Monday, October 29, 2007

Consumption vs. Conservation of Culture: The Lost Boys of Sudan in America

Within the past week, several articles have emerged discussing the returning of Sudanese refugees to their home villages after years of residence in the United States, one man , Jacob Dau, seen reunited with his family at right. More specifically, these refugees are part of a larger group of boys who together comprise the “Lost Boys of Sudan”. These young boys have a captivating and heartbreaking story, one that has also recently been the subject of two widely acclaimed documentaries, Lost Boys of Sudan (2003) and God Grew Tired of Us (2006). The boys traveled from country to country, evading civil war and narrowly escaping death, but ended up relocated in the United States. Bringing the boys to the US offers them many opportunities, but not without a price. Some of the boys become “Americanized”, and no longer have strong ties to their Sudanese origins, nor a desire to return to help their fellow Africans. Despite the fact that some loss of culture occurs, overall, this relocation program presents amazing opportunities for refugees that otherwise would be stuck in hopeless situations without a real future to look forward to.

The Lost Boys of Sudan are a product of civil war. Although each boy has had an individual experience, a general overview of the life of a “Lost Boy” has been formulated. The Second Civil War in Sudan forced these boys out of their villages, as violence plagued the region and rebels were running wild, shooting, killing and raping at will. This group of around 20,000 boys displaced from their homes proceeded to walk for hundreds of miles, day after day, all the way to Ethiopia. During their journey, they had extremely limited water and even more limited food, and over half died along the way from disease, hunger, wild animal attacks, and more. Once they reached their destination, the refugee camp within Ethiopia’s borders became their home for around four years. Then, disaster struck, and before the boys could get comfortable, they were once again forced out of their newfound homes. The Ethiopian government went through some changes, causing rebels to “t[ake] over and expel the refugees” and frequently attack the camps. The boys set out, barefoot again, but this time to refugee camps in Kenya (see boy crossing Kenyan border below). From there, “the United States government assumed care for some of the Lost Boys”, and around 3,800 boys were relocated to various cities in the United States to escape conflict and for the chance of better opportunities than their African villages could offer.

Life for the refugees in America is vastly complicated. Upon arrival, as depicted in God Grew Tired of Us, the boys know absolutely nothing about the ways of American cities. From the moment they step off the planes, they are faced with boundaries to overcome, such as how to use an escalator and automatic doors in the airport. Mentors, sponsors and volunteers in the new city are responsible for aiding the boys in their shocking transitions. They are taken to their new apartments, and literally taught everything as if they were empty slates. There is nothing in an average American apartment that they would be familiar withusing. “They have no knowledge of technology”, and need to be told how to turn on the lights, what a shower is, how to use a toilet, what is edible in a super market⎯ everything most Americans take for granted been familiarized with and knowing how to use.

The refugees are starting life over from scratch, as if vulnerable, naïve children, who know nothing of the new world they are suddenly forced into. Not only do they have trouble with American appliances, but also the American lifestyle. Many of the refugees must work two or more jobs at all hours of the day just to support themselves, as well as send money back home to their families. In addition to work, they also attend classes at university or high school. They are awarded the luxury of having their own money, which can lead to consumerism and the boys possessing items that they would never have even known existed if they stayed back in Sudan, such as cars, Blackberry cell phones, and nice business suits. Once they do eventually feel comfortable in their environments, the desire to fit in and acculturate is strong, and they can easily get caught up in the American way. One Lost Boy, Macharia Yuot, said it best as he remarked, “when you’re here, you get so used to the lifestyle”. It is much more appealing to live comfortably than to go on suffering for something that is now so far away.

