The African STD Crisis

Katelyn Moussavian

Period 2

March 7th, 2017

The African STD Crisis

Sexually transmitted diseases, most commonly referred to as STD’s, are some of the most dangerous and easily spread illnesses in the world. About 24.7 million people in Africa are infected with HIV alone (Avert). This means that 24 million people may be facing death as a consequence for having unprotected sex. If people had enough sexual education to understand how easy it is to spread this virus, the number of infected people would be lower.  Also, condoms would help slow the spread of STD’s.

Kids sometimes struggle to ask an adult for help when it comes to anything sexually related. One way to work on this problem is to make sure sexual education programs are being taught correctly in order to make people aware of how serious STD's are and how they can avoid getting them. STD’s have a big impact in places of poverty and they largely affect those who are not very educated and groups such as prostitutes. This is a very serious topic that needs to be discussed in every school across the continent.  STD’s can be deadly and are transmitted from person to person if they do not know that they are infected with them.

Condom distribution is key to helping reduce the spread of STD’s.  “While external funds account for two-thirds of HIV spending in sub-Saharan Africa, two-thirds of general health care expenditure is sourced from domestic governments” (Avert). This quote shows that African governments continue to need outside help on this difficult problem.  Slowing the spread of STD’s is simple: the government must donate condoms to those in need and make health classes available for the people so they know how deadly and dangerous this topic is. Due to the numerous laws against prostitution, it is incredibly difficult for prostitutes to get check ups especially when they need it most (The New Age). They all need to be taken care of no matter the circumstances.  HPV and HIV are similar, and one of the most effective ways to stop the spread of STD’s is condom use. So why do the countries not distribute more of them to those in need?  

In our community and country, condoms and other birth control methods are easy to access, but in places like South Africa not everyone has access to easy protection or a good sexual education. African leaders need to open their eyes and realize that 790,000 of their people have already died in the last year from STD’s (WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION).  What are they changing to make sure this number decreases in the future?

Anonymous. “AFRICAN AMERICAN STD RATES.” Christianityandrace.org, Christianityandrace.org, June 2017, Accessed June 2017.

Anonymous. “Health Disparities in HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STDs, and TB.” Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Center for Disease Control and Prevention, June 2017, Accessed June 2017.

Anonymous. “HIV and AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa Regional Overview.” Avert.org, Avert.org, 2016, Accessed June 2017.

Anonymous. “Number of Deaths Due to HIV/AIDS.” World Health Organization, World Health Organization, Aug. 2017, Accessed Aug. 2017.

Anonymous. “Types of STD Common in Africa – Sexually Transmitted Diseases in Africa.” Afya Njema, Afya Njema, Aug. 2017, Accessed Aug. 2017.

Anonymous. “Worrying Spike in Sexually Transmitted Diseases.” The New Age, The New Age, Dec. 2016, Accessed June 2017.

The Hypocrisy Against Africa's Children

The Hypocrisy Against Africa’s Children

Essential Question: How badly are African migrants treated in Europe, and why should people change perceptions of African migrants?

In recent years, Europe has faced a big influx of African migrants into its borders, mainly coming from Somalia, Nigeria, Eritrea, Gambia, South Sudan, and Senegal, countries facing either poverty, violence, or both. (Ayeko-Kümmeth) But even though these migrants rush to European countries for refuge and peace, some Europeans struggle to find sympathy for these migrants due to their skin color and cultural differences. Because of this, African migrants end up finding it hard to assimilate or even exist peacefully without facing violence.

African migrants are facing a disproportionate amount of violence in the countries they immigrate they move to due to the differences in race and culture. African migrants in Russia, ending up with only tourist visas and no documents, can only find jobs like passing out magazines, which only give them fifty dollars a week, and often face violence from white citizens. (Simmons) Another example of violence against migrants is the homelessness many African migrants have to deal with in Apulia, Italy, which is now considered Europe’s “ghetto” for African migrants. (Popp) Due to European racism, African migrants end up impoverished and beaten, and with Europe’s history of violence and immigration, this is much too unfair for them.

