I am 1% Angry and 99% African. But sometimes the Angry part wins. It did this time. I don’t apologize for that. It’s me. But it might not be the usual post you get from me. For that I apologize.
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Who did you kill today sweetie?
Why is it that we remember Western leaders of yesterday so fondly? Yes, I agree, we should never forget the evil murdering leaders like Mao, Stalin, Hitler and Botha. Those are memories we should put away in the vault. And never forget to never let them happen again. They were evil. But we knew that. It was obvious. We heard their evil words. And saw there evil deeds.
But why do we look back at the Western leaders and think they were good? Why is it that we wipe out the bad that happened yesterday like we forget what pain actually feels like? We remember the bad things like Apartheid and World War II, but remember the Western leaders so fondly. Why? Why do we blunt our memories?
Reagan hanging with his Taliban friends
We remember Reagan as a “great leader” and not as the warmonger he was. Funding terrorist organizations left, right and centre throughout his time in that big house up on the hill. He supported Jonas Savimbi for god sake. He wasn’t a nice guy. Sitting next to the fireplace with a warm smile is called acting. Not real life. How many people died because of his policies? How much blood must he have on his hands before you look at the man and say he was fundamentally flawed?
We remember Thatcher as the Iron Lady. A woman strong enough to show woman can lead as well as men. And now we want to remember her as a great British leader. We should feel sorry for her now that she has dementia. And we forget how many people she spat on with her wishy-washy attitude towards Apartheid. Her willingness to follow Reagan to the graves of the innocent. Like Blair and Bush. So was Thatcher and Reagan. Different sides of the same coin. She was bad. Bad. Bad. Bad.
Maggie and Pinochet sharing a special moment
I am sorry. I can’t look at Reagan and his stupid smile and feel any warmth. I can’t see what you see. All I see is the people dying in the streets of South and Southern Africa. And him supporting the terrorists in Mozambique and Angola. And the white supremacist in South Africa and Rhodesia. And people dying in South America thanks to him. And his friends the Taliban. People dying. Blood on his hands. No forgiveness. No love. Nothing.
I am sorry. I can’t feel sorry for Thatcher. I can’t. I can’t forgive if the person doesn’t ask for forgiveness. I can’t look at her and see an old sick woman. I can’t. I see her and I see the look of a tyrant of the 80′s. A woman who wanted to be a man. As if men are any better. She order the killings like a “man”. Supported men like Pinochet who murdered before breakfast. She gave woman a bad name. She gave leadership a bad name. Because she did bad things. Blood on her hands. No love. No forgiveness. No good memories. Nothing.
I see their fake smiles and teary eyes. And then see their deeds. The blood on the streets. I see them selling me shit but calling it sweets. You didn’t fool me then. And my memories won’t fool me now.
I won’t let time fade my memories. I won’t. No blunting of the blood. You ask for forgiveness and I will forgive. But not an inch until then. I won’t do it. I will honor the dead of yesterday. I will honor them by not forgetting them. And not forgiving you.
You should have known better. You should have known better. You ruled the free world. It came with a responsibility. An oath to walk the straight and narrow. A promise to be the shining light in our dark world. And you snuffed it out like it was a single candle in a storm. Without a blink. Without regret. Without a moment given to the dead lying in your path. Without a moment of asking forgiveness. Because you didn’t care. You only cared about yourself. You were selfish and self absorbed.
Wash your hands and turn your back. You always did. Then and now. I don’t even feel sorry for you. I have nothing for you. You are empty. Meaningless to humanity. You have meaning only in the blood you left behind in the streets. And the blood etched in our memories.
I don’t give a damn about what the Soviets did. I don’t give a damn about what the Chinese did. I don’t give a damn about what Apartheid South Africa did. I expected them to be evil. It was in their bones. In their blood. They were in my face. They were bad. And we knew it. We heard their hatred and saw their murdering ways. Like Hitler they were.
But you. You were supposed to be the promise keepers. The people who would fight for us. Be on our side. On the side of the innocent. The bystanders. And you spat on us and those who suffered. And gave us a Hollywood smile and a gun to our heads.
