2nd Memorandum
From: Jonathan Awasom
Social Justice and Human Rights Advocate at Large
Voice of Reason and Conscience
To: The Presidents of G 8 Summit
C/o President of the United States of America
Through: The US State Department
C/o Condoleessa Rice, Secretary of State
Subject: The 6-8 July 2005 G -8 Summit in Gleneagles, Scotland
Date: 9/25/05
The Global War against Injustice and Poverty
The Case of Africa
The G 8 Summit
The July 6-8, 2005 G-8 Summit in Gleneagles, Scotland was an unprecedented historic event in the world, which brought together 8 industrial nations and poor nations together. I thought it was a great event particularly as it captured the attention of the world to the fact that, at last, the industrialized nations realized that it was time for them to declare poverty as a major problem that is plaguing the "poor nations" on earth. The state of dictatorship, political instability, genocide, ethnic cleansing and wars in Africa and insecurity concerns come into play as one of the major causes of poverty, which renders many people hopeless. This made that summit a real complex event because I surmise that it has set a platform for real and honest dialogue about human rights and dignity in the continent of Africa
I Applaud the Great 8 Nations
I have not completed the learning curve of life but my immediate reaction is to affirm and hail the great eight for their courage, strength, compassion, kindness and generosity. Whoever conceived the idea to seek these problems, it is one of the best things that has happened in recent times. Given the seriousness of the issues at stake, I believe that something extra-ordinarily will happen as we work together with our heads and hearts together. I think that to identify and declare poverty or give a name to something whether it is negative or positive does not mean it is a new invention. I am sure it points to a deeper sense of determination to address the matter. In fact, neither the 8 nations nor the citizens of the world are ignorant about the devastating nature of poverty and hunger in Africa. May be this conversation will last forever as we fight to end poverty. Before I was born, the problem existed and I feel that speaking with all the experience and education I have received in my lifetime should be considered an addition to this good cause.
A critique
However, I have a concern about the semantic meaning of “rich and poor” nations. The G 8 Summit is made up of industrialized rich nations to discuss the problems of “poor nations”. My initial response is that I have a problem with the definition and identification of nations on the continent as “rich and poor”.I feel that in as much as we might really want to classify some nations based on the degree of industrial and political achievements, we should select a different definition and language for them other than rich and poor.
Poverty is a systematic and endemic problem, which emanates from either the "extreme inequalities" "misfortunes" or “ignorance” in every set up be it political, social, religious or economic. It can affect anybody ranging from the rich to the poor and the poor to the poorest with devastating consequences. I have witnessed rich persons degenerate into poor beggars. Poor persons have dropped from their current positions to the lowest level like the rich fool in the Christian bible.
May be you, too have witnessed cases of poverty taking toll on someone or group of people who were not originally poor. Poverty is not just about a person born into it but I think it also concerns people that were rich and suddenly became poor. Someone like me was not born poor but because I was born into a circumstance of dictatorship, I was bound to be poor because my chances of having freedom were systematically and endemically hampered and destroyed by the CNU and CPDM system of oppression
My experience has generated questions as I became more and more enlightened. I was a good example of a “poor and needy”, which is the language that the privileged elite used to describe those of us from poor backgrounds because we were placed at their “mercy”. They made all the decisions and laws, which were not in favor of the “poor and needy”. In fact, I have been a bad friend of poverty and it is really difficult for me to be quiet without making my contribution to any conversation and research on poverty.
In short, poverty stems from the socio-economic, political and cultural structures of oppression and widespread injustice in the country. The political systems have shaped the standards of living in a negative way forcing the majority of people to live in poverty. In practical life, the war against poverty is worth winning provided we look at the ROOT CAUSES AND EFFECTS OF POVERTY simultaneously and avoid distorted interpretation of it. For instance a statement like “POOR NATIONS” already makes the problem impossible to be solved because we are focusing on the effects of poverty and totally negating the attitude and behavior of the people who are causing that poverty.
