Haiti, Africa & The Plight of Black People
Like everyone else, I’ve been watching the news about the earthquake in Haiti and once you get away from the stories about grief, loss and poverty, there’s another story that is also simultaneously being told and it is the story of countries ruled by black people and why they can’t seem to get out of continuous tragedy. This uncomfortable topic was ignited by a New York Times conservative columnist called David Brooks in an article he wrote about Haiti, where he tries to figure out why that country has never been able to emerge out of it’s depth of poverty. He argues that culture has a lot to do with a countries economic success and that some cultures are …(in his words) “progress-resistant”.
I tend to agree with Brook’s commentary that culture has a lot to do with a country’s progress. I’ve said before that Africa’s poverty can be attributed to the fact that Africa does not have a culture of production. If something cannot be extracted from the ground (e.g. oil, gold, etc, etc) – we simply will not create or make it and this culture of non-production is the main cause of Africa’s poverty. That’s why foreign aid hasn’t worked. It’s because the do-gooder’s of the world have refused (out of fears of being labeled “racist” – have refused to confront this underlying question of culture).
I’ve enclosed some comments from the NYT’s article below, which I thought were interesting and which honestly and bravely bring out this uncomfortable topic.
“Truly, the more time goes by I realize that British imperialism was the best solution for a lot of the Third World. The British brought the modern world to these places, and ran things reasonably efficiently. Sadly, in other places, like Africa and Palestine, the locals simply couldn’t handle independence. The only way I will support “rebuilding’ Haiti is if it’s done by Western capitalists that have a profit motive, mixed in with some protections for the native population that give them a stake in the action. That’s the only way this suffering society will ever get out of its rut. Throwing more aid money at the problem will be useless”.
“Thoreau said: “If I knew for a certainty that a man was coming to my house with the conscious design of doing me good, I should run for my life.” Same should be true for nations. In the long run, local leadership that promotes self-reliance will be the only catalyst for fundamental national changes. In the disaster that has hit Haiti, there is obviously need for as much aid as possible. But a few months from now, Haitians will have to think long and hard about responsibility and accountability and the courage to discard what doesn’t work and embrace what does”.
What if there was an earthquake of this magnitude in Kenya? In Nairobi? a city with the same population as that of Port-au-Prince (3 million people) and with just as many slums. The death toll would have been just as high.
Nairobi has one fire truck, which it received as a donation from the state of Virginia. One truck for 3 million people.
If you are the president of a poor, African country and you are watching Haiti, this is what you should be thinking about.
Black people need to fix their countries.
This crap about black and white is a smelly philosophy that has no place among enlightened people. Nowadays, thanks to the ease of transport, everyone has had a chance to be in whatever parts of the world.
The truth is that the world is run by some philosopies which are neither black nor white. The philosophies are not related to culture but are related to evil intensions. The more evil one is in this world the more progressive the person will be. If we continue to think of taking advantage of others and and having not a scintilla of love, we will succeed in the world. All the supposed ‘cultures’ of progress are simply a decision of evil. Look around you.
Those considered to have progressed, be they your close relatives or some distant nation, they all show some kind of selfishness and lack of remorse for others.
[...] blog Kenyan Entrepreneuer agrees: […] Africa’s poverty can be attributed to the fact that Africa does not have a culture of [...]
Hello KE,
First off, let me say that u seem to have an OK site here.
These words kinda rankle me:
“Truly, the more time goes by I realize that British imperialism was the best solution for a lot of the Third World. ”
As stated by Mashinski, your comments border on racism, so be careful on how far your mind goes in the quest to understand and dissect Africans.
The saying goes…any fool can offer criticsm, but its hard work and ideas that really matters.
Think of that.
I see you purport to be an entrepreneur, so perhaps you could’ve provided more insight to your readers from an EN’s angle? After all, most ENs thrive on that kind of “chaos” versus structured environments.
Your next article should be what chaotic nation has opportunities for those in the xyz industry. We seen people thrive in Real estate, tourism, heath and now telecom over the decades. Sadly it is these very foreigners who come and do this EN work that make it. Africans need African ENs to really make things count.
First-off, I am sickened by the coldness and blatant bigotry in this post.
Also sad that this article is written by a guest in my country who has decided to literally take a s.h.i.t right in the middle of his host’s living room.
However, i must admit that the article *is* consistent with certain aspects of white supremacist cultures/beliefs:
1. White supremacists tend to have alarmingly low levels of Emotional, social and cultural intelligence. It is becoming quite clear that these people, with their insane aspirations for global dominance, are the biggest threat to global peace.
2. White supremacists have a disturbing tendency to use fallacious logic to demean other cultures. This article for example could have been written by Adolf Hitler himself.
3. Centuries of data shows evidence of Unhealthy levels of Sadism and Psychopathy in white supremacists. Example – perpetuating beliefs that non-whites are non-human or sub-human who need to be hearded/dominated/destroyed.