Europeans and Americans alike have both experiences of immigrating to other countries in search of refuge, and should show more kindness to African migrants due to this fact that connects them more with them. The Ukrainians, 1.7 million of which have left their country to escape the conflict going on between their country and Russia-backed rebels, are a good example of European refugees. While they did not completely move out of their country, they had to leave everything behind and move to entirely new cities. The community’s cities have welcomed them with open arms and given them chances to assimilate, like holding public get-togethers like talent shows. (Colborne) The Russian Jewish people and Evangelicals of the former Soviet Union are a good example of European refugees as well, having fled the anti-semitism and religious persecution of the Soviet Union back in the 1980’s. They were able to find new homes in places like New York City and Philadelphia, and have remained in this country since then. (Gordon) If these Europeans were able to have been shown sympathy and compassion for their drastic situation and successfully assimilate into their new homes, then so should African migrants.

Gordon, Claire. "Coming to America: the 5 biggest refugee groups of the last 20 years." Al Jazeera America. N.p., 14 Oct. 2016. Web. 11 Mar. 2017.

Ayeko-Kümmeth, Jane, and Ashutosh Pandey. "African refugee influx to Europe | Africa | DW.COM | 07.08.2015." DW.COM. N.p., 7 Aug. 2015. Web. 07 Mar. 2017. This article cites different origins of African refugees and their reasons for leaving, serving as a reference for the issues that African refugees face. The authors seem to be European, so it could reflect as a bias against these refugees, as they are mostly moving to Europe, but as the article serves mainly as a record and not much as a persuasive essay, this bias proves to be not too much of a problem. The similarity to this and other sources is that they both cite that African refugees are coming to Europe. This will be used as proof of that fact, but will not be used as an argument.

Simmons, Ann M. "African migrants in Russia describe 'hell on Earth'" Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 2 Nov. 2014. Web. 07 Mar. 2017. This article explains the situation with the African migrants who have moved to Russia, which seems to be unfavorable. Ann M. Simmon is a global development writer and an editor on the foreign desk of Los Angeles Times, so her experience with foreign relations seems to be solid and credible. Of course, as the Los Angeles Times is mainstream news, it could be biased for the sake of sensationalism, but it seems to be solid on selling the story of African migrants. Like the other sources, it mentions African migrants in Europe, and will be used as evidence that African migrants are being shown less sympathy due to their race.

Popp, Maximilian. "Trapped in Apulia: Europe's Deepening Refugee Crisis - SPIEGEL ONLINE - International." SPIEGEL ONLINE. SPIEGEL ONLINE, 21 June 2013. Web. 07 Mar. 2017. This article details the homelessness and lack of care African refugees have faced, Apulia being used as a particular example. Maximillian Popp is a journalist for the German news site Spiegel, and a winner of the South East European Society’s journalism prize for his report on Turkey, so he’s likely a credible source on the information. However, due to his young age, his report could be biased out of naivety. It mentions African migrants like the other sources, and will be used as evidence for the fact that African migrants face poor living conditions.

Colborne, Michael. "'You can lose it all': War in Ukraine turns 1.7 million people into refugees." CBCnews. CBC/Radio Canada, 27 June 2016. Web. 11 Mar. 2017. Lists two different stories of Ukrainian refugees. Colborne seems to be knowledgeable on the subject and the website seems unbiased. It mentions refugees like the other articles.

Gordon, Claire. "Coming to America: the 5 biggest refugee groups of the last 20 years." Al Jazeera America. N.p., 14 Oct. 2016. Web. 11 Mar. 2017. Lists the problems five different refugee groups face. Al Jazeera is an international news site, so it can be somewhat trusted to be less biased than partisan news sites or 24 hour news networks. It mentions African refugees like the other sources, and will be used to cite other examples of refugees from Europe.

Cultural Culprit: Appreciation or Exploitation?

Cultural Culprit: Appreciation or Exploitation?

Kendall, Kylie, Kim, and Khloe. What do all of these women have in common? Besides the fact that they are all related, the media has accused them of being culturally insensitive. From cornrow wearing Khloe to Coachella Kylie wearing a bindi, these women are not the only ones that the media has found guilty of appropriating culture, more specifically African/black culture. Celebrities, who are often the most visible representatives of Western culture, are often the most guilty for skewing Western views of African culture.