If we divorce one from the other, then we will be papering over the cracks and keep postponing and trampling the problem under the rug. I think there are a lot of skeletons in the cupboard of African rulers that need to be addressed in order to come out with an objective platform for our noble efforts to exterminate injustice and political oppression in Africa. The fact that they are never accountable to anyone is fundamentally an impediment to any conversation that has to do with solving problems.
As a matter of fact, when rich folks living in Africa among the poor and poorest get together and accept to be tagged as "Poor Nations", I feel that it is misleading and disturbing because within every nation, there are extremely wealthy folks and extremely poor folks. For instance, Cameroon, which is supposedly called a poor nation, has the wealthy and rich elite, richer and wealthier than most people even from the industrialized nations.
Consequently, what will be the moral and ethical reason for describing such rich and wealthy people as poor nations? The practical and actual situation has been very confusing and troubling to me. Besides, it sounds very obvious to me that many of the African representatives are living in denial because they want the industrial nations to see them as part of the solution to the poverty stricken Africans but the people in Cameroon where I belong are not. (As I said I will always speak from my context because I have a good knowledge and experience from there). The rich elite in Africa do not represent the interest of the poor and poorest at all. From their past behavior, one can deduce that they have a policy, which suggests a struggle for survival by the fittest.
There is absolutely no way for the weak ones to win that type of mechanical warfare over survival, unfortunately shaped by dictatorship and corruption. I am tempted to go the extra-mile to imagine that the elite are called “poor nations” because they are suffering from poverty of conscience, moral decadence and intellectual dishonesty. They have denied most of the times, the most basic needs for the poor and poorest such as good health care, education, roads, water and freedom of conscience.
The human community can bear witness to my claims following the horrible images of poverty we see all the times over the television networks. If a general survey is taken of every country in Africa, one will be shocked to notice the harsh reality of poverty distinct from the rich folks and societies in Cameroon (Africa). How then can they be called poor nation? An inappropriate and misrepresentation of the people is itself and inherent obstacle toward an honest and open dialogue toward finding the real answers to the question; why are people poor? What are the minor and major causes of poverty? What can be done to end poverty? What is not being done to end poverty? What is being done and who is doing what and what is not being done?
I am a Cameroonian and I don't think that the elite in Cameroon should be calling themselves “Poor Nation”. It is deceptive and it is a distortion of the truth. They are not poor and will never be poor except something unusual happens! Indeed, they are extremely and stingingly wealthy and I have never felt that they can represent the poor with their ill-gotten wealth. But as we all know, the world as of today is redesigned in a way that the richer in Cameroon get richer and the poor, poorest.
One of the main reasons why this happens is because the poor are not being represented in our conversation and decisions focused on helping them. The poor seem to be blamed for their poverty and it seems nobody cares to listen to them. The disconnect between the rich and poorest from one country to another is a forgone conclusion and I feel that the poor are constantly being offended when rich folk (church and government) from a continent like Africa attempt to pose as poor people when they are not poor. They create a false expectation and impression, and behave as if they care about the poor. Truly, today I know that any discussion about poverty by the rich folks in many African countries is a sheer coffee time and past time. It is like throwing water on a duck’s back.
All the delegates who attended the G-8 Summit from Africa either religious or political in their usual unholy alliance with each other are the rich and richest. Do they really represent the poor? If they did, then we in Africa would not find ourselves in the disgusting state of poverty and misery, which is destroying lives on daily basis. Every country in Africa is made up of an elite and some of them ignore the poorest even though they would gladly talk eloquently about their issues. They have the ultimate power and logistics to torture and suppress and may be cover up the truth. I disagree with them that Cameroon is a poor nation.
I disagree with them that African is a poor continent. There is poverty in Cameroon and poverty is plaguing the nation of Cameroon but it does not mean that Cameroon is a poor nation. A good way to look at it is to ask the questions, what are the causes of poverty in Cameroon? What are the causes of poverty in Africa?