The 80′s wasn’t just about crap music and bad hair. It was also a time of oppression, murder, terrorism and leaders selling us short. It was a bad time. With bad leaders. Doing bad things. And you let it happen. No. You made it happen.
I won’t let my memories be blunted by the troubles of today. Today is today. Yesterday was yesterday. You were bad yesterday. And you remain bad today. Dead or not. Dementia or not. I won’t let you die in peace. I won’t let them say “oh, those were the good old days”. I won’t let them think of you as the good old Gipper and the Iron Lady. I won’t let you get away with it. I won’t. Not while the blood is still on your hands. Not while I still have my memories of the dead. Not while you forgot to ask for forgiveness.
No blunting. You let us down. You looked the other way. You were friends with those who killed and oppressed. You have blood on your hands. You. Are. No. Great. Leader.
No blunting.
Never forget. Never forgive. Don’t let it fade.
No blunting. Of the blood.
August 26, 2008 at 3:39 am
This is hands down one of the most powerful pieces I have ever read. Not only is it well written but it also gets my blood going, always has. People talking about these “leaders” as if they were hero’s, nothing bad happened under their rule then in the same breath they turn around and say that “so and so leader” are bad news. I have shortened this comment considerably lol, thanks for the invisible vent! Truth is that it is in the countries best interests to hide the past failures, its all nothing but spin doctoring and fabrications.
Excellent post AA, def one for redroom.
August 26, 2008 at 7:58 am
AA, we constantly re-write history to make it more acceptable to some, to not face up to our shortcomings and our responsibility for “bad” things. This piece is so powerful. After the Nazis, the cry was “Never Forget”. The reminder is very timely. Keep writing friend, you inspire the rest of us to speak out too.
August 26, 2008 at 8:37 am
Not all Americans remember past leaders with such rose-colored glasses. I’m too young to remember anyone previous to Bush the First, but I have taken the time to really learn what our “great system” has wrought, and it’s far more system than greatness.
One thing that works for the benefit of the future is that electing those leaders was not my mistake- it was my parents- so I feel no personal drive to spin something good out of the badness. I simply move forward, and try to make more informed decisions. And my friends do the same.
Which means hope- hope that the next generation of leaders will not simply puppet the past.
August 26, 2008 at 8:45 am
@sanityFound – Thanks for that. But I really don’t minid your long responses! They always make sense and fill the gaps I left.
@Coffeewallah – Thank you. I was scared I might offend people. But you reminded me that I don’t write to offend. I just write.
@Lindsey – I agree 100% So many Americans don’t look back and smile. They remember. And they continue to demand more and better. And you are so right on the looking forward. We can learn from the past, but in the end it is about what we do about today and the vision we have for tomorrow. We have hope with people like yourself leading the way.
August 26, 2008 at 9:23 am
Excellent, powerful post, man.
The winners are the ones who write the history.
August 26, 2008 at 10:26 am
AA: Great post! Great energy and passion, I hear it in you among the 1% of Ang(ry) that you possess. Yet, may I say, it is the 99% that is shown here, your African part, that is what makes this post so great. For that is where the passion comes from, from what and whom you have loved, and whom you have seen harmed and killed by policies of the past, and possibly the present. We do put great faith and trust in our leaders, and I feel the most betrayed when they pretend they are not betraying us with a smile on their faces. I remember that Reagan was running in the first election I was ever legal to vote in, and I cried because it was frightening to me that he won….. I wasn’t even sure of why it felt so scary at the time, it just did…..
Yes, Lindsey, let us keep our hope for the future….. I really hope that Obama is that hope, and I think he can be…..
August 26, 2008 at 11:52 am
I wasn’t around for any of that, but the history I learned, accompanied my opinions from my parents, ended me with an opinion on Reagan much different than that which appears to be the norm.
Thatcher, you’ve said it well.
My biggest fear is that we will all be angry, forever.
August 26, 2008 at 12:03 pm
@Tuvia – Thanks. And very, very true.
@vanessaleighsblog – Thank you so much for that. Sometimes it gets a little bt too much and the 1% boils over. And it just shows. Some have it in their nature to feel and know if something is wrong. You did with Reagan.
