Africa

AFRICA- Part I
Africa, a grand continent that was home to our Hominid ancestors ,evokes images of deserts, rainforests, long rivers, Gold, Diamonds, and very sadly also of Famines, HIV/AIDS, Malaria, Political Strife, Genocides.....
So, whats the story?
The past:
I will bravely try to mention some factors which I see are Important :

Africa , a continent with rich resources, home to multiple ethnicities and languages -has a history of ancient civilisations from the Pharoahs of Upper Nile Kingdoms to the Ashanti Kingdoms of West Africa . It has also been a recipient of western colonial expansions. Colonial powers from Dutch to the Britishers discovered the riches in both the land [ resources -Gold, Diamonds, Metals] and the people [Slavery]. European powers carved up the continent into their spheres of influence [ As they would do elsewhere in other parts of the world]. Even the Arabs got into the act with Slave trade. Few colonial governments ever devoted time or resources for developing the people they colonised. Development which if happened was for settling europeans [South Africa] or for transporting precious minerals. This process continued for hundreds of years.

Certainly there were enlightened Europeans who indeed had genuine concern for the continent like Albert Shweitzer, David Livingston, .... But the exploitative powers and climate prevailed.

Changes in political structures in Asia in the 20th century and the growing anti-colonial sentiments brought independence to many countries in Africa. Though , in many countries it was the elite or the armed forces which gained power. Also countries with many different tribes , languages, religions and cultures were formed as a single unit, just because they were so under the colonial governments. This led to and still leads to political problems [ Rwanda, Nigeria, Sudan]. In the next part , I will examine the present day situation and problems. Also, I examine options that could be the way forward.