4. White supremacists consider Material wealth and technological feats as the only measurement of human value. Thus any white supremacist will argue on the basis of technology and material wealth – ignoring all the salient facts and history.
5. 200 Million dumb white people will take credit for an invention made by ONE smart white person. The dumb majority actually believe they are equally smart – despite glaring evidence proving the contrary!
6 Widespread ignorance among the white supremacist majority. Too many examples to list here.
7. White supremacists have a strong sense of material possesiveness (from their winter driven hoarding culture) and they hate any form of competition – hence their first instinct is to feel hostile to anyone that is different.
These people are inherently dangerous to the long term survival of this planet (pollution / hostility / destabilisation etc).
8. The west is no longer innovating. Most new inventions are coming from Asia. Hence their technical dominance (their only useful strength and source of self-pride and identity) has been taken away from them. What you have left is their deviant talents of deceit, greed and hate. Hence the current state of the world.
9. Like parasites, white supremacists thrive on human suffering and deceipt. It is the core foundation of their illusion of “success”. Hence their well documented covert destabilising efforts globally.
The world must realise that these people are increasingly becoming a threat to Planet Earth itself.
Current mistake made by non-whites (Perhaps after being awed by fascinating gadgets and gizmos) has been to entrust “big picture thinking” to the techies (whites) – who seldom see farther than their noses (hence pollution and global warming) – on EVIDENTLY WRONG assumption and hope that their technical strength represents all-round development and competence.
History has shown that social programs (e.g Health research) cannot be entrusted to western cultures as they are most likely to do something unethical and dangerous to the entire planet. Hence Africans should focus on building and improving their skill base in social technology.
Black africa can take advantage of its soft skills talents to build strong relations with other non-white communities (especially ASIA) and also to partner in strategic defence initiatives against the white supremacist threat.
Black Africa can also take a conscious decision to measure itself against its own standard. When did we agree to be measured against white supremacist standards? We are not white. We are not western. We have our own cultures. Our own priorities. Our own values. Our own beliefs.
Yes KE, it’s time for black African to take charge. But we shall do it our way – not your way thank you very much!
I agree less.
People will argue to the end of time but rather clear to me the system of government and free markets do work to improve society. Chile had a bigger earth quake and so far only 700 people have lost their lives. Compare that with haiti.
I loved this article http://online.wsj.com/article/.....ns_opinion
KE,
That Impulse instant gratification syndrome is a human weakness, not a Black or African One alone.
Look at Bush’s government from the time he took office, the federal government had a surplus and we all know the hole he left the country in. He too had a severe instant gratification syndrome that made him just spend spend and spend and expand expand government,such that he left a huge bloated government than when he took office.
America is the number 1 Country in terms of instant gratification, no other country comes next, what is the average debt level per house hold in the U.S? You’d be surprised.
Some African governments, just like most governments don’t exercise restraint and caution when they are spending tax payer money, but we cannot blame the entire citizens of a country for the flaws of their government all the time…..
and Yes Imperialism had a major effect on Africa. 50 yrs in History are considered Baby years, that’s not even a long period of time.African Americans are obviously disadvantaged when compared to their white American counterparts- with civil rights enactment, it has helped them to a degree, but they are not at par, and guess what, they’ve been in America for 300 years….so what is 50 yrs ?…..
Now Mzeiya,
African countries have been independent for almost 50 years (a whole half a century) and you still want to blame imperialism?
And actually, this issue of lack of impulse control is one that seems to afflict many poor people and poor countries. i.e. they seem to have an inability to with-hold instant gratification even in the face of danger.
E.g. Look at Zuma. Now, this man, could not control his sexual urges even when a woman who he knew was HIV positive was in his house and he decided to have sex with her and not use a condom.
Why do Africans behave like this? It’s a total lack of impulse control. Zuma was so bent on receiving this instant gratification, that he lost sight of the long-term dangers and acted without thinking.
Now, multiply this by 700 million people and you’ll see what has happened to Africa.
SETH,
R u F*&*ing SERIUOS??? You seriuosly believe that Blacks want instant gratification and that’s why most black countries are underdeveloped? My Goodness!!!
First and foremost, The “Instant gratification” Culture is an ALL American one, it’s as American as apple pie. As African Americans are part of America, obviuosly, it will affect some of them too.Thus You should include white Americans too in this group.
I’m sorry but I have to use the F word again…., You say Africa was never a progressive culture???? My Goodness are you F***ing SERIOUS again?
It’s very clear you have no clue about real history or African/Black History. I suggest that you educate yourself during Black History month to know more about Africa and African civilization.
SETH, Do you honestly expect someone brought as a slave unwillingly to a country will ever be at the same level with his “Masters” or his “Masters offspring” ??