@cooper – Very right. I try not to be angry about yesterday. And I generally am okay with living for today and tomorrow. But I read something yesterday and it triggered all this. I promise it won’t happen often. It is much better to look ahead and work to make it better. But sometimes we look back in anger…
August 26, 2008 at 12:51 pm
You have got to be kidding. It is obvious you have a political bone to pick. It’s funny how all of the people you are criticizing in this tripe are from the same side of the political spectrum. If you really want to have any credibility you have to do more than criticize the ideas that are contrary to your own.
August 26, 2008 at 1:02 pm
i have a two serious questions to pose after making a few broad assumptions.
if we assume that in many impoverished third world nations, the basic populace is largely apathetic to engaging in serious politics, by which i mean setting aside their cultural and religous differences within their own bounderies, and/or focusing on education and freedom of sex/class, and making the touch choices/compromises/level of engagement required to further their country, but is instead more concerned with local tribalisms, tradition, religion, money, food, etc…
if we assume that because of this apathy, the framework for real societal change is simply not present…
if we assume that the void of a framework, largely negates any efforts made by first world ngo’es because bandaids do not repair internal injuries…
if we assume that in this void, the typical kind of government is variation on a tyranny…
if we assume that “noble” first world countries that abstain from taking advantage of third world economies will be replaced by less “noble” ones, not avoiding the outcome, but reshuffling the perpetrator…
if we assume that the less “noble” first world countries gain a competitive/economic advantage from this exploitation over the more “noble” ones…
if we assume that over time, the “noble” first world countries lose out in the global competition, perhaps even getting snapped up by the less “noble” ones…
and if we assume that this snapping up of the “noble” countries reduces the level of education and progress to humanity as a whole by the reduction of scientific/social advancement, albeit mostly within their own borders…
question 1: besides to feel good about oneself and delay the often inevitable, is there any real purpose to large humanitarian projects in these areas, and do the local governments have any real right to request/demand them ?
question 2: should “nobility” take precedence over national interests when it comes to dealing with third world countries ?
August 26, 2008 at 1:48 pm
@You’ve got to be kidding – Of course I have a bone to pick! That’s obvious. And if you read this thoroughly, you would have noticed that I put my hope in them and not the other guys (Russia, China etc). Reagan and Thatcher offered the only true hope, but they trampled on our trust by supporting terrorist organizations. That’s my bone. I support the “free world” way of doing thing. But sometimes I question the tactics.
@ian – Great comment. I won’t go into all the assumptions. I think we’ll just go round and round in circles and not get anywhere. Let me go for you questions:
1. Not all countries are the same. Take Zambia. They are a peaceful nation that has never been in a war, no more corrupt than any democracy out there and have a very stable democracy. But they remain dirt poor. Partly because they are landlocked. So I would say it is fair enough for them to get help. And even for their government to ask for help. They are trying their best, but they don’t have much to offer othewise. The only way for them to become a better developed nation is to give up being a nation. An option of course, but not a likely one. But then, Zambia won’t fit all your assumptions. What if a country fit all your assumptions? Firstly, I would argue, don’t listen to their government demands. They don’t represent the “people” and would have no clue. But there are organizations out there that can lift people from “no hope” to a level where serious engagement is possible. I know not everyone likes them, but USAID has done some really good work in Africa by partnering with organizations across Africa. The work they have done in certain regiona in Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast, DRC etc have all empowered people much more and brought them a step closer to the “framework” you mentioned. Everyone knows that I do not like President Bush and it is mostly due to the war that I believe is unjust. However, President Bush has actually done pretty well in Africa compared to previous American Presidents. It didn’t look good early on, but once he decided not to use USAID as a pure political tool he gave them the freedom to do some really innovative stuff in Africa. Yes, even better than under President Clinton.
2. Well, that is the call of every country. But then, if you take a nation interest first approach, don’t try to sell it to me as “good for me and my country and the world”. Don’t lie to me. Do what you have to do but don’t cloak it under “I am your friend”. That was the problem with Reagan and Thatcher, they cloaked it in an “I’m your friend” message. Again, President Bush is much better on this. He doesn’t try too hard to tell me he is my friend. He just acted in Africa. First he tried the national interest approach. But he realized that people could see through that very easily. He then enabled USAID to take the “nobility” route. And guess what? People looked at him in a much more positive light that resulted in a positive return on “national interest”. It is in the approach. The right “nobility” can have a huge impact on national interest. President Clinton was even better in this. He cloaked everything in a “nobility” manner and America had way more African friends under Clinton than at any time before him. Again, “nobility” and national interest were both served in this.