Fortunately, not all of the Lost Boys feel this way. Many are set on making a difference in the villages that they originated from, never fully being able to let their pasts slip out of their minds. Almost all have lost or dead family members to think of, and friends who they’ve left back home and hope to some day offer a better life. For these reasons, they are “doing what they can to nurture peace there [in their villages]”. Chris Garang, (pictured at right) a Lost Boy, plans to build a clinic in his home village to provide medical supplies and care to his people. Samuel Mayuol has decided to aid in the process of drilling a well in his village so that more of his friends and family will be able to have clean water. And Gabriel Deng will build a school in his village, as he believes education is crucial to healing the people and starting anew. These boys, along with several others, have graduated or are in the process of taking classes at universities in their American cities, and have formed non-profit organizations to help in fundraising and spreading awareness about issues in their native Sudan. Although a select few may become Americanized and desire to take the simpler path in forgetting their roots, most of the boys feels strong emotional ties to Africa and Sudan, and want to do all they can to ease the suffering of their families and peoples back home. They realize “they are among the fortunate ones”, and believe divine intervention has caused them to be where they are today. Hence, they do not want to waste any of the precious time they have been given with their survival.

Monday, October 22, 2007

Footsteps to Follow: President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf of Liberia

Unfortunately, it is very rare that the news or other sources highlight African leaders and countries in a positive manner. The headlines mostly read about rampant corruption, massive human rights abuses, child soldiers, and dictatorships. While all of this is invariably a big part of Africa, there is another side that is often forgotten. It is the side of progression and growth, and of the leaders who work hard to produce these overshadowed outcomes. This week, Africare, a non-profit organization dedicated to African aid, reminded the world that these people and places do exist. Its annual benefit fundraiser, the John T. Walker Memorial Dinner that was held on October 18th, is meant to “pay tribute to leaders in fields pertaining to Africa”. It not only raises funds to support Africare’s work, but also presents the “Distinguished Humanitarian Service Award” to its recipient of the year, past winners most famously including Bill Clinton, Nelson Mandela, Colin Powel, Bill and Melinda Gates, Jimmy Carter, and Desmond Tutu.

This year, a very special honoree was presented with this most revered reward, President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf of Liberia, pictured in the graphic on the right. Fondly nicknamed the “Iron Lady” due to her “iron will and determination”, Johnson-Sirleaf has resurrected Liberia out of the ashes of civil war during her term as president. She is an example for all African leaders to follow, and proof that African countries are not doomed to become failed states, but that the most vital key to overcoming this prophecy is strong, accountable governance.

Liberia has had a rough history. It has endured 2 civil wars, one from 1989 to 1996, and then again in 1997 and lasting until 2003. Notoriously corrupt leaders have plagued its past, such as Samuel Doe, who overtook the country in a bloody coup in 1980, and Charles Taylor, the blood diamond/ child soldier enthusiast who is now facing 17 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the International Criminal Court (ICC). Liberia’s resources and people have been abused and mistreated for so long, and had nowhere to turn for help, with those representing them being tainted and corrupt.

Considering the leadership she was succeeding and the state of the country she inherited, one cannot question the fact that Johnson-Sirleaf had her work cut out for her when she won the democratic election in 2005. The country’s international debt was incredibly high (4.5 billion currently, due mostly to interest accumulated by money lent to previous corrupt regimes), relations with other countries and monetary support organizations such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank in shambles, and the people’s trust in the government virtually non-existent. The wounds of years of civil war were still fresh, and peace elusive.

How has Johnson-Sirleaf overcome the stereotype of the typical power-hungry kelptocratic African president who siphons off aid money into her own pocket? To begin with, she is the first women president to be elected anywhere in Africa. This automatically sets her aside in a different category, because of the drive and strong character an achievement such as that requires. She has been quoted as saying that she hopes to bring a “’motherly sensitivity and emotion to the presidency’ as a way of healing the wounds of war”, and her supporters agree, saying “we need[ed] a woman to put things right”. But, as her nickname suggests, she is not all about emotions and sensitivity. Johnson-Sirleaf has held many financial positions in the past, including Minister of Finance of Liberia in the 1970’s, and African Director of the UN Development Program. Her political career has spanned over 30 years of involvement.