I know Africans and African Americans are differnt, and for the most part at times may have significant differnces, However, you have to know that alot of us Africans In the U.S. Came here voluntarily, No one forced us to come here, and that’s where the differnce lies.
I think your opinion of blacks in america is formed by what you see on the media, i.e. the white man’s media. The black voice was lost in America long time ago when BET was sold to white men, there’s no other major media company that is able to portay black culture from the point of view of blacks, not in thru a white American’s thin perspective.
As for Africa, I don’t know why people want to ignore the fact of imperialism as a cause, which it clearly is, however, i know politicians exploit this to hide their own flaws.
Haiti was living on thin ice and the ice cracked. I’m white and know a lot of black people and a lot of history/psychology/sociology. My commentary would be that black culture is inherently more of an instant gratification culture. Slavery contributed, but Africa which affects every other culture was never a progressive culture. This has all affected even African-Americans. Simply, white people have a very strong influence to be productive workwise and African Americans don’t. This all affects each government and hence black people as a race are less productive than Europeans and Asians: Africa, U.S., Haiti, Jamaica wherever black.
Well, somebody earlier said that Haitians need to take a long hard look at what has tragically befallen them as they ponder the future. But l’d like to add that ts not only the Haitians but all of Africa! We really need to ask ourselves whats wrong with us, 300 years ago, we sold some of our own as slaves to the west; this didnt stop with the end of slavery – tyranical governments continue to maim and hamper. This, plus a culture more bent on consumption rather than production, is the reason behind black peoples’ woes. We need to change, and it all starts with you at the very individual level
For once KE i think you were on point and i support you fully. This is the first artcile i have read from you that you were objective. All sid and done….why waste a good brain such as yours on such a blog intead of starting a magazine on entreprenuership?
BARVO KE, BRAVO! I could not and WILL NOT SAY IT BETTER.
What happened in Haiti is sad, but I agree completely with David Brooks, Haitians will need to take a long hard look at themselves and DECIDE……Same way I felt about Burma, and they are Asians…….basket case societies.
Ditto for A LOT of Africa, personally I take pride in looking in the mirror and saying I DO NOT MEASURE UP…..I WILL MEASURE UP. Culture matters and frankly that FACT is getting less and less uncomfortable to accept.
Mutw’eumo:
The countries you mentioned, while not advanced yet, have been making strides in terms of trying to reduce poverty and modernize.
Remember Eastern Europe had communism, which they discarded (it was progress-resistant) and they’ve been moving towards creating societies that are more democratically oriented and that have free market based economies.
Russia may not be democratic, but they too moved away from communism and have a semblance of capitalism; not perfect, but they are moving forward. I think poverty rates in Russia have go down substantially since the end of communism.
Vietnam’s economy was one of the fastest growing in Asia and we all know about China (heck, the Chinese are now loaning money to America!).
North Korea and Cuba are extreme examples and in some ways are the last holdout’s of an outdated and strange ideology. Maybe when their leaders die, they’ll become less progress-resistant.
However, regardless of how we look at it, Africa as a continent, represents black people and as long as that continent remains progress-resistant, people around the world will have this negative view of black people as a group who can’t seem to do anything right when it comes to governing themselves.
Africa remains the poorest continent in the world and the only continent yet to achieve food security. You would think that with these kinds of embarrassing statistics, African leaders would feel a sense of urgency when it comes to fixing their countries, but no. Why? because we are refusing to be honest with ourselves about our non-productive culture.
We don’t make anything.
[...] in an industrializing society? And in particular, how is culture affecting Kenya’s progress. Kenyan Entrepreneur has pushed a bit further to claim that African has a culture of “non-progress,” in [...]
There are only 31 nations that are classified ad “advanced economies” according to the UN. Everyone else falls under “emerging economies” There are about 190 nations on the planet and 50 nations in Africa, approximately. Therefore, there are 109 NON-African nations that are “third world. Including Russia, poland, vietnam, china, N. Korea, Haiti, all of Eastern Europe. My friend have traveld to russia and the bring photos…. looks poor just like kenya, except the people are white so get a clue people. Black people do not have a monopoly on poverty or suffering.
Someone said that the curse of Africa is the natural resources. I agree with this.
Having said that, black people need to get their act together and elect leaders that care about them. Not the usual greedy, good for nothing morons!
Sensyei,
I rememmber that when EX-pres Bush coast guard prevented that Haitian boats (just off the coast} …. geography,politics and Haiti & Cuba .. its also about Race …Remember Bush and Harricane Katrina…Do some research and see how Haitian culture ended up in New Orleans..and lets who rebuilds SOONER and see who STRONGER
See how Tiger Woods and John Edwards are in Haiti Big time..I mean ‘=big money’ just to redeem themselves.