Ian, really great comment and great questions. Hope what I wrote back made sense. I didn’t want to write another blog! And I know that many others will now attack me for saying something good about President Bush. i just can’t win can I?
August 26, 2008 at 1:49 pm
By the way, you’re the subject of my blog today. It’s easy to have opinions but few people are honest enough to stand by what they believe. And as someone from a “third world” nation, it’s easy for people from the developed world to talk, until they have to come live with the consequences of the actions.
August 26, 2008 at 2:15 pm
@Coffeewallah – Thanks! I saw the post. A real honor, thank you so much. Wouldn’t it be easier if we just shut up and say “thank you master”? I am sure they would like that more. But speaking out is misread. I speak out because I like them. Because I see them as my friends. I do the same with my friends and expect the same back. But sometimes it is read as me being ungrateful and not showing respect. I think that the only way I can show respect is by engaging and showing where I do not agree. Open, transparent and honest. And I expect the same back. And then we can go for a coffee and talk about life, love and the universe.
August 26, 2008 at 5:22 pm
hi AA,
im not saying that from the scope of the assisted local populace, humanitarian aid/work isnt appreciated and beneficial on a short term basis.
what im asking is whether it is fair to try and guilt the members of richer nations (yes i know this begs the question of how they got richer but lets ignore that for the moment) to contribute to the cause when all this great work and money is often undone/destroyed/co-opted by coups, civil/tribal wars, ethnic cleansing, oppression of women and children, etc.
why should richer nations continue to contribute when food stores sent often sit unused, or are taken hostage as weapons against the locals, when one tribe or societal group is driven against another and genocide via machete rains down, when the victims of rape are killed to expunge the dishonor, when women are attacked for any push towards education and forced into marriages at 10 and 12 years of age, angry and disaffected groups terrorize their own countrymen because they are “too western” and have forsaken some version of a god.
this is a cold question indeed. and as per coffeewallah’s suggestion, it is indeed easier to pose from afar.
that said, if i have $100 to give to a charity, should i spend it on mosquito nets for people that will live their entire lives the same way they were born, on the same arid landlocked or mountainous land with little or no natural resources, or should i spend it on a local big brothers and sisters office to help a kid who even though his situation may seem bleak, is a million times more likely to succeed and better him/herself.
August 26, 2008 at 6:10 pm
@ian – Again, good challenging questions. Thanks for that. I can give you my answer from my own perspective. And one where I try and be a neutral observer.
As someone from Africa and who have worked in Africa (and who lives by the principle of Ubuntu – I am because you are), I can not sit and watch people die. I can not do nothing. Not when I know they are dying. My first reaction is for the “now”. The immediate. How do I stop them from dying now. I feed them. If that means I chop down the last tree or slaughter the last rhino then so be it. It is wrong that food lie and rot, but so be it if one person less dies. I can only live for the now when people are dying. That’s why it is fair to ask people for money to help those who are dying now. Fair because I live Ubuntu. It might have a different answer if I didn’t. I am not saying I am right. I am just saying that is how I live my life.
But it is a different story when it comes to the long-term sustainability issue. Helping a farmer become more effective or creating industries to create wealth – I have choices here. I won’t give to anyone who doesn’t have some system in place to ensure accountability. I won’t give for someone to get a goat. I am sorry. I won’t. I will work through the agencies I know and through their partners and through the companies I know who work without paying people off and where there is a real chance of success. Yes, it is a higher risk than investing in Coca-Cola, but the returns in lives is so much higher. Who are these agencies? USAID, GTZ and DFID. Good companies? Starbucks, Unilever and SABMiller. Good NGO’s? Kiva is brilliant. So I can make informed decisions here to ensure that the money doesn;t go to waste. And there is enough evidence to show it can work. Look at coffee in Rwanda and Ethiopia – even when everything else falls apart these people are the backbone of survival. We have to be smarter and not just throw money at problems. Every single program that I have been involved in has worked. And the money need was almost nothing. It was knowledge and networks people needed.