Within this time, she has also been jailed and exiled twice due to speaking out against the corrupt governments that preceded her. Her passion for the country of Liberia is indisputable, and her commitment to transparency one of her most admirable qualities. She has aggressively rooted out much of the misconduct that was so engrained in Liberia’s daily political workings. Her action has been taken to the extent of bringing government officials who violated public trust before the high court and firing many inefficient and useless officers who had previously been part of the administration. Other paramount achievements during her time in office include, but are not limited to, reforming the police and army forces, jumpstarting the economy from its previous stagnation by such actions as getting sanctions lifted off of timber and diamonds, qualifying for the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), completing a 1 year staff monitoring program with the IMF, revitalizing the education system and emphasizing its extreme importance with the creation of organizations like Liberia Education Trust Program (and an increase in numbers of female students such as the ones seen in the graphic on the left), and the list continues. Her results have been astounding, her work and effort ceaseless.

Johnson-Sirleaf has been described as a “tough negotiator” and a “strong defender of her culture” by Africare’s president, Julian Coles. First Lady Laura Bush admires her “immense courage and determination”, naming her “one of the world’s most distinguished leaders who has always been devoted to her nation”. No matter from whom the commentary originates, the world appears to be embracing this so called “Iron Lady”. She is a respectable, incredible, tenacious role model that not only African leaders can learn from but that all world leaders should aspire to emulate. Her hard-nosed policy of anti-corruption and unwillingness to see anything but success in the nation of Liberia are promising for Africa enthusiasts and scholars who are often bogged down by the depression of the current state of affairs in the continent. She offers a beacon of hope that good governance and well-functioning nations are possible in Africa with the right person leading the way, one who has proclaimed her goal in life to be “bring good governance to Liberia before I die”.

Monday, October 8, 2007

Kenya's Toxic Mountain: Suggested Action on Handling Poisonous Dump Site

This past week, Kenya’s government pledged to root out public corruption and cooperate with other nations to further this goal. Kenya has long been working to improve its international reputation and economy, and is seemingly one of the more stable African countries to date. Yet, a serious problem surfaced recently that has shocked and repulsed observers. The United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) has exposed a dumping site in the city’s capital of Nairobi, known as Dandora Municipal Dumping Site, as a mountain of death that is currently poisoning children and adults alike (one apartment dangerously close to the dump shown in graphic to the left). Thousands of people not only make a living off of the dump rummaging through piles of waste for hours, but also live directly next to or surrounding this hazardous mound. Though the situation is egregiously in need of investigation and correction, it may not be as overwhelming an undertaking as it initially seems. While it is true that this dump provides income for many families, solutions exist through which environmental hazards could be limited without losing sight of the people’s economic needs.

The Dandora site’s waste comes from all over Nairobi, bringing in 2,000 tons of waste a day and making it one of the biggest in Africa. This garbage is composed of industrial waste such as unused chemicals and raw material, agricultural waste including pesticides and Persistent Organic Pollutants (POP’s, including DDT and PCB’s), and hospital waste consisting of old containers, biological waste, and even used syringes. Exposure to these elements has yielded horrific effects on the one million people living in the three slum settlements that encircle the dump. The UNEP conducted a study of the site, and uncovered what could only be described as devastating results. Of 328 children tested, ages 2-18, half were found to have lead concentrations far surpassing the international standard for what is deemed “safe.” Half were also found to have chronic bronchitis and asthma due to the exposure to the pollutants and low hemoglobin levels, while 30% were anemic. High levels of heavy metals were discovered in soil sample analyses, including mercury, lead, and cadmium, which can all damage internal organs and also cause cancer when in contact with the human body. , Other possible effects include skin disorders, eye infections, respiratory and gastrointestinal abnormalities, blood disorders, nervous and muscular system impairments, and even heightened possibilities of contracting malaria, hepatitis, and HIV/AIDS.

Achim Steiner, the UNEP Executive Director, explains that not only are the people inhaling and absorbing toxins through the “routine waste burnings and methane fires,” but since the Nairobi River runs right beside the dump, these poisons are leeching directly into the main water supply. Waste of all kinds ends up in the river that “many people use to bathe and to wash clothes,” and that farmers also use to irrigate crops further downstream, thus polluting and intoxicating the water supply for miles beyond Dandora alone.

