Letters to the Editors

Not all of Africa is in desperation

© St. Petersburg Times, published August 6, 2000

Having recently visited the West African countries of Senegal and Benin, I read with interest Robyn Blumner's July 30 column Visiting Africa and its complexities: a world far from home.

She had an interesting tour and met august personalities such as Nelson Mandela. However, after only visiting dignitaries and a few refugees in four countries, how can she make pronouncements such as "Africa is a place of failure atop tragedy"? She has seen four sub-Saharan countries in a very large continent of more than 50 nations.

Ethnic, religious and class conflict and AIDS are not the only stories of this continent. All African countries do not have a look of "desperation and hopelessness."

The cities, towns and homes of Senegal and Benin were usually scrupulously clean and well-swept, a marked contrast to the author's depiction of a Nigerian city (Lagos). The people were simply or sometimes elegantly dressed but rarely "disheveled." Unlike everything I heard prior to my trip, Benin was very safe and has a low crime rate.

Blumner visited some of the countries hardest hit by AIDS. Other African countries such as Uganda are having success against AIDS. Many West African countries also have visible education programs.

Like Nigeria, Senegal and Benin are multiethnic and multireligious. This is not always a source of strife. Benin is a tolerant society with Muslims, Christians and Vodun believers living together peaceably.

Ethnic solidarity is a source of spiritual and creative strength for many African peoples. The traditional arts, architecture and music of the Fon, Yoruba, Wolofs, among many more, are a vibrant contribution to world culture, not just African. These are meaningful areas of exchange with the United States and other First World countries. African countries are not just causes for charity.

Hopefully, Robyn Blumner can return to Africa. I would suggest a cultural tour in West Africa. She should stay away from the big hotels like the Polana (too expensive for some of us Americans, also) and instead go to the many small hotels, restaurants with rooms to let or, better yet, stay with a family. Seeing daily family life can, in some ways, be more enriching than meeting "the experts." And maybe the locals will teach her how to properly carry that big suitcase -- on her head, African style.
-- Joseph Weinzettle, Tarpon Springs

A cultural failure

Congratulations to Robyn Blumner for her superb piece on living conditions in Africa. She describes the wretched, often mind-numbing poverty she witnessed when traveling in sub-Saharan Africa. This is a part of the world where the failure of communities to become successful producers of wealth is nearly universal.

The story Blumner tells has been told enough times before that it is a sore point among Africa's political and intellectual elite. It has been my observation that members of this elite, perhaps out of defensiveness, often come across as apologists for African failures. Most of them don't retreat from the same worn-out theory about this or that bogy who supposedly hindered African development. The usual bogys are European colonialist governments (never mind that colonialism in Africa ended some 40 years ago), immigrants, multinational corporations and governments controlled by whites or other disfavored ethnic minorities.

During 1972 in Uganda, resentments against Asian professionals and businesses ran so strong that the government expelled the entire Asian community. As a result, Uganda lost much of its entrepreneurial and professional class, a ruinous blow to the economy from which it has still not recovered.

The chief economic affliction of Africa is indisputable. African countries are impoverished because, with the possible exception of South Africa, they lack the essential institutions for wealth creation. The most important of these institutions are:

1. The rule of law.

2. Enforcement of private property rights.

3. Economic liberty.

Blumner touched on most of these. The importance of economic liberty should not be underestimated. This is the right of individuals to freely produce and trade with others, without excessive interference from the state or excessive taxation. For the most part, these institutions are weak or non-existent throughout Africa. The British and French attempted to establish the rule of law during colonial days but were only modestly successful. Following independence, African governments have allowed property rights and the rule of law to retrogress -- evidenced most recently in the state-sponsored confiscation of private farms in Zimbabwe.

Blumner is able to see through the usual excuses and nonsense of African intellectuals and politicians. She focuses the spotlight where it properly belongs: on African culture. The lesson to be learned is that African poverty is rooted in African culture. Unless this changes, little else is likely to matter.
-- Geoffrey Nunn, Palm Harbor

Shaping their futures

How fortunate Robyn Blumner was to visit four countries in Africa and meet with presidents, ministers and economists. How unfortunate for her and for her readers, however, that she did not meet the indigenous people who have created and staff non-governmental Community Foundations. These foundations exist in South Africa and Mozambique, as well as in other countries of Africa.

Through a local board of directors and local staff, Community Foundations raise funds and use them to make grants to women's groups or youth groups, for projects in education or health or for water or building. Groups seeking the money propose their own solutions. They must make an in-kind contribution and be capable of managing the projects. If they need training in management, funds can provided as part of the grant or coordinated with other agencies that support training.

I had the good fortune to spend four months in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe this past winter, providing technical assistance to their Western Region Foundation. I observed how the foundation monitors the projects to assure accountability of funds and disseminates information on "best practices" to speed the transmission of workable solutions.

While Blumner saw refugee and squatter camps and poverty-ridden cities, I was witness to urban and rural scenes of enthusiastic hard-working people shaping their own futures.
-- Ann R. Haende, St. Pete Beach

Don't twist history

Re: Musket control? letter, July 30.

I must respectfully disagree with the letter writer who so vehemently denounced the Times editorial about The Patriot (Making a hash of history, July 16). Certainly it is right that Americans should learn to "appreciate freedom" and be involved in saving our democracy. However, I contend that this can be done without distorting facts. The history of the American Revolution is filled with wonderful, dramatic actions involving heroism and suffering and devotion to a cause. There is no need to invent happenings in order to interest the audience.

The Patriot is superbly filmed and acted. Why did the producers include scenes that are egregiously incorrect? Has the entertainment industry so inured Americans to perverse violence that only scenes of gratuitous cruelty and horror can move them?

For instance, young people watching The Patriot will actually think a British officer deliberately incinerated a locked church full of people. This never happened. Moviemakers are doing viewers no favor when they fabricate history -- any more than when they change a great work of literature to make it conform to Hollywood glitz.
-- Abigail Ann Martin, Valrico

No repairs needed

Why do I get the feeling that the Republicans are trying to be more like Democrats in order to win this election? For this I give them credit.

I'm taking no chances. These past eight years under President Clinton have been the most prosperous in our history.

Hey, if it ain't broken, don't fix it.
-- Maria Simpson, Madeira Beach

Bush is real thing

It is getting a little old for Democrats to automatically condemn Republican attempts to open up to people of color and accent. The Democrats have accomplished little as the spokesman for minorities. As a native Texan living in Florida, I know that George W. Bush is the real thing. He is what he says he is. I saw what he did in Texas.

Also, the Bushes are everyday people, and you can approach them on the street or in the grocery easily. I know because I have. They will restore the Oval Office, the people's office, to respect and will work well with those across the aisle.
-- Marc Scheel, Tarpon Springs

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