From a more neutral perspective? Difficult for me to stand on neutral ground here. But I’ll give it a shot. You pay for national security. Self interest. Not because you feel all warm inside, but because you need it to make sure people don’t transplant their problems over to you and your trade partners. Walk away from South America and what will happen? They’ll come through your borders. And no fence can stop people from breaking through to the US. People will find a way when they have nothing to lose.
But it is a personal choice in the end. Put your money where your interest and passion lies. Where your security lies – locally and globally. We can’t do everything. But we can do something.
There are loads of failures. But there are even more success stories. But they don’t sell so well. Charities wants you to feel bad so they show you the poor homeless kid. They don’t show the kids who do something with their lives. They don’t show you the strength of Africans. They don’t show you the hope that you can touch and smell. It doesn’t sell and it doesn’t get them more money.
I don’t know. It is difficult. It’s a grey world out there. Nothing is perfect. I don’t expect everyone to believe in what I believe. I don’t. And I don’t judge as long as what they are open and honest with me. We all have our own lives. But I know that I will never be able to not care for those who I can’t see but I know who are dying. And if I somehow saved one life more… then it has been a life worth living.
I want to be like Rocky! Never give up. Never. I hate the corruption and killing. But the only way I can stop it is by figthting it. It is better than what it was 10 years ago. But the problem is that it is a slow process and not like a Hollywood movie or MTV show. It’ll take time. At least it is worth trying to make it better. Not through money alone, but through trying to improve the systems and respsonsibilities to make sure we can deliver what we want to deliver.
I know. It doesn’t answer what to do with your $100. I can’t tell you what to do with that. Your choice. And is it fair that we give money to things when we know it might be flushed down the drain or rot in the streets? No, it isn’t. But then, life isn’t fair. It has never been fair. We can throw our hands in the air and say, “I give up” or we can try to make it more fair. We are the change. Maybe small drops. But if not us then who?
August 26, 2008 at 8:19 pm
You have a point about spending it on a local big brothers’ office, yet it will be a million times more likely to make less of an impact there – a hundred won’t go far.
In the length of things, maybe one of the individuals living behind the mosquito net might survive a local bout of disease and make his or her own way to success without further help, and do something good for Africa that might far exceed the $100 spent – despite the lack of freedom, intertribal warfare, political pogroms, starvation, or interstate war.
It’s a tossup.
August 26, 2008 at 8:40 pm
@Keven Bennett – Thanks Keven. We always underestimate the difference one person can make.
August 27, 2008 at 6:50 am
@ian – I forgot to add. of course the rallying crie of so many underdeveloped countries have been “trade not aid”. The West pays for their conscious and a pay-off by paying via aid. What many of these countries want though is a system where they can trade without all the limitations and tariffs on them and less subsidies for the Western farmers etc. Once this is gone one can look at a more equal system. Unfortunately, we don’t have an equal trade system at the moment. They have been trying to get the Doha Round of the WTO completed for years. And failed again this year.
August 27, 2008 at 9:39 am
I agree with you that the hype surrounding the leaders of the USA, UK, Germany etc does not match up to the reality. The USA and UK have a global media presence and their view of themselves and the world are the views that get out there.
That being said, I’m not sure that I would have done any better than these leaders were I in their shoes. I’d probably have done all I could to make sure that I or my party gets elected, and my country stays safe. The companies who supported my campaign and got me up there would get some benefits. Otherwise they would not support me or my party the next time around.
Every country is in it for themselves. If we as Africans and Asians don’t think for ourselves then we will be slaves again to people who do think for themselves. The only way is to make a change in the education system such that individual thinking is encouraged. Maybe then the next big world beating invention will come out of one of the poor countries.
Good post. Kinda reminds me of one of my posts – although mine doesn’t have the passion that yours does – (http://ranjitwarrier.blogspot.com/2006/02/will-real-superpower-please-stand-up.html).
August 27, 2008 at 9:47 am
Forgot to add – Zambia – I grew up there – studied outside – now back studying hiv. Zambia is still poor because of socialistic policies that prevented the most talented people from expressing themselves. Things are changing now. The environment is conducive for talented people to make the most of themselves now (in the big cities). I think there will be a huge change in about 10-20 years when the kids who grew up in the 90s get into powerful positions. There’s been a huge shift of attitudes since I left in the early 90s – people want to work hard because if they do they will get the rewards.