Despite all of this, the people of Dandora depend heavily upon the dump. It acts as a source of income for many families living nearby, including “slum dwellers and [the] homeless.” Large numbers of children flock to the dump foraging for any valuable items they can possibly sell (see graphic at right). Sixteen year-old Rorechi Achieng collects plastic bags from the dump, washes them in the polluted river with soap left over on discarded wrappers, and sells the “clean” bags to make a living. Over an 18-month period, she has developed a chronic cough she cannot shake. Willis Ochieng, ten years old, has been coming to the dump with friends since he was eight. They collect plastic bags too, or anything metal they will be able to cash in. According to the Reuters article “Vast African Dump Poisons Children,” while the reporter speaks with Ochieng, “his friends [sit] nearby sucking on dirty plastic bottles of noxious yellow glue,” and rats scurry around his feet in search of tasty morsels. Ochieng also explains that he wants to go to school very badly, but he needs to keep collecting trash so that he can help his mother put food on the table. Without the income generated by the dump, many families would be lost and unable to eat or buy other necessities for daily life.

Monetary value aside, the dump cannot remain as is, poisoning thousands of children. Solutions exist that would balance refocusing the economic dependence with safer living conditions. The UNEP has triggered much interest through its report on the issue, and has also committed 200,000 EUR (roughly $283,000 USD) to helping improve waste management in cooperation with local and national authorities in Kenya. International donors must be called to action as well. Currently, waste dumping is “unrestricted and unmanaged,” but with the support of the UNEP and other organizations like it, correctional efforts will be more successful than if Kenya did not have aid from outside sources.

Many agree “the authorities need to clean up the site and deal with the health problems of the nearby residents” and “give these people a chance to live longer.” The people of Dandora, along with numerous others, want to see the dump closed and relocated to a non-residential area, while revamping the entire waste management system en route. It would devastate the people to take away their source of income without proper compensation. But this recompense could be achieved if the government created new, safer jobs for the people who previously depended upon the hazardous dump to make money. In the creation of a controlled and well-managed waste-processing facility, jobs would not only be safer, but would also offer long-term sustainable working conditions that do not depend on what the affluent decide to throw away that day. If there were better education on the processing of hazardous waste materials, and thus better treatment of the toxins and medical waste before it got to the dumpsite, exposure to health hazards such as the one seen to the left with kids playing in polluted river, could be avoided.

The one obstacle Kenyan officials offered is that “Nairobi doesn't have the money to manage the waste now but [hopes that] funds will be available by next year from international donors and Kenya's government.” This statement is commendable, with the government realizing this problem merits attention, and that Kenya cannot tackle it alone. This is why action from the international community is so vital. The Kenyan government, instead of ignoring the issue due to its complexities, is admitting that it does not possess the resources to properly handle the situation and is reaching out for a solution. This conveys great accountability and transparency on the administration’s behalf, and should be reason to praise and reward Kenya with its required assistance. Utilizing aid from outside donors, alongside continued government responsibility, it is possible for this problem to become manageable sooner rather than later.

Monday, October 1, 2007

Don't Cross the Picket Line: Analysis of 2 Labor Forces on Strike in Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe: a country once considered the “breadbasket of Africa” with endless resources. But what happened to all the bread? It has literally disappeared from the country. Recent disappointing grain harvests have snatched bread off the shelves of Zimbabwe’s markets, along with many other basic items. The country has become starving for food and begging for regime change. President Robert Mugabe (pictured in the graphic to the left) has ruled the country with an iron fist since its independence from Britain in 1980, and at 83 years old, caused more destruction than he cares to admit. Due in part to the deteriorating conditions of the country, two critical labor forces, teachers and doctors and nurses, have gone on strike in the past week, leaving the numerous Zimbabweans they serve defeated and perplexed. While the government should consider the demands of the strikers and realize the impact the absence of these crucial workers will have on an increasingly fragile country, it is highly likely that it will continue to underestimate the potential of the situation as a serious threat.