I believe very strongly that the elite is a club that is reserved to a certain class of people and if anyone does not belong to that club of dictatorship, their chances of a good life is as hard as an elephant passing through the eye of a niddle. Their luxurious and wasteful life styles, is an embarrassment to the “poor” living in the industrial nations and a shock and disappointment for the "poorest" in less industrialized nations existing in disintegrated and impoverished communities. My rationale for this critique is as follows;
Poverty is truly a global problem and is dotted all over from one country to the other. I feel very strongly that there is no poor nation in Africa because of the affluence of the elite. We should change the language and identify the poor and poorest in every country and categorized them in terms of their per capital income, sources, availability of human resources, purchasing power, employment, educational and growth opportunities, and the living standards of their families.
For instance the standard of poverty in Africa is not the same like that in some of the industrial nations, which could be attributed to a wide range of factors such as good governance, security, economy, good luck and social welfare policy. The first thing is for us to come out with a working definition of poverty by taking into consideration the minor and major causes as a de factor. If the African leaders feel that they are representing the poor and poorest, then they should start speaking the truth and stop blazing lies and manipulation of the Western World.
We should engage the poor in the global summit and conversation and listen to them and figure out the best ways to help them with a stringent broad based support system of accountability for their success. About six months ago, I had coffee with one of my friends at Christ Presbyterian Church in Edina, Minnesota who is a mission employee and I remember sharing with him that listening to the poor and poorest could be very helpful in ending poverty. I was very emphatic that we could not really solve the problem of poverty from an intellectual point of view without listening to the poor and poorest. He said that he knew that I was a man of conviction. I told him that, well I was speaking from experience and not just out of a deep conviction.
I feel that responsible leadership from the elite from Africa should hinge on listening. Our leaders don’t listen. They belief that war, violence and protests are the priceless values that everyone must embark on before the right thing is done. Even when people know the truth, they want bloodshed, tears and real pain before they can step up to the challenge. Perhaps it happens in the industrialized world but the elite in Africa think for themselves and create meaning only to suit their personal whims and caprices. They cluster in rich neighborhoods and ignore the poor and poorest and yet they are the ones who are used to cajole for money from overseas. I think according to the standards of living in Cameroon, I won’t consider myself poor right now but I speak from experience as an advocate.
We should identify poor communities, societies and people and ask the question, why are they poor? Why are you poor? How can we help them? How can we help you? All these need a high sense of honesty and integrity in our enquiry and research .I will provide some sample answers later.
We should cross -examine the minor and major causes of poverty in Africa in different compartments namely; Dictatorship and Reign of terror, natural disaster, greed and corruption, untimely deaths, bankruptcy, armed robbery, laziness, ignorance, bad tax policies, which destroy and kill small business initiatives and misfortunes like the lake Nyos gas disaster in 1988, which occurred and turned out to be an occasion for exploitation of the victims by some leaders. What about the divisions between ethnic groups and tribes that make up the African countries. Are these divisions healthy and helpful? We should also take into consideration the hypocritical life style of the people who claim to be religious and political leaders.
One main cause of poverty in Africa is the, genocides, ethnic cleansing civil wars or the struggles of freedom fighters who unfortunately are described as rebels. I don’t think that the constant warfare and divisions in Africa is economically healthy for the continent. I imagine that it cost a lot financial resources to fund governments to fight and kill their own citizens instead of talking and listening to each other.
Almost all of the countries in Africa have one disgruntled group of people fighting in some distant part of the country while the government forces are also fighting them in another part. We are pitied against each other and we cut at each other throats in causes that will never produce any good outcome except misery and pain. In the United States for instance, no matter how people and communities disagree, there is a good sense of dialogue, debate arguments for and against each other in a bid to better the human condition.
In the continent of Africa, the reverse is true and why would these leaders prefer wars instead of dialogue? What is the role of the church in Africa toward all these wars, rebellion from both the governments and the people? Everybody in Africa are rebellious once people of the same country fight and kill each other because of power and wealth. These are the same people who get together to talk about poverty and yet they don’t do anything to change their bad leadership style.