Cathy Young argues that nothing is too petty for culture cops and that people are reaching too far when accusing someone of ‘stealing’ African culture because the line between appropriation and appreciating culture is blurred (Young). Others such as Journalist Nadra Kareem Nittle believe that there is an incredible amount of insensitivity in the media when it comes to respecting a culture (Nittle).  So what is the truth? Is society being too petty, or are we just that culturally insensitive. In order to understand what is happening right now, we have to go back and look at how European colonialism affected African culture in terms of beauty and money.  

Dating back to the late nineteenth century, Africa was invaded by countries such as Spain, Great Britain, France, and Italy. They imposed their teachings and established control over the African tribes. Hundreds of years later, the effects of European colonization can be seen by what many refer to as Eurocentric beauty standards. Maisha Johnson writes that valuing whiteness as beauty comes down to more than just skin color, it is also about the anglicized features that we associate with white women such as smaller noses, thinner lips, and less prominent curves. Our society bases the idea of beauty on things like the “golden ratio,” which traits traits like eye size, nose width, lip fullness, and hairstyle and says that the ideal proportions of so-called “universal beauty” never rank on- European features as most beautiful (Johnson). This creates a double standard when it comes to beauty with both white and black women. We have African women bleaching their skin and pressing their hair to get more European features, white women darkening their skin and getting ‘boxer braids’. It’s not the hairstyle that’s offensive, it’s the fact that white women are praised and called beautiful for the same thing that black women get called ghetto for.

It’s not just about hairstyles and clothing, it’s also about money. In the case of Solomon Linda, the writer of the widely popular “The Lion Sleeps Tonight”, was not given credit or compensation for his song. He grew up in Zulu, South Africa and had a knack for songwriting, when he moved to Johannesburg in the late 20’s, the original version of “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” or “Mbube” was written (Olufunmilayo). The song began to gain popularity in Europe in the 40’s and was produced in the U.S. This is just one of many cases where borrowing from African culture is considered insensitive because of the lack of knowledge of the history between Africa and the rest of the world (Olufunmilayo). Many see this as a problem because this lack of giving credit because there were many financial consequences that black musicians faced when they are often times seen as the ones who paved the way for rock ‘n roll success (Nittle).

There are many different interpretations of this term Cultural Appropriation. Some don’t think it’s a big deal while others believe that the topic deserves more awareness. Whatever the case may be, it is important to realize that around the world cultures are all one big melting pot.

Works Cited

Africa, The Conversation. "Cultural Appropriation: When 'Borrowing' Becomes Exploitation." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 21 June 2016. Web. 21 Mar. 2017.

Johnson, About Maisha Z. "10 Ways the Beauty Industry Tells You Being Beautiful Means Being White." Everyday Feminism. N.p., 02 Dec. 2016. Web. 21 Mar. 2017.

Nittle, Nadra Kareem. "What Is Cultural Appropriation and Why Is It Wrong?" ThoughtCo. N.p., 7 Feb. 2017. Web. 21 Mar. 2017.

Young, Cathy. "To the New Culture Cops, Everything Is Appropriation." The Washington Post. WP Company, 21 Aug. 2015. Web. 21 Mar. 2017.

Twenty-First Century Pirates

Twenty-First Century Pirates

It's early in the morning, you load your boat, and set off into the water, armed, and hopeful. With a few others, you sail into the open gulf looking for a ransom. A tankard, a cargo ship, anything will do. After losing your job piracy was the only option available to you, you don't want to do it, but you must keep your family alive. Piracy, once a serious problem, has resurfaced worse in the Gulf of New Guinea. These pirates are very similar, but many would wonder, why has pirating resurfaced at this point, and why in New Guinea?

Before one can know how to stop piracy, they must first know what makes a pirate, and what is a pirate today? Somalia is thought of as the hub for piracy in the world, but since 2015 Somalia has fallen in piracy rates. The new hub of piracy is actually the gulf of new guinea, described by some as “the new place to be for pirates” (Yomi). It is not known why Somalia has fallen in piracy, but the closest idea created is that they just stopped wanting to be pirates. The job is also lucrative for the pirates, with each one making over 10 thousand dollars a haul, and with the average age of an African pirate being 25, the idea of pirating seems even more compelling, (Wattson). But the main reason the average man is pirating isn't because of the money, or the new location, it is due to a problem affecting Africa and the world as a whole, over fishing, (Luce).