KE
Haitians will pay…They call it restructuring but it really is about milking the poor dry. Haaitian utilities and infrastructure (watre, elec, airports, seaport) will be privatised by AngloSaxon capitalist. This is simply colonisation MarkII…remember the France already landed their sucker punches a century ago…gun boat diplomacy forced Haiti to pay 100m gold francs for the slave rebellion that brought hHaiti independence….
BTW do you see some geoplotics in it all…the samll matter of preventing Haitian boat people reaching the US…
Maybe its messing up too much with the vodoo
Sensyei:
Who will pay for Haiti’s restructuring? Already, I’m reading that because of America’s economic problems, Obama wants to turn that $100 million dollar donation into a loan.
Iraq has oil, which could be sold and used to pay off contractors, but what does Haiti have?
Ron Paul’s suggestion is that the Haitian people should learn about free market capitalism and then be left alone to either sink or swim.
Having read Naomi Klein – Shock Doctrine – Haiti may provide ferile ground for the new frontier of capitalism. The damage and trauma from natural distaters (quake, tsunamis etc) or man made (war – think Iraq) will provide private contractors with the opportunity to profiteer from the reconstruction process.
The brains at IMF …all Fredmanites are responsible for keeping Haiti and other 3rd world economies in perpetual dependence through ‘innovative’ programmes (think Kenya’s SAP in yesteryears) often entailing expensive aid that keeps the recipients in endless poverty cycles…
Lost:
That’s an excellent article. Thanks for posting it.
The guy quoted in the article, James Shikwati, is absolutely on point and it’s amazing to me how a nincompoop like Jeffrey Sach’s thinks that he knows more about Africa than Africans themselves.
Sach’s cannot say that the problem is a backward culture (or else he’ll be called a racist) — but guess what? That IS the problem and until people start being honest about it, no amount of foreign aid will help.
Here is another take from wall street journal columnist http://online.wsj.com/article/.....31260.html
Chiron:
Most countries ruled by black people are doing poorly (the majority of which are located in Africa). This is why you have to look at culture and it’s ability (or inability) to evolve and advance.
Paul Mwai:
How long can countries keep blaming their plight on imperial masters?
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Maneno (Elia), kenyanentrepreneur. kenyanentrepreneur said: Haiti, Africa & The Plight of Black People: Send this article to Twitter!Like everyone else, I’ve been watching th… http://bit.ly/8x70zb [...]
I think once again you are drawing the wrong conclusions from the Haitian disaster.
These guys have just been having a series of bad luck both from bad leadership and constant interference from hitherto imperial masters.
READ THE HISTORY OF HAITI.
With regards to Africa once again the end of colonialism was and is an important step in the evolution of its people. Freedom is a key ingredient in self determination of any given society. The Irish could only excel as Irish as soon as they had escaped the grasp of the English and this is case for anyone else.
Africa remains troubled because 86% of the remaining resources that fed or feed the Anglo Saxon empire (i.e. NY London) are beneath her soil so quite simply the locals have to remain destabilized for foreigners to have easier access to these resources.
However the rise of China has seen a shift in the power resource game has given the Africans relative breathing space, time they should use to educate their masses in the basics and integrate with the rest of Africa through Road,Rail and internet networks.
This is the only that the deaths of millions of Black people would not have been in vain.
KE,
Do you recall your article a couple of weeks ago entitled “The Honesty of African Governments”?
Do you also recall that I wrote asking you what was so great about the commentary therein?
Now look at the comment by Anonymous above, specifically where s/he writes:
Do you now see why I queried the “greatness” of the comment?
KE
I suggest u read a book titled “How Europe Underdeveloped Africa” by a writer called Rodney. I forget his first name. That will enlighten you on Imperialism.
I also suggest you watch a recent BBC series named “slumming it” in which a BBC reporter spent a week in the slums of Mumbai India. Those slums in which millions live are worse than anything in kenya or Haiti for that matter.
My point is that the fact that a country is ruled by black people does not necessarily mean that it will do poorly.
God forbid it NOT to happen here in NAIROBI.its definate we eint prepared….that would be a disastrous earthquake in a Bad Place
To counter-balance my argument, I also saw this comment from the article, written by someone who lives in California, an earthquake prone state:
“The 1989 earthquake in the Bay Area was centered 50 miles south of the city, which greatly reduced the damage.
A magnitude 7.0 quake, which as in Haiti, was only 15 miles from the city center, would make a real mess of the Bay Area. A 7.2 magnitude quake directly underneath Oakland is a nightmare scenario which would kill hundreds if not thousands of people.
In 1995 a 7.3 magnitude quake 10 miles from Kobe, Japan, killed 6400 people.
My point is that an earthquake like the one that struck Port-au-Prince is a bad scenario for even the most prepared societies. It’s not just about poverty and corruption. This was a strong earthquake in a bad place”.
Although 6400 dead is still way better than having to deal with 100,000 or even 500,000 dead.