We should also question the moral authority of the church and investigate the church in Africa to find out what they have been doing about the state of affairs in Africa. The role of the church in social justice and advocacy as a moral power should be taken into consideration. Is the church effectively and practically playing a God-centered and inspired role as they witness to the people?
Has the church become part of the oppressive structures? What is going on in reality? Once we look at the small and big details, we will move to the next stage, which is the application. I can further elaborate on each factor with practical examples but for the sake of brevity, I will withhold that for now while hoping that some opportunities will emerge for me to shed more light on the issues.
Some solutions to the root causes of Poverty and Injustice
We should honor the passion of Mother Theresa by creating World Day Against Poverty. It will lead to global walk and awareness annually to find a cure for poverty. Mother Theresa’s long-term vision was to end poverty and not to pamper it with charity everyday. She wanted it to end and while articulating that vision, she was caught up in her own frailty and God called her to rest. I don’t think Mother was asking only for food and money to feed the hungry. I think that all these moral heroes wanted the structures and systems that cause poverty to be reconstructed so that everyone will have equal rights and opportunities in the world.
We should audit African Leaders right away by asking them to declare their assets and resources in all the places that they have invested them. We have the right to know how they earned their riches because they occupied or are occupying political and religious positions, which gives them access to money and resources. We are bound to do so because the corruption there should concern us.
Let me quote an example, there is absolutely no way that the same people in Africa will be on the same job or system of oppression for decades without being corrupt. They are never accountable to the people unlike in the United States. So, it is fundamental that the G-8 summit proceeds to investigate them and ask them to give an account of their activities for all the years that they have been reigning as infallible people. There should be a law to enforce this rule because the fact that people have ill-gotten wealth and are not held accountable for it creates more corrupt people everyday.
We should cross –examine the concept of leadership in Africa. Does it mean the same as in the US? Leadership and empowerment cannot thrive in the midst of corruption. First things first. Bad leadership and influence on the lives of the people is a serious concern for me and misleads people to live in fear under a false sense of loyalty often mistaken for patriotism. We should expose the African leaders so that they will stop lies, hypocrisy and manipulation when they travel overseas. Their stories should be investigated and pinned down.
We should make an effort to stop corruption by enforcing laws, which will prosecute corrupt leaders and people in Africa. Corruption is one of the greatest causes of poverty and wars. In order for peace to reign on earth, we should stop corruption and treat it as a serious crime against humanity. Corruption breeds hatred, jealousy, greed, war, injustice, abuses of any sort because perpetrators survive under corruption since nobody is accountable to anyone except to the elite.
Everyone is allowed intentionally to be corrupt or corrupted under what some Africans call “ the system” .The few persons who say no to it are seen as strange and unreasonable. They became subject of attacks and presented as the bad “guys” because the corrupt and corrupted still walk away happy and contend.
They insist by their bad examples that the only way to success on earth is through corruption. They believe that the world is a corrupt place and that everybody is corrupt plus those who pretend to be the best. They make their case in order to justify their corruption and torture of the masses. We may be helping such negative thinkers in their wrong conviction directly or indirectly by our “APPAULING SILENCE” but if we stand up and oppose them with concrete action then we will achieve good results.
We should strive to end dictatorship in Africa at all cost because it is an undocumented evil force in the continent of Africa. People cannot overcome poverty under a state of dictatorship where the elite project themselves as demigods and always ready to shoot and kill their own people. We should institute a system of accountability for human resources and make sure that the leaders are held accountable in everyway possible.
We should admonish some of the church leaders who are on the side of dictators instead of being a discerning moral influence over political leaders. Except we stop the unholy alliance between the church and the state in Africa, corruption, which is the bedrock of dictatorship will never end. Therefore, I will like to bring to the attention of the human community and especially the world wide Christian Church the deceit and hypocrisy of the elite in Africa and to raise awareness about a theology that will engage missionaries in social justice and human rights and also empower the church to embark on the cause for freedom.