August 27, 2008 at 12:53 pm
Supporting any group that might turn around and haunt you some decades later, doesn’t make you a supporter of a terrorist group. One can certainly act on good intentions. Any rebel or fanaticaal group, would be armed by somebody from somewhere.
This is the race for inarming those that aren’t, and in the process enriching one’s nation or self.
But as for the reprecussions, that might arise in the future, that’s the last thing anybody is worried about.
Nice post pal.
August 27, 2008 at 4:48 pm
I agree with you, for the most part, and this is a wonderful, powerful post.
But NO one should have to die suffering from dementia. I watched my beloved grandfather die this way, not knowing us, or where he was, or who he was.
I’m sorry to disagree, but no one deserves that. I know I sure do not want that fate to befall me.
No, I agree that sometimes, there are some things and some folks that we cannot forgive. My faith teaches forgiveness even to those who have committed murder, which is why we oppose the death penalty.
But forgiveness does not mean absolution. There’s still that part about having to take responsibility for one’s actions and paying the consequences of those actions.
Criminals like these need to be held accountable.
August 27, 2008 at 9:19 pm
Reagan – and by extension, Thatcher, and until recently – and obviously too late, Mbeki, today, in the 21st century – are the perpetrators, by dint of ignoring it completely, of one of history’s great holocausts – AIDS – through their homophobia, and in Mbeki’s case, god alone knows exactly what. As a gay man I seethe every time these names are mentioned and like you will never never forgive or forget. The legion, the multitudes of gay men and women who have suffered and died – not from AIDS – from intolerance and hatred through the history of “civilization”, is horrendous and monstrous enough without this latest most disgusting manifestation of criminality – indeed Hitler would have been proud of it! These Great Leaders are also why Africans are dieing today like flies. And, as you rightly say, these horrors of humanity – and I mean these men and this woman, and by extension the multitude that supported them and do so even today, now, still – are remembered for the “good” they did?!
Thanks for your anger.
Thanks for your uncompromising truth.
Thank you.
August 28, 2008 at 2:43 am
Thanks for that AA!
Wish I could read all the comments, but can’t, so I might be repeating.
My quick unclear thought to this is maybe we need to eventually forgive our leaders, because we know that they did rule over our political lives for a significant period of our lives – we are linked to them and their way of thinking, even if we did fight hard against certain aspects of their beliefs of how to rule.
Plus. It takes quite a mental leap to moved from the guy in the pretty office to 100000s dying at his hands. The damn western leaders smile far too much, while the “other” dictators always have serious grumpy profile pictures…
August 28, 2008 at 7:56 am
@mosilager – I agree. People are in it for themselves. I don’t agree with that, but I know that is how it works. I just hate it when they try and smile at me and tell me they care for me. They don’t. If they really did they would have done something to stop the craziness and not come in pay of Savimbi and gang. And I have high hopes for Zambia. I don’t like saying any group of people are in a certain way, but Zambians are the friendliest people I have ever met. Love Soweto in Lusaka! (And the Green Frog – you go there?)
@Dr. Ethiopia – I agree. We can’t rewrite history if we didn’t know what would happen back then. But we can judge them on their actions of yesterday. When they pay off Savimbi… Then they sucked in my eyes.
August 28, 2008 at 9:54 am
@QuakerDave – Very wise words. Thank you. I don’t have to forget. Just forgive. They know not what they do…
@myth art – Thanks for that. Like you say. Hitler will be proud. He was evil in our face. They were/are evil with a smaile on their faces.
@Champagne Heathen – Right! we easily go for the guy/girl who looks evil. But evil comes with many masks.
September 26, 2008 at 1:15 pm
And I thought I was the only one who remembered the 80′s this way! Reagan was NOT a hero and many of his policies have contributed to our current problems.
September 26, 2008 at 1:24 pm
@MsMsBurning – Welcome! I tink there are more of us than we think. It’s just not popular to say it in public! Reagan’s chickens have hatched and they are home to roost…