Refugee Resettlement - A blessing?

I just finished watching the documentary: "God Grew Tired of Us" The doc features a group of Sudanese refugees popularly known as the "Lost Boys." Having run away from the civil war between North and South Sudan in their thousands (26,000) at one point, the boys dwindle in number as they walk thousands of miles into neighboring Ethiopia and then Kenya. Now the life of a refugee is never easy. At the Kakuma camp they were based at in Kenya they had days when they had no food. They managed to build a community, even in these difficult conditions. They all shared the difficulty a situation where they had no idea what their futures held, where their families were or how they would be eating the next day. There are millions of refugees worldwide, mos living in squalid conditions. It is a truly dire situation that requires more urgency than what has been shown.

Refugee Resettlement is a privilege that has been extended to a small number of refugees worldwide. Resettlement to the US is particularly difficult and some of the "Lost Boys" made it to the land of Ab Lincoln and McDonald's. Their journey is chronicled by the film makers in this documentary. Their struggles with escalators, showers, fridges, shopping, winter and other "day to day" activities draws a chuckle as I marvel at their complete obliviousness to "modernity" It highlights the imbalances that exist in our world. How can we be so different?

As the film ends one feels the disconnection the refugees feel after a while in the United States. The initial excitement has disappeared, and now they really long to be back with their own community in Sudan. I can certainly relate to this feeling, having lived away from home for 3 years. They realize the superficiality of American society. They lament the lack of community in the United States, but the plight of their relatives back home helps them realize the necessity of their presence in the United States. So what may seem like a curse may ultimately be a blessing!

Blood diamonds in Zimbabwe.

Game theory in decision making

Searchers and Planners

I am currently reading the book "The White Man's Burden: Why the West's efforts to aid the rest have done so much ill and so little good," by Dr William Easterly of New York University. It is an intriguing read, it challenges conventional views that I have been raised to take as fact. He critiques the popular beliefs that are widely held around the world that for the poorer countries of the world to move out of poverty they need to adopt plans originating from the more successful countries of the world. He refers to these people as Planners. People who have a vision of what certain measures will achieve as they distribute aid to the countries in need. Easterly criticizes the likes of the IMF, the World Bank and influential individuals like Bono and Professor Jefferey Sachs. One of his main criticisms of these individuals is their use of the word "we." He points out the fact that their attitude is condescending and it discredits the merits and innovation of the people they are proposing to help.

Dr Easterly offers an alternate perspective. That of Searchers. They may be from the West or local but the idea is to promote local solutions to local problems. Of course some need a little more help than others but the idea is for solutions that are derived from finding out the true needs of people on the ground and applying lasting measures to aid the situation. This is the same searcher spirit that drove Muhammed Yunis' micro-lending idea that became Grameen bank. This approach is not as appealing for the grand speeches that call for a doubling of aid and a world rescue for the poor of the world.

Easterly shrewdly points out that the people who have been targets of various forms of aid can never hold anyone accountable if efforts to help them fail. This according to Easterly is another reason why it is easier to make grand speeches promising all manner of aid programs. Unlike elected officials Planners are not held accountable for their actions, and they cannot really be voted out of favor.

The truth is top down approaches to aid have largely failed and an alternate approach my not only be cheaper, but it might just work!

Africa: China's playground?

Is this the map that tells us the future of the African continent. How many years will it take before Africans refer to the Chinese as the new colonizers. The fact is they are already being referred to as such with their consistent and growing investment in Africa. With the Western world taking a back seat especially from leaders deemed as corrupt or uncooperative.

Billions of dollars in Aid have gone to Africa in the last 60 years, with neglibible if any improvement all. Frustration in the West has seen a more carful and rigorous approach to aiding ailing African countries, whose people are all too familiar with suffering and struggling. The crisis of leadership of Africa has seen many countries slip into conditions worse than even feared colonial times. China has taken advantage of Western seperation and they have been investing in Africa at break-neck pace with little or no pressure on political leaders in these countries. The Chinese have always held the line that the internal business of a country is it's own business (a strategy to justify their own domestic conditions.

The Chinese are in need of raw materials to sustain their gargantuan economy and the need for markets to sell products to is always apparent. Chinese contractors are appearing everywhere from Zimbabwe to Nigeria, building stadia, owning businesses or drilling oil! The spread of Chinese influence has recently been highlighted in Sudan where they are prospecting for oil and they do trade heavily with Khartoum. The outrage among international agencies, diplomats and individuals is the apparent siding of the Chinese with hated Sudanese President Muhammed Omar Al-Bashir whose government is said to be watching over an ongoing genocide in the Darfur region of Sudan. The International Criminal Court also has a warrant issued for the arrest and trial of Al-Bashir.

With the Chinese vetoing any motions against Sudan in the Security Council and therefore the possibility of strong actions (even words). In other words without Chinese pressure on the government of Sudan, there is less of a likelihood that peace will be attainable in a sustainable way.

China is here to stay and as long as Africans accept Chinese greenbacks fresh from the United States Treasury, the new imperialism will reign, in a way that even Africans themselves will be surprised by. I have no qualms about investment, the strings that are attached may cause future problems though.

Peace in our time!

Peace has proven elusive in Israel and Palestine. There has been a breakdown of relations on countless occasions which has placed hope for a solution on the ropes. There are those who are trying to change this. The people at OneVoice are fighting for a different reality in the Israeli-Palestinian territories. The concept is to change relations through football, the world's biggest sport! Check it out:

http://goal2018.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=18&Itemid=32

Zimbabwe, My country

My name is Tinacho Chitongo. I am a Junior from Harare, Zimbabwe. I was born and raised there and I only left my country for college. I have had the misfortune of watching my own country experience one of the most spectacular declines of any modern nation. Zimbabwe is a place where people take pride in their identity and history. I was raised to respect my elders and to always give people their due credit. The lack of robust leadership in my country has betrayed the principles that are the foundation of the society. I am still proud of being Zimbabwe, and every day I look to represent my country as best as I can. The crisis in Zimbabwe spurs me on to achieve more and more so that I can be in a position to help make a difference in the lives of those suffering back home. I believe that one day things will change and Zimbabweans will once again have leaders they can be proud off. People in Zimbabwe face each day on a hope similar to this. Without hope there is no reason to continue with the bleak situation in Zimbabwe. People are not going to lie down and accept the circumstances, character has been shown in the face of difficulty!