There has never been a time in History when all has been great about Africa. Like every other continent Africa is a vast land with many contradictions. When the land itself is broken down it exposes the many distinctions apparent and the inequalities that come with such divisions. Nothing encapsulates this scenario more than the reaction by Africans of the complex situation that is Libya.
Feelings of disappointment, anger, sympathy, pity, resolve, and shame have been extended towards the people of Libya, the rebels, the soldiers, Gadaffi, his inner circle and the mercenaries fighting on both sides.
The African Union has epitomized all what is wrong about African Affairs by firstly towing the line of the International community that rattled its sabers at a government they had since 197 been attempting to overthrow and later attempting to be the statesmen that Africa requires by calling on a limit in the scope of the actions of the International Community and even attempting to open a dialogue between both sides. In all this, the image of an impotent AU with feelings of inferiority in the International arena became more pronounced.
The Arab League, never the favorite uncle in this uneasy African familial dynamic has stuck to what it knows best, protecting the more established Arab States. As it advocates the destruction of lives and property in Libya it sends troops to quell the same protests in Bahrain. As it colludes with the Western Nations to assassinate people with no military backgrounds in Libya, it turns a blind eye to the mass murder of protesting civilians in Syria.
And then the Western Governments. United States, The UK and their allies. Whose policy of Justice begins next door never is as surprising as the righteous indignation they display when trying to use the same measures they rile against to takeover governments in foreign nations, subverting the wills of those citizens forgetting that the ills that sicken their very societies are oftentimes far worse than the perceived blight they attempt to cure the world of. Their passion ignorantly tearing apart the world one brick of idealism at a time. Meanwhile, all this hypocrisy is noted by the most recognized sleeper agent in history, The African Youth in the Diaspora.
He hasn’t gone as far as to support the view of Osama Bin Laden who in his first public address stated "The U.S. today, as a result of the arrogant atmosphere, has set a double standard, calling whoever goes against its injustice a terrorist," In fact the African youth in the Diaspora just observes international events and files them to that section of the mind that contains all things not in pursuit of individual development. In that section are the information on facts like the number of blacks in jail for civil era offences, the racial tensions prevalent in the entertainment, political and social industries in the West, the sexism that every now and then comes to the forefront of society’s conscience and the inequality that is shared between both societies. He has observed the warmongering apparent in the West through their unending invasions of independent territories, attempted assassination of foreign heads of state and political figures who do not support their policies and the constant affairs to influence the political landscape of independent nations by supporting seemingly friendly dictators and infusing cash into the election campaigns of Western educated and western leaning candidates. "It wants to occupy our countries, steal our resources, impose on us agents to rule us.", was how Osama phrased it. The African youth sees it as a protection of the Interests of the Western governments at whatever costs to the developing countries.
The African youth witnessed and recorded how the conflict in Libya was handled in contrast to the ones in Bahrain and Syria, Witnessed the Unabashed haughtiness that emerged from speeches praising the designation of a Head of State as a target of assassination by other foreign nations. Witnessed the apathy of the United Nations, Witnessed Russia and China as the calming voices in the invasion of Africa and before this, the African Youth had witnessed the placations offered to that very same regime, the trade deals brokered and publicized between the Libyan government and the British government and its subsidiaries.
In Silence the African Youth continues to live his legacy, that of the freedom from slavery. Because you see, the difference between that era and this one is readily apparent. During slavery, the white master lived in his opulent house on one side of the plantation. He had one set of slaves working on the plantations and another set working in his house. He had his choice of leaders who would transmit his orders to the slaves. He would go to the slave quarters but only to take a sex object, to discipline those slaves who had got out of line, or to choose which of the slaves he could dispense with. Now for the plantation, picture the planet. The West separated from the rest who only turn to the rest of the world to pillage its resources, instill her own brand of morality or punish those who dare go against them. All the while attempting to choose the best candidates to govern the rest in a manner that is in the best interest of the west. Hooray to the end of slavery, welcome to the age of humanitarian democracy. An age where the most confused are the Western born African Children, for just like the bastards of slave owners and slaves, they had no say in this issue. They continue to enjoy the worst of both worlds. Not fully accepted into either community.
All this the African youth in the Diaspora observes. But that is not all. He also observes the good that the West promises, the good that in the first place attracted him to her. The good that makes him want to fight for her, die for her, because she is after all his country now. She has the opportunities for advancement he wishes he had had growing up and he wishes his kids will one day have. It is the epitome of what he wants his country to be. A blueprint that guides his own developmental path.
So he professes his love for his adopted land, fully meaning it, while the ember of love for his motherland lies undying in his deepest heart. Eternally fueled with the belief that one day the major powers will grow tired of continually putting the little people in their place, one day they will fall asleep on that wheel of imperialism, fall asleep and wake up to an African independence from slavery, and every semblance of servitude. An Africa that lives on the idea that it is good to be best, but even better to be best loved.
God bless the USA, God Save the Queen and may God damn all those committed to the destruction of innocent lives in their quest to globally propagate their form of morality.
