RE: Young as 6 raped by troops in Congo who fled M23
June 8, 2013 at 9:30 am
(This post was last modified: June 8, 2013 at 10:14 am by festive1.)
I've never said any such thing. I think colonialism fucked up Africa very much, but there's no reversing time and undoing it. There's only onward and, hopefully, upward. I don't think the ideal is to make the world into Western style democracies. I think the ideal is a form of African democracy for Africa. We can't think copy/paste-ing a completely different culture on top of another will actually work, because it doesn't. Africans have their own cultures, thousands of them. Some of which are compatible with democracy and freedom, and some which aren't. It's not up to Westerners to decide what is best for Africa, it's up to Africans. The West should be helpful and supportive of this process, not expecting miracle changes overnight or forcing change where a society isn't ready for it. I think, the West should help fund and otherwise support the African groups that are trying to enact democratic changes in their countries (and there are many such groups, who, in some cases, operate under great personal threat).
I get that you're taking my critique that certain groups should never have been put in the same country and blowing it wildly out of proportion and context. This issue is one of the negative effects of colonialism. One cannot simply throw down arbitrary borders and expect them to work without considering the peoples who live there. Ethnic groups that have been at odds since the formation of their societies cannot suddenly be expected to get along simply because of these arbitrary lines. I do think there will be a shattering of current African countries, some regions moreso than others, because of this issue. I hope it can be done peacefully, but judging from the violence seen in other shatter belt regions, like the Balkans, this hope may be unrealistic. In some cases conflict resolution can hopefully work and prevent a splintering of a country. If you take the current problems Africa has, and add to it the turmoil of new countries splitting off, you've got a huge mess. In cases where this can be prevented, it should be. But it's not for Westerners to decide, it's up to the Africans to figure out how to make these situations work, by what is best for them. Western countries can be helpful during this process, but they shouldn't expect their desired result, rather they should help smooth a transition, support whatever the people themselves decide, and support this process being as peaceful as possible.
I get that you're taking my critique that certain groups should never have been put in the same country and blowing it wildly out of proportion and context. This issue is one of the negative effects of colonialism. One cannot simply throw down arbitrary borders and expect them to work without considering the peoples who live there. Ethnic groups that have been at odds since the formation of their societies cannot suddenly be expected to get along simply because of these arbitrary lines. I do think there will be a shattering of current African countries, some regions moreso than others, because of this issue. I hope it can be done peacefully, but judging from the violence seen in other shatter belt regions, like the Balkans, this hope may be unrealistic. In some cases conflict resolution can hopefully work and prevent a splintering of a country. If you take the current problems Africa has, and add to it the turmoil of new countries splitting off, you've got a huge mess. In cases where this can be prevented, it should be. But it's not for Westerners to decide, it's up to the Africans to figure out how to make these situations work, by what is best for them. Western countries can be helpful during this process, but they shouldn't expect their desired result, rather they should help smooth a transition, support whatever the people themselves decide, and support this process being as peaceful as possible.