Fishing is the most common practice in New Guinea, so it's no surprise that eventually the fish would “run out”. SO many people fish in the Gulf of New Guinea that the amount of big fish have decreased substantially over the past 5 years, (Yomi). The economic effects have been massive as a result. People cannot feed their families, they have nowhere to go. Desperate and Hungry, previous gulf fisherman turned to Pirating. Being in the water is all they know, so it’s only natural they would gravitate to pirating.

But what can we do to stop piracy? Force, ignore them, treaties, all ideas given out. Force was used on the Somali pirates which worked to a degree of success, but it is merely stopping the problem of pirates, not why people are becoming pirates. We can no longer ignore these pirates either, for they are starting to hinder the production of large scale companies and manufacturers. And signing a treaty is an impossibility. No, to fix the problem, we must stop these men from becoming a pirate in the first place. We must reduce or stop over-fishing in the gulf of new guinea. If we can reverse this problem, then fisherman can once again go back to fishing, and hopefully, the amount of pirates in Africa would dwindle once again (Luce).

In the twenty-first century, force is becoming less and less of an answer to problems facing us today. And as such we must learn to find new ways to stop incoming issues, pirates being one of them. If we simply use force to fix the pirate problem in New Guinea, it will only lead to starving civilians and fish-less Waters

Works Cited

Kazeem, Yomi. "As Somali Pirates Lay Low, West Africa’s Waters Are Now the Continent’s Most Dangerous." Quartz. Quartz, 06 May 2016. Web. 06 Mar. 2017.

Luce, Dan De. "Why Is It So Hard to Stop West Africa’s Vicious Pirates?" Foreign Policy. 26 Sept. 2016. Web. 06 Mar. 2017.

Bill Wattson. "Average Ransom Payment and Total Earnings for Somali Pirates." Havocscope. 14 Feb. 2015. Web. 07 Mar. 2017.

John Tarson. "The Ungoverned Seas." The Economist. The Economist Newspaper, 27 Nov. 2014. Web. 07 Mar. 2017.

"Piracy in West Africa | Africa Renewal Online." United Nations. United Nations, Web. 08 Mar. 2017.

Deutsche Welle. "West Africa's Tough Battle with Piracy."  Web. 08 Mar. 2017.

Cry the Horrible Healthcare Crisis

Cry the Horrible Healthcare Crisis

The wait, the many stupid tests, the sometimes extremely awkward questions, medications, and needles. These are things that most people hate about going to the doctor. Some people are even scared of doctor's visits and will do anything to get out of them, but what if you didn’t have doctors offices to go to? What if you couldn’t receive proper health care? What if in the very few health care facilities you did have were only equipped with a chair and a blood pressure machine? For the public sector health care patients in South Africa, this isn’t a ‘what if’ scenario. In the Western Cape medical facilities are so sparse that the nearest one could be up to 21 miles away. Not just your average trip to Kaiser is it? These few facilities that do exist are most of the time incompetent and understaffed leaving people to die or with extremely uncomfortable illnesses due to improper healthcare.

From 2012 to 2016, 40% of South Africa's health facilities were examined. Only 2%, which is about 40 out of the 1887 health care facilities, scored an 80% or above on their compliance tests. Around 660 of these facilities scored 39% or lower, leaving the rest of the inspected facilities somewhere in between (Savides & Govender). These facilities lacked necessary things like running water, toilets, proper medical equipment, sterile medical equipment, and even kept expired medications on their shelves. Most also lack practical things such as heating and cooling systems leaving patients who are ill waiting in waiting rooms which can reach up to 8 degrees higher than the outside temperature (Studies).  If these are only 40% of facilities that are sparsely scattered around South Africa, it makes one think about the remaining percentile of facilities and what can be done to help.

While it isn’t bad enough that there are little to no competent healthcare facilities, there is also the issue of staff. In some areas it can get so bad that there are only 1.5 medical specialists per 100,000 people, one dentist for every 5000 people, and one psychologist for every 100,000 people. (Cullinan) Due to no government support for health care there is a crisis of “unprofessional behaviour, poor staff motivation, sub-optimal performance, and unacceptable attitudes of health workers towards patients, all of which compromise quality of patient care and health service efficiency.” (Cullinan). The Clewe clinic took years of pleading to convince the government to build. (Savides & Govinder) In the Western Cape the money that was supposed to go towards healthcare, was used by the government for other things. Overall it can be seen that the staff nor government is not doing anything to help this dire situation.

