Page 95 - A People Called Afrika

NeoColonization

Such as, knowing that the said colonizing country is located
in grid 321 on a map and is ruled by so-and-so and has such
and such historical timeline and experiences. Such as, know-
ing that countries other than the one it was colonized by, also
colonized countries within Afrika and that they all came to
Afrika for a reason, remained for a reason and did not really
leave. Such as, knowing that prior to colonization, Afrika and
Afrikans were moving along, doing something else and that
they had existing social structures for governance, farming,
health, social relations, justice, commerce etc. Such as, know-
ing that life and its structures and rules appeared to change
once colonizers removed their strangleholds and certain oth-
ers remained or were retained for one reason or another.

So, really just a simple, basic awareness of their lo-
cal and global context, and its rules of engagement.

One might also expect that this sixty-year-old (or so) coun-
try and continent might have practiced the management of its
own affairs for six decades, learning and improving and creat-
ing solutions that make sense for its people. That its people
would be thriving, creating bold new realities to share with the
global environment and would be transacting on equal footing
with the rest of the world. That it would not secretly or overt-
ly be having its policies influenced and manipulated by other
countries or international bodies. You know, just the basics.

So, when instead you see a sixty-year-old going from door
to door (i.e. country to country), knocking and asking for a
cup of sugar when he has sugar cane growing in his backyard
or begging for USD 100 to buy food, when he has plenty of
rich and fertile soil or convincing his neighbor to come by

70