We should stop them from buying guns to kill innocent people who dare stand up for their rights. We should stop making dictators and corrupt leaders feel too comfortable in their wrong doing because they believe that they are protected by someone else somewhere. We should not back them and if we have the opportunity to meet with them, we should change them. It is not impossible to change people or bring them to a point of moral consciousness and accountability. We should stir their conscience and shame them
We should reconsider the decision of providing sanctuary to people who perpetrate hate crimes in the world and after they destroy, they escape into hiding in the western world or other parts of Africa. We should bring them to justice to account so that they will recognize their misdeeds and change. The essence of discipline is to correct a wrongdoing because these individuals are still supporting the corrupt regimes in Africa and pretending to be in good standing with universal human values.
If we ignore their past abusive records then others will continue in the same practice. We should track them to account for their resources. It is possible that we can take back some of the stolen money and resources and invest in the country to help others. I believe in forgiveness but it does not mean that we should downplay on justice. Hate crimes are perpetrated in Africa by the elite because their predecessors walk around unaccountable for what they did. Wherever they are hiding we should look for them to confess their crimes.
What does the Christian religion teach us about materialism and our faith? What does the Holy Scripture say about all these things in terms of our faith and respond to it? HOW DOES GOD’S GRACE AND PEACE APPLY TO THIS? I think that we are at a point where the Christian church may be called upon to give a theological or a Christian response to the problem of poverty in Africa. I don’t have all the answers but I believe very sincerely that we need to go the extra –mile to focus deeply on the different categories of the causes of poverty by understanding the implication of the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. It requires some work here. Ask your priest or pastor about that story.
We should encourage the G-8 summit to take a deep breathe and ask themselves if it is worth it to give 25 billion dollars annually to a continent which, about 90% of the leaders are deceitful and corrupt? Will it not be advisable to agree on some laid down policies on how to hold them accountable for the resources? I think we should look at these issues critically so that the help we are giving will have its desirable impact on the poor and poorest.
We should encourage the G 8 summit to know that they could explore the continent of Africa and identify at least 5 communities in each country and study them very well. This research will help the researchers to see, compare and contrast. Listen to the people, ask questions and get to know why they are held hostage by poverty. Ask the governments what they have done with previous financial aids and why enough is not being done before they continue giving the 25 billion dollars. I am ready to participate in this conversation about the continent of Africa.
Finally, people are not free, nothing good really happens. Freedom is one of the answers to the pandemic of poverty and deprivation in Africa. I definitely share in the theological and political interpretation of freedom as God ‘s gift to humanity. I think people should be free both from poverty and greed. Practically, we are not free in Africa, my friends. When our rulers in Africa do anything possible in order to stay for too long in power and refuse to let go power, deny to be accountable, resort to corruption without any impunity, the logical consequence is that the elite enrich themselves at the expense of the poor and poorest.
If these folks get together to discuss poverty when they are the ones creating poverty through a statusquo that is static and often whitewashed with a mirage of misinformation and distortion of the truth, I bet you we shall never end poverty. It is okay to empower them to fight poverty because, after all they are in control but I believe that we should also consider the steps toward dealing with the root causes of poverty and injustice. One way to deal with our problems in Africa is being truthful about what we know and what we don’t know. I support the initiative and colossal task that lie ahead of humanity to curb poverty, economic deprivation and end civil strive and war.
Yet, I am aware that I come from one of the poorest communities in the world. Also, back in Cameroon, there are rich neighborhoods and extremely poor neighborhoods. If we rather focus on identifying the areas and communities plagued by poverty in the whole Africa, we will see the poverty gab more vividly .In this way, we will be able to find a long lasting solution to it. Poverty, injustice and social inequalities might never be uprooted in reality but the extent to which, humanity takes delight in celebrating these negatives matters. The greatest achievement of humankind is not limited to the intellect but is well known by what the head thinks and what the heart does in a practical human community.
Thank you.
Jonathan Awasom
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