Now the next time you have to go see Dr.Whatshisface and the wait is a little long, think of the millions of people without proper healthcare in South Africa and think twice before you complain.

Works Cited

And SUTHENTIRA GOVENDER, MATTHEW SAVIDES. “Why State Medical Facilities May Be Bad for Your Health.” "Sunday Times", Sunday Times, Jan. 2016, www.timeslive.co.za/sundaytimes/stnews/2016/05/01/Why-state-medical-facilities-may-be-bad-for-your-health. Accessed Mar. 2017.

Cullinan, Kerry. “Staff Shortages, Poor Leadership Cripple Healthcare.” "Health-e", Health-e, May 2016, www.health-e.org.za/2016/05/05/staff-shortages-poor-leadership-cripple-healthcare/. Accessed Mar. 2017.

"Studies from University of Pretoria in the Area of Environmental Research and Public Health Described  (Indoor Temperatures in Patient Waiting Rooms in Eight Rural Primary Health Care Centers in Northern South Africa and the Related Potential ...)." Health & Medicine Week, 3 Mar. 2017, p. 5993. Global Issues in Context, link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A482873921/GIC?u=los42754&xid=c98c2029. Accessed 15 Mar. 2017.

The Sensation Ten Fold

Everyone knows that feeling of waking up when sick and having a mouth so dry that it feels as though no amount of water can quench it. This predominantly affects those in subject matters such as propensity for poverty, shortening of their life span, and predisposition for death rates among infants.

A child in Ethiopia experiences the sensation ten fold almost every day. Poverty emerges when food and water become luxuries rather than necessity, a circumstance in which your middle class American will rarely, if not, ever encounter.

Though Ethiopia shows key signs of improved economic and living conditions, it still stands with a vast 30% poverty rate. (The World Bank) This is slightly over American poverty rate, which currently remains at 14.3%. (UCDavis) "The level of poverty is so high, the state of the people's health is so poor, and there are so many contributing factors that to address any one of them alone is not going to make any difference," Don Peden. (International Development Research Centre) Conditions in Ethiopia are devastatingly high, illustrating how much of an issue this is. Until major impact takes charge, it is difficult to target one solution since there are multiple issues in current Ethiopian living systems.

“The poorest households have become poorer than they were in 2005; high food prices that improve incomes for many poor farmers make buying food more challenging for the poorest.” (The World Bank) Due to baseline needs becoming household luxuries such as buying food, the maximum life expectancy age has become a mere 63 years old. Though this age has risen by at least ten years over the past decade, it is comparably 15 years less than the life expectancy rate of the United States.

But while this data also proves that poverty in America is a major issue as well, we need to remember that the statistic for affected by death is 55.77 to 1,000, while this remains a 6.17 to 1,000 in America. That makes an infant in Ethiopia nine times more likely to die at the age of one or even younger. (If It Were My Home) The life of a child in Ethiopia is taken as quick as it happens. Ethiopian children suffer the risk of getting taken from this world they were birthed into before they can experience their life.

Though those affected in Ethiopia currently experience the shock of poverty at larger rates than others, this does not necessarily mean hope is lost. By focusing on narrowing solutions to substantial poverty, shortening life span, and expected death, the future of Ethiopia has potential to improve drastically. Research in Yubdo Legabato, Ethiopia proves that their farming families the chance to recover the problem that is lack of food and increase income up to ten times the current rate. One way this can be done is through a slow sand filtration system that uses 100-litre clay vessels crafted by their local clay potters, which goes for about $4 US per vessel. (International Research Centre)

Works Cited
"Ethiopia." Compare The United States To Ethiopia. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Mar. 2017.

"Ethiopia in numbers." African Business, July 2016, p. 20+. Global Issues in Context, link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A459722134/GIC?u=los42754&xid=fa348945. Accessed 13 Mar. 2017.

"Poverty in Ethiopia: Causes and Solutions." The Borgen Project. N.p., 07 Dec. 2016. Web. 10 Mar. 2017.

The World Bank Group. "Ethiopia Poverty Assessment." World Bank. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Mar. 2017.

"UC Davis Center for Poverty Research." What Is the Current Poverty Rate in the United States? N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Mar. 2017.

