In common with many of my countrymen, I found the recent wedding in London between two homosexual Kenyans quite disturbing. For very different reasons though. Many condemned the ceremony itself, with some even calling for the dreaded Mungiki to take vengeance on the two for allegedly besmirching the name of the House of Mumbi...

I, on the other hand, was saddened that these two citizens were not allowed to celebrate their union in their homeland. In fact, the very act of consummation would have landed them behind bars (and that’s assuming they were able to escape the blood-thirsty mob). It led me to ask a series of questions. What gives society the right to determine what two consenting adults may or may not do in the privacy of their own home? Since there was no victim of any kind, no coercion, and nobody was harmed, shouldn’t free citizens, in such circumstances, have the right to do as they please? What does it mean to “include gay and lesbian rights” in the constitution? Is it necessary for us to have language that enumerates each and every right that a citizen may exercise? In a free and just society, what rights are reserved to the individual and which to the state?”

Nigerian Curiosity comments on a recent World Bank report on remittances from Nigerians in the Diaspora:
“Nigerians abroad send at least $10 billion in remittances to their loved ones at home. This amount makes Nigeria the 6th highest destination for remittances according to the World Bank. That also makes Nigeria the top remittance destination on the African continent...

In a country like Nigeria with anywhere between 8 to 15 million Nigerians living abroad, remittances are a way to provide financial assistance. This is crucial on a personal level because of Nigeria's high unemployment rate...
On a fiscal level, remittances act as a source of capital second only to foreign direct investment... In 2005, remittances constituted 5% of Nigeria's GDP. With many Nigerians abroad sending remittances home for investment purposes (i.e. real estate purchases), this money allows those in the Diaspora to play a role in the country's development while bettering themselves.
Additionally, considering that Nigerians abroad have been granted the right to vote in Nigerian elections, their remittances do not just signify financial importance, but could also translate to political collateral...
It will be interesting to see how the federal government or state governments take advantage of the desire of Nigerians to not only send money to their relatives, but also use their money to improve the nation.”

* Dibussi Tande, a writer and activist from Cameroon, produces the blog Scribbles from the Den.

* Please send comments to [email protected] or comment online at Pambazuka News.