On December 22nd, 2008 the president of Guinea in West Africa died of apparent poor health. He was a heavy smoker and diabetic according to the AFP. When I heard the news, the first thing that came to my mind was a coup or push...whatever you want to call it. Sure enough, 24 hours after the confirmation of the president death, some unknown army captain proclaimed himself leader of Guinea. Why is it that African leaders are incapable to bring prosperity to their respective country? Why is it that after all these years of independence from colonization African leaders have been unable to develop a model of success tailored to their country? My theory: Greed, power and the total disdain of the value of an African life. There I said it.
Set aside greed and power which exist everywhere (Europe, Asia, America, white, blacks asian, etc.) the value of one's life is not equal across the board. If you ask an African what it is to be African, they would say poor and neglected, not even mentioning being Black because a Black American has a better self esteem and a better life than an Black African.
Black Americans had their revolution and their leaders to proclaim the value of a Black person in America. In Africa, I cannot think of a single known leader who cares for his fellow Africans. Patrice Lumumba of the Congo could have brought the African pride if the Belgium plot to kill him was not carried out by his own people.
Today, if you read international news you would be outraged on how African immigrants are treated, they are like diseases arriving on European shores. I am not saying that illegal immigration should be allowed, I am just saying a better human treatment should be carried. How many times we have seen in the news that a young African woman was killed by asphyxie while being deported to her home country? A young man was beaten up and lost sight of one eye because he was caught at a European airport? Not a SINGLE African head of state voiced his outrage to these treatments. On the other hand, when a French NGO was arrested last year in Mauritania on suspicion of child trading, the French President personally got involved to ensure a fair treatment of his people.
The death of the president of guinea is very representative of what I mentioned above. If he cared about his own people, there would have been social, politcal and wealth improvements in Guinea for the last 24 years he was governing the country. He would have worked hard on a successor and ensure a safe passage of power. But you see, greed, power and the disdain for the people will leave Guineans once more in deeper poverty and no clear hope for the future. And that is representative of many, many African countries.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Monday, December 15, 2008
Long Time
Wow..it has been a long time since I have written. I am not even sure I am capable of doing so...I joined this blog back in August 2008 and I have not had the strength nor the courage to publicly write about my thoughts. Maybe I am too critical of myself and cannot come to the realization that I do love to write. Why is that?
So I am going to do my own therapy. Growing up, I was asked to study hard, go to college, secure a job in a well established company and never move from it. A career in the arts, literature, non profit was out of the question. So I did what was required of me and achieved all of it. I hated my job and loved the fact that my father loved me back for what I had achieved. But I was unhappy. How could I get out of this miserable life while still having the love of my father (enter daddy issue). Growing up I was never pushed to explore my creativity and was given limitations on what I could achieve. I guess at the ripe age of 35, I am sort of struggling with that despite the fact that I resigned from my boring job and started two projects that I have in my mind for a very long time. The first projects which is dear to my heart is Yakoly.Org, a non profit organization which assist innovative villages in developing countries in their quest to erase poverty.
The name Yakoly comes from a village (Yacolidabouo) in western Ivory Coast where lay my roots. The language spoken in the region is Bete, which I do not speak but I can relate to all villagers as human needs are a necessity for all.
Founding Yakoly.Org gave me a chance to reconnect with Africa simply because I grew outside of the continent; I like to say that I grew up up in France and became a woman in America. I was never fully accepted by Africans because I grew up in France and I was never fully accepted in France because of the color of my skin. In Africa I was called uprooted, so America was the best land for my personal development. Set aside any feminism and/or racism, I felt that I belonged to a culture in America. See, the creation of Yakoly.Org gives me a chance to reconnect with Africa at a different level. It is not a question of identity but rather a question of humanity.
So I am going to do my own therapy. Growing up, I was asked to study hard, go to college, secure a job in a well established company and never move from it. A career in the arts, literature, non profit was out of the question. So I did what was required of me and achieved all of it. I hated my job and loved the fact that my father loved me back for what I had achieved. But I was unhappy. How could I get out of this miserable life while still having the love of my father (enter daddy issue). Growing up I was never pushed to explore my creativity and was given limitations on what I could achieve. I guess at the ripe age of 35, I am sort of struggling with that despite the fact that I resigned from my boring job and started two projects that I have in my mind for a very long time. The first projects which is dear to my heart is Yakoly.Org, a non profit organization which assist innovative villages in developing countries in their quest to erase poverty.
The name Yakoly comes from a village (Yacolidabouo) in western Ivory Coast where lay my roots. The language spoken in the region is Bete, which I do not speak but I can relate to all villagers as human needs are a necessity for all.
Founding Yakoly.Org gave me a chance to reconnect with Africa simply because I grew outside of the continent; I like to say that I grew up up in France and became a woman in America. I was never fully accepted by Africans because I grew up in France and I was never fully accepted in France because of the color of my skin. In Africa I was called uprooted, so America was the best land for my personal development. Set aside any feminism and/or racism, I felt that I belonged to a culture in America. See, the creation of Yakoly.Org gives me a chance to reconnect with Africa at a different level. It is not a question of identity but rather a question of humanity.
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