Crawley, Mike. "CASE STUDY: Ethiopia - Breaking the Cycle of Poverty in Ethiopia." IDRC - International Development Research Centre. N.p., 11 July 2016. Web. 13 Mar. 2017.

The Walk of Adversity

The Walk of Adversity

She walks across the hot hardened dirt, from one country to another, day in day out. As she struggles to run her small trading business she is preyed on by her own government. This is the life of the average woman who obtains a living from trade. These women participate in informal trade which is not acknowledged by the government as beneficial to Africa. So as a result, corrupt government officials prey on these women and abuse government power for personal gain by accepting bribes and even attacking women in acts of sexual violence such as rape. It is not only the border officials who attack these women, it stems from higher up in the government with lawmakers who refuse to improve informal trading infrastructure.

The situation in Africa violates article three in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Which states that “Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.” It is truly horrifying that women must put themselves at great risk as they try to do honest work that will allow them to put food on the table every night.

Women who walk their goods across Africa’s borders to trade so their kids and family don’t go hungry are subject to unfair treatment. “In general women need more time to cross the borders than men. They are often held back by custom officials, asking the women traders for personal favors. Many women report cases of sexual harassment and violence such as rape, imprisonment and confiscation of goods” (Regina Laub). In Africa women cross the border quite often to trade their low profit agricultural produce and other items. They struggle to cross the borders because the custom officials are corrupt and quite frankly out of hand. The last thing these women need are border officials harassing them and even raping them in extreme cases. 85% of women who cross the border report offering bribes to officials in order to cross, what’s more 54% report threats of sexual violence from border officials (World Bank Survey, 2011.)

In Africa borders are filled with many different agencies and officials which slow women down as they attempt to cross the border. These agencies all need something different and charge unreasonable fees to the women crossing. Research done by Bucekuderhwa arrives at solutions on how the border in Africa can improve and women can cross with more ease. They suggest that “There is clearly a high degree of uncertainty and ambiguity about the legal rules that apply to cross-border trade and how they are applied in practice. Lack of transparency and consistency in the application of trade rules constrains trade across the borders.” Not only that but the government must foster trade organizations and associations so women know the prices of their goods and trade regulations become common knowledge. “First and foremost is the need to increase the representation of these traders through traders associations to ensure that their interests are properly represented in public policy” (Bucekuderhwa). These women are citizens and have every right to be protected by law makers and the laws themselves.

While the current situation is quite backwards and may seem a little hopeless, it isn’t. There is a light at the end of the tunnel. There are a few organizations, like TMEA, who try to help women understand their rights in order to protect them from the corrupt border officers. These women deserve to be allowed to go about their business free of harassment and with better representation from lawmakers. We can only hope one day the walk across the hot hardened dirt will not be so dangerous.

Works Cited

Anonymous. “Universal Declaration of Human Rights.” "United Nations", United Nations, 2017, www.un.org/en/universal-declaration-human-rights/. Accessed 2017.

Ben-Ari, Nirit. “Raw Deal for African Women Traders.” "United Nations", United Nations, Oct. 2014, www.un.org/africarenewal/magazine/august-2014/raw-deal-african-women-traders. Accessed Oct. 2017.

Celestin Bashinge Bucekuderhwa, Caroline Hossein, Shiho Nagaki and Jean Baptiste Ntagoma, Paul Brenton. “FACILITATING CROSS BORDER TRADE IN GOODS AND SERVICES.” "Box", Pdf, Oct. 2017, 787b2ec3761b4fccb2c207dabf993ba8 - sessioned. Accessed Oct. 2017.

Laub, Regina. “Crossing Borders: Challenges of African Women Involved in Informal Cross-Border Trade.” "Journal of Gender, Agriculture and Food Security ", Journal of Gender, Agriculture and Food Security , 2016, agrigenderjournal.com/2016/12/30/crossing-borders-challenges-of-african-women-involved-in-informal-cross-border-trade/. Accessed Sept. 2017.

Price, Rob. “Africa Opens the Gates to Cross-Border Trade.” "World Economic Forum", World Economic Forum, 2014, www.weforum.org/agenda/2014/08/africa-cross-border-traders/. Accessed July 2017.

Africa: Still the “White Man’s Burden” of the World?

Africa: Still the “White Man’s Burden” of the World?

