Imperialist divide and conquer policies exacerbated and stratified the existing cultural, geographical, and ethnic divisions of the continent. After African “independence” was granted in the 60s and 70s, war and conflict ravaged many African regions - continuing into the present day. The conditions ripe for war were only worsened by Soviet and U.S. interventions during the Cold War.
Western media has the audacity to categorize such wars as ‘civil wars’, when in fact, they are proxy wars. (The current situation in Iraq today, in which indigenous factions compete for power because of instability created by external forces, is similar.) The most prominent examples, however, are the genocide in Rwanda, the ‘blood diamond’ trade in Sierra Leone, a 20-year war in Northern Uganda and conflict in Sudan. Less known to most people was a vast war in which an estimated 4 million Africans died in and around the Congo - in less than a decade! About 1,000 Congolese still die every day from disease and malnutrition.
The exploitation, wars and diseases which are hurting Africa are now compounded by the racist economic policies which institutionally keep African farmers and businesses from the world market, and in effect, economically disempowered. As journalist George Monbiot notes, “the history of corporate involvement in Africa is one of forced labor, evictions, murder, wars, the under-costing of resources, tax evasion and collusion with dictators.” Even efforts which are largely believed to be a step toward equality in the world market—such as the most recent G8 conference and the promise of Western “debt cancellation”—are, in fact, nothing of the sort. According to writer Justin Schlosberg, “In Europe and America, our crippling subsidies and tariffs continue unabated while our governments preach the miracle of Free Trade to those who can’t afford it.”
So, if Western policies are preventing the development of African economies, why do they claim to be attempting to reduce poverty in Africa? There are 1000s of international NGOs, funded by Western governments, working in Africa to supposedly expedite development. In reality, however, their unregulated influence perpetuates Africa’s dependence upon the West, and crushes any possibility of African economic self-sufficiency - never allowing the continent to pull itself out of poverty on its own. If this were to happen, neocolonialist exploitation of the continent would weaken and eventually collapse, and this would be bad for Western corporate business.
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