The doctors and nurses of Zimbabwe were the first to go on strike last week, followed shortly by teachers and university employees, both academic and non-academic. All parties have been on a “go-slow” this past week, where they gradually ease into outright refusal to show up for work. This is because of the government severely underpaying both doctors and nurses. Teachers also suffer due to poor wages, but add “appalling working conditions” to their list of grievances. The two union groups organizing the strike are the Zimbabwe Teacher’s Association (ZIMTA), and Progressive Teacher’s Union of Zimbabwe (PTUZ). They insist upon not returning to work until the government agrees to raise their basic pay, allocating the government a week to act. University employees are also asking for more money, both lecturers and non-academic staff. Most appallingly, the poverty datum line (PDL) has recently been set at Z$12 million per month in September, and current nursing and teaching salaries are grossly below this, while doctors are just barely within reach.

The abandon of the public service sector by its most important employers should appropriate the utmost attention of the government. First, many doctors and teachers are simply abandoning the country to look for better work in neighboring countries, “flee[ing] the economic crisis that has driven other professionals to foreign lands”. There is already a vacancy level of over 65% in lecturer positions in universities across the country, and it only aims to worsen, especially if the government does not heed warnings. If all the teachers and doctors decide to leave, no one will be left to educate the youth and take care of the sick, leaving the remaining population of Zimbabwe extremely vulnerable. This nightmare has already become a partial reality, in seeing kids wandering aimlessly through city streets in uniform during school hours, and many patients being abandoned in hospitals and left to die. Perhaps a most notable story is that of a famous guitarist who was hospitalized, but “because the doctors and nurses are on a go slow, no one was able to tend to him”, and he died on Wednesday night after being found collapsed and unconscious in the streets of Harare.

Second, living conditions on the whole in Zimbabwe have risen to a crisis level. There is a vast shortage of food, including staples such as bread and gasoline. Chronic power outages caused by shortages of coal and equipment plague the country, sweeping over vast distances several times daily. Not to mention the inflation rate is the world’s highest, currently at a whopping 6,600%, while 80% of adults are unemployed. Unfortunately, disaster is nearly upon this frail country. The World Food Program and UN Food and Agriculture Organization both agree on the dismal fact that by early next year, 1/3 of Zimbabwe’s population will need emergency food aid. In a country on such a downhill slope, the abandon of all civil servants and the educated populace serves as a near death sentence. Without these laborers who work to make people’s lives better by curing the sick or educating the new generations, there is no hope for Zimbabwe. When all the educated, professional peoples are gone, what will be left?

Despite such factors, the government is likely to remain unfazed. These same sectors have gone on strike before, and in the case of the doctors, they reached a settlement months ago. They were told new vehicles were part of the settlement, but have yet to see the government honor any of its promises. In the case of the teachers, they have engaged in talks regarding salary adjustments with the government before, only for the government to continue “refus[ing] to award teachers salaries pegged to the poverty datum line as the teachers demanded”. Both sides have fought this battle already, but have come out defeated in every turn, succumbing to false promises or alleged “intimidation practices” utilized by the government, such as text-message death threats and “uninvited guests” showing up to union member’s doors.

In addition, Mugabe is unaffected by the suffering of his people, because he has mismanaged the economy for 27 years to benefit himself and his closest cronies. He sits full and content while his people are greeted with empty shelves upon entering grocery and basic supply stores, as seen in the graphic to the right. The refugee situation where professionals are leaving the country by the thousands also works out to Mugabe’s benefit. He has a close friendly relationship with South African president Thabo Mbeki, whose country is the destination of many distraught Zimbabweans. But these doctors, engineers, agriculture specialists, and teachers are “just the kind of people who are needed by South Africa's growing economy”, and are welcomed into the country with open arms instead of as perceived burden. As for Mugabe, he remains un-pressured by his buddy Mbeki to reform his dying country, and even in the fleeing of professional workers, gets rid of those who oppose him and reaps the benefits of them sending money, meant to help support family left behind, right back into the corrupt country.

Hopefully, this time will be different. Maybe the teachers and doctors will hold their ground, and make it known that the government cannot sway them from their ultimate goal, no matter what. And perhaps this would catalyst into an entire social movement for change. Regrettably though, as of right now, history and circumstance does not bode well for this direction.
 
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