In 1899, at the cusp of a new age, British writer Rudyard Kipling published the poem “White Man’s Burden”, reflecting upon the “necessity” of imperialism for the development of other, less developed countries.  More than a century later, there remain similarities between colonialism and modern foreign influence in Africa.

Western conquest has left an indelible mark on Africa.  Max Fisher, a renowned journalist, explains that Africa’s struggles today are yet “another indication of the many ways that colonialism's complicated legacy is still with us, still shaping today's world” (Fisher).  In the same manner, modern Africa has been shaped by its foreign influencers.  African countries currently rely on foreign corporations for more than 14% of their total budgets (Sharma).  Just how much benefit these foreign institutions have actually created for Africa, though, remains as controversial as the topic of imperialism.

Part of the reason why foreign powers continue to receive respect in Africa is because Africa’s very borders were written by many of those powers.  In the 19th century, imperialist European powers conquered Africa for the land, labor and resources they offered, dividing up the “great African cake” without regard for the ethnic groups living there.  As a result, more than 177 major ethnic groups are separated along those arbitrary borders, frequently leading to devastating civil wars (Mungai).  Unable to suppress nationalist rebellions, many African countries remain embroiled in conflict to this day.

Lack of access to basic resources as a result of frequent, relapsing conflicts throughout the late 20th century have necessitated and eventually popularized foreign aid.  In fact, non-governmental organizations (NGO’s), as well as various foreign governments, use such resources to help maintain the basic needs of large populations of Africa.  However, some fear that Africa has become too dependent on foreign aid and would only be left unable to self-sustain (Sharma).  Charles Abugre, a director at the UN Millennium Campaign, an international program aimed at reducing poverty, offers a solution for this issue in more carefully constructed and monitored aid attempts.  Abugre emphasizes the use of international aid that can successfully stimulate the economy and create more business, as has been done effectively in Indonesia, Rwanda and Ethiopia (Abugre).

Foreign interference in African governments also has an impact.  For example, Western countries pushed the A.U. (an African diplomatic group) to overthrow the Burundian president in 2013 motives and denigrated the organization when they refused to comply (Garrison).  Therefore, colonization not only remains a physical presence, as seen through the arbitrary borders, but a psychological presence that causes much of African policy to remain in the hands of Westerners.  Other countries also come for resources and economic growth, many with similar agendas of power.  China, for example, invests in and builds infrastructure for many African countries, but at the price of the indigenous people’s self-determination (Anonymous).  

For all the hostility towards foreign influence, there remains a positive trend of general growth and rising prosperity in Africa (Fisher).  International aid has saved countless lives, and the infrastructure foreign powers help build in those country only spurs Africans towards success.  However, accompanying such change are the dangers of abusive power paralleling that seen under imperialist rule.  How Africa will develop from its century-old legacy of imperialism with either the help or harm of foreign powers remains to be seen.  

Works Cited:

Abugre, Charles. “Why foreign aid is important for Africa.” CNN, Cable News Network, 13 Aug. 2010, www.cnn.com/2010/OPINION/08/13/aid.africa.abugre/. Accessed 5 Mar. 2017.

Anonymous. "China Latest Superpower To Mine African Treasures." Weekend Edition Saturday, 11 June 2011. Global Issues in Context, link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A258615857/GIC?u=los42754&xid=899057e3. Accessed 10 Mar. 2017.

Fisher, Max. “The Dividing of a Continent: Africa's Separatist Problem.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company,10 Sept. 2012, www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/09/the-dividing-of-a-continent-africas-separatist-problem/262171/. Accessed 6 Mar. 2017.

Garrison, Ann. “Burundi: Western interests masked as African solutions.” San Francisco Bay View, San Francisco Bay View Newspaper, 14 Feb. 2016, sfbayview.com/2016/02/burundi-western-interests-masked-as-african-solutions/. Accessed 8 Mar. 2017.

Mungai, Christine. “Africa's borders split over 177 ethnic groups, and their 'Real' lines aren't where you think.” MG Africa, Mail & Guardian Africa, 13 Jan. 2015, mgafrica.com/article/2015-01-09-africas-real-borders-are-not-where-you-think. Accessed 6 Mar. 2017.

Sharma, Manasi. “Is Foreign Aid Helping Or Hurting Africa?” Is Foreign Aid Helping Or Hurting Africa? | Global Envision, MercyCorps, 20 Apr. 2009, www.globalenvision.org/2009/04/20/foreign-aid-helping-or-hurting-africa. Accessed 5 Mar. 2017.

