Norris McDonald | Black Vision: Africa, imperialism and the ‘god complex’

Belgium’s brutal King Leopold 11 committed one of the most heinous acts of genocide in the dawn of the 20th century with the killing of over 10 million Africans in the Congo.

Many more Africans were mutilated by having their hands chopped off.

And yet, Africa is faced with an unrepentant Europe and the ‘one don’ ‘backra massa’ who are still trying to determine our fate, role in the world and historical destiny.

My friends, do you really think it is right for these countries, with such an immoral past, to be trying to dictate to our people? Dr Walter Rodney in his book, How Europe Underdeveloped Africa (1971), showed how imperialist power-politics and “economic exploitation of Africa by Europeans” robbed the once-mighty continent of her wealth-creation capacity. Even more alarmingly disgraceful, they are running around on moral crusades trying to tell the African people who they must be friends with.

THE BATTLE OF CUITO CUANAVALE

Britain, France, Germany, Belgium, Holland and America – with the bloody actions of the US Central Intelligence Agency which started in 1959 – have played an extremely destructive role in the plundering of Africa.

Let’s remember how these Western imperialist countries instigated apartheid South Africa to use her military might in a vain attempt to crush the Angolan, Namibia, and by extension, Mozambique and Botswana revolution.

But they were stopped in their tracks as, almost 50 years ago, in 1975, Cuban President Fidel Castro sent troops, to help the African liberation struggle.

The 1988 heroic Battle of Cuito Cuanavale is in the pantheon of world history. The victory achieved by the national liberation forces, supported by Cuba, led to the collapse of the imperialist colonial empire in Africa’s southern cone.

Jamaica under Prime Minister Michael Manley was put in America’s crosshairs after Henry Kissinger came to Jamaica in December 1975 to demand that Manley not support Cuba’s military intervention.

Manley refused to bow and the CIA, as the evidence reveals, wreaked havoc in the country with the ill-effects being felt up to this day.

In the meantime, as part of the invaluable assistance to Africa – China, Russia and Cuba gave scholarships to African countries to prepare a governing political, technocratic and managerial class.

The training of African specialists, in preparation for self-rule, was a direct result of hundreds of thousands of African students getting full scholarships to the Patrice Lumumba University, Moscow, and the People’s Friendship University, China.

THE ‘GOD COMPLEX’

There was a time when the world imperialist powers held complete sway. Now, things and times are rapidly changing.

‘Bitta truth’ be told, there is a limitation on how dollar diplomacy and political-military power can be projected by the ‘one don’ imperialist and subservient European consorts.

Financial punishment of countries, by blocking them from trading in the American dollar, can only work, in my opinion, from a position of political dominance and financial strength. And America, as a heavily indebted nation that appears to be tethering on the edge of a major financial crisis, is getting weaker and weaker.

America’s US$5-trillion 30-year wars is a manifestation of this god complex. If you are militarily powerful, why listen to any other voice in the world? The perpetual wars have severely undermined America’s growth and development prospects vis-a-vis China, Russia and even India, by draining investment resources, while, among other things, increasing the national debt.

And because of this perpetual use of financial sanctions, more and more countries are dumping the dollar and are shifting to commodity trade and exchange using their own currencies.

According to the latest estimates, there are 23 countries comprising 60 per cent of the world’s created wealth, measured as gross domestic products, that are trading by way of national currency swaps.

This god complex is the most extreme form of narcissism. It is a holding up of America as being the most exceptional country in the world. What is the risk of‘American exceptionalism? Self-delusion.

This belief that ‘you are exceptional’, that you are better than others, in its truest sense, is self-righteousness. And because you are self-righteous, others’ feelings, opinion, pains needs do not matter.

Yu seh wi ah fence crawler

Damn thieves, blasted murderer

But wi not de evil butcher

Of black people in de Congo!

Nor had you as sardine-slave cargo!

We neva, decimated Jewish men

Screaming women, crying children!

Wi neva decimated America’s First

Native People killed and cursed!

Nor created Cheyenne ‘Trail of tears’

Psycho-trauma, years of fears

What do you in ‘Massa Gawd Mirror’ see

Afta cowardly back-shooting me…

THE BLACK VISION

My dear friends, we are in a world today in which there are clear signs of panic in the ‘one don’ imperialist centre of power.

We African people built great civilisations. We know that, so their opinions don’t matter. The historian Herodotus attests that Greek philosophers, and their scholars, came to black Egypt to be taught by us.

The great libraries of Alexandria and Timbuktu were great centres of learning.

They just do not know how to deal with an increasingly assertive Africa in which national self-confidence is rising.

In Central Africa, we see the process of decolonisation under way with French troops being kicked out of Mali, Burkina Faso, and the Central African Republic.

The political economic world order is changing and African countries, like other nations, once again reassert our proud place in history. My friends, we don’t care about their silly, racist, self-righteous opinions!

We don’t care if they want to burn books and ‘ban the teaching of ‘Black story!’

Today, my friends, the political situation is very complex. But once again, many African nations and people are facing up to the challenges with new determination. That is what is required: renewed strength, renewed confidence and, most of all, to have and maintain a positive vision of the future. This along with a strong determination to keep fighting for our freedom, our equal rights and justice!

That is just the ‘bitta’ truth!

Norris McDonald is an economic journalist, political analyst, and respiratory therapist. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and miaminorris@yahoo.com.