Education Crisis in South Africa

Imagine sitting at your school desk and having a question on the classwork. When you ask the teacher she gives you a blank stare. Your teacher has no idea how to solve the problem and no one can help you. This is the reality for the majority of students in South Africa. A study from the South African government found that 79% of teachers scored below the expected competency of their students (Nkosi). With such disregard for the student’s education wouldn’t one want to institute greater accountability for the teachers and schools?

South Africa spends 6.4 percent of their gross domestic product (GDP) on public education, which is 1.5% more than the average European nation (Jobs For Cash). With the government investing so much in education, why does South Africa have one of the least successful education systems? One of the most significant factors contributing to South Africa's poor education is the South African Democratic Teacher’s Union (SADTU). SADTU portrays itself as a group fighting for quality learning and labor rights (Maphila). In reality, their actions portray a different story.

In 2014, after numerous allegations of corruption, an investigative task team was established to analyze SADTU’s exploitation of their position and the effect it has had on the students (Masondo). The examination unveiled a system in which jobs are systematically sold to unqualified countrymen. A person wanting a job can contact a local union official, pay a minimum of 2,300 USD, and be given their desired job (Jobs For Cash). SADTU’s corruption extends to the manipulation of appointments, retirement packages, and numerous bribes (Jobs For Cash).

In addition to creating an environment of corruption, SADTU has fought educational accountability measures and fundamental attempts to standardize the teaching profession. A report from South Africa’s University of Stellenbosch states “The influence exerted by unions, especially SADTU – perceived as interfering with the ability of the education system to act in the best interests of children” (Radcliffe). SADTU has remained opposed to any government policy which would monitor teachers or institute accountability measures (Motsohi). The union is against teacher competency testing, a system which would monitor teachers’ attendance, delivery of the curriculum, and resolve discrepancies between provinces (Motsohi). Instead, SADTU has lobbied to require a one-year notice before inspectors investigate a specific school (Masondo). In addition, the report found that SADTU was essentially running the education system in six out of nine provinces (Masondo).

SADTU’s corruption has had numerous adverse effects on the success of the South African education system. Due to the lack of accountability, teacher’s standards have decreased immensely. A report by the National School Effectiveness Study showed only 50/130 lessons in the curriculum had been administered (Masondo). In addition, since there’s no accountability or testing regarding the teacher’s competency, and many teachers are incompetent. A study from the South African government found that only one-fifth of educators understood the material they were teaching (Publishers at the economist).

If SADTU is going to portray itself as a group that fights for quality learning, they must examine the corrupt and adverse impact their lack of educational accountability has on the children of South Africa. In order for South Africa to have their children graduate from their schools and be successful, they must prioritize children’s learning over the teachers’ union. It appears that one of the major reasons that the teacher could not answer the student's question is due to SADTU’s interference within the education system.

Economist, Publishers At the. "South Africa Has One of the World's Worst Education Systems." The Economist. The Economist Newspaper, 07 Jan. 2017. Web. 07 Mar. 2017.

Masondo, Sipho. "Education in South Africa: A System in Crisis." CityPress. City Press, 31 May 2016. Web. 07 Mar. 2017.

Nkosi, Milton. "Is South Africa's Education System Really 'in Crisis'?" BBC News. BBC, 29 Jan. 2016. Web. 07 Mar. 2017.

Motsohi, Thabang. "Sadtu Is a Counter-revolutionary Force Obstructing Change in SA."BusinessLIVE. Business Day, 26 Feb. 2017. Web. 07 Mar. 2017.

Rusznyak Senior Lecturer at the Wits School of Education, University of the Witwatersrand, Lee. "South African Education Still Fails Many 20 Years after Apartheid." The Conversation. The Conversation, 07 Mar. 2017. Web. 07 Mar. 2017.

Maphila, Magope. "South African Democratic Teachers Union." SADTU. SADTu, 10 Mar. 1970. Web. 15 Mar. 2017.

Team, Ministerial Task Team. "Newsletter." Jobs for Cash: What the MTT Found - DOCUMENTS | Politicsweb. Politics Web, 22 May 2016. Web. 15 Mar. 2017.