Are We Really “Saving” Africa?
Featured, Social Justice — By Penny Carothers on September 21, 2009 at 12:10 am
Some attempts at justice are better than others.
Bono stood on the stadium’s stage, a briefcase in his hand.
This is what I remember he said, “In a few hours I will be taking this briefcase to Gleneagles Hotel, and turning it over to the leaders of the countries you represent. Inside they will find over a million signatures demanding they do the right thing for the stupid poverty that is killing our Africans brothers and sisters!”
A cheer ran through the crowd as he hoisted the black case above his head. I looked around at the ONE campaign delegation from the US. We were at the most important foreign policy summit held that year, and we were there to demand the leaders of the free world attend to the needs of the poorest among us, those living in poverty in the developing world. I was elated; finally, I was acting on my convictions instead of talking about them. Among a crowd of thousands, there were 150 of us from the US, and I knew from conversations we felt honored to be here. And important. Sir Richard Branson had flown us from London to Edinburgh, Scotland. Bob Geldof had spoken to us in the airport. Natalie Imbruglia met us at the tarmac, and George Clooney spoke to us from the nave of a converted stone cathedral. Most exciting of all, our world leaders, the Group of Eight listened, and they came through. 1 I felt so honored to be a part of a historic event that made a difference in the lives of millions (and possibly billions) of people.
And yet, even though the ONE campaign has done a great deal of good, I often wonder about the impact of these campaigns on those involved like myself, 2 and how they fit into Jesus’ call to care for the least among us. I know in my own life these grand gestures have often taken the place of developing relationships with people in my own neighborhood or city, for they keep me so busy working on behalf of those half a world away. And even, most invisible of all, it can hide a self-righteousness in righteous clothing, as it often did for me. For all these reasons I’ve been wondering what role NGOs, campaigns like this one, and even missionaries and direct Christian charity have to play in “developing Africa” and other regions. I wonder how we should respond when we hear about famine in northeast Africa, conflict in the Sudan, and genocide in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
We know the answer is not simple. Foreign policy, development aid, and conflict resolution are complicated issues even to those who spend their lives studying and implementing solutions on the ground. Well-trained, knowledgeable scholars and writers like Dambisa Moyo, William Easterly, and Jeffrey Sachs develop strikingly dissimilar conclusions on how we should end the “stupid poverty” stealing the futures of so many. One similarity emerges, though, in all of these campaigns and opinions: We must make Africa a partner in its own development.
The problem is, Western governments do not like to make Africa an equal partner.
And neither, I’m afraid, do we.
—
- The G8 agreed to double aid for Africa by 2010 to $50 billion per year. They agreed that the debts of the eligible heavily indebted poor countries should be cancelled. (Called the HIPC program, it’s administered through the World Bank, and requires that eligible countries meet certain goals and standards.) The G8 also agreed to stimulate growth by improving the investment climate and making trade work for Africa by helping to build capacity and mobilize investment for business development (see this article and one.org for more info). ↩
- Four years after I participated in that historic event to “make poverty history,” many countries (the US included) are abiding by their commitments to assist Africa and other developing countries. But the G8 as a whole is floundering. Most egregiously, the West is not living by its commitment to make trade work for Africa. The worldwide recession has exacerbated the problem, making protectionism the status quo. As Bob Geldof states, despite an increase in exports, Africa accounts for only 3.5% of global trade, which is the lowest share of any region in the world. Economic growth does not occur without trade. Africa as a whole will not cease to be poor until we trade on equal terms. ↩
16 Comments
Penny,
I think this may be the most important and provocative article the Writers Collective has ever published. Thank you for your hard work. Thank you also for the article’s integrity, fairness, and generosity.
Agreed. Burnside is proud to finally run this.
Wow. That was well written, and very thought provoking. Thanks for your honesty, Penny. I really appreciated that (it’s hard to say I enjoyed it…)
Wow- that was really informative and very well-researched. I’m glad you wrote it; it does make me think a little harder about the best ways to effect change in developing countries. One of my (very wise) college professors said that our tendency as people was to simplify stories and conflict and life in general, and that he was working to ‘muddy the waters,’ so to speak, to bring out the complexities involved in various (environmental) issues. I think he would really appreciate your article, because it does bring up some of the complexities that people prefer to distill down in ways that are harmful. Good job
(I’ll be sure to e-mail it to my prof!)
Good. Thank you.
As one who has been to Africa several times, and who has family there doing “mission work” (are we not all missionaries in our work?!), I appreciate this piece.
And I just have to agree: Yes.
Thought-provoking, knowledgeable, and full of insight-the girl has done it again! Nice job Penny. Your hard work is apparent in every line. I am so proud to see you pursuing your passion. “America’s solution to Uganda’s problem” is only made more obtuse by your use of specific campaign and lobbying examples-really drives the message home. Well done!
Penny,
First, you have single-handedly elevated Burnside Writers Collective to a status comparable to a serious, credible publication. I’m no longer sure if we will ever be able to see stories about basketball or beer here without thinking, “what happened to BW; they were once writing on the cutting edge of social justice issues?”. I may never have another piece published here for lack of meeting the new quality standard you’ve provided with this article!
Second, you’ve touched on a point I’ve been thinking about for some time. What is our responsibility in Africa when in fact we can’t seem to get Americans to even reach out to our suffering neighbors, literally next door or sleeping in the parking garage where we work. In preparing a sermon on James 1:27 last week, I realized that there was no way I would see success in getting people to answer a call to action when that would require them to think about distant Africa. Instead, I worked very hard to get them, maybe for the first time, to take a much small step. I called them to help our “orphans and widows” in our neighborhoods. It is my hope and prayer that after people have a life-transformation with efforts locally (and invite others to do the same), there will be an army of folks whose hearts are so prepared to help others in the name of Jesus, that we will no longer have to look to secular NGOs, but instead see millions of transformed Christians ready to serve, bless, and help the world (whether from the US, Africa, or anywhere).
Whoa, whoa…let’s not get too hasty here about cutting out all the beer/basketball articles.
Which gives me an idea for an article about beer AND basketball.
Thanks guys. I really appreciate your words.
I also want to thank Invisible Children, and specifically Erica D’Alessandro, for her willingness to spend the time engaging with someone who was questioning her organization. She spent a lot of time developing lengthy and thoroughly responses to my questions and critiques. She is the main reason this article actually has a hope of being accurate and fair. (And I hope she and IC feels that it is – if not, I’d love to hear why.)
Thanks again everyone for taking the time to read 4,000 words about this topic!
Penny, your piece is amazingly well researched and well written. Thanks for not only pointing out problems, but also for offering candid and practical thoughts on how to better approach these issues.
Penny writes “What does it mean to serve, to pursue social justice in Jesus’ name, to lay down one’s life, to care for the least among us? The answers to problems like world hunger, family homelessness, AIDS orphans, and child soldiers are incredibly complex – but our response can be very simple.”
Yes, that is precisely what I love about the Jesus of the New Testament – he acts, and calls us to act – simply, directly and faithfully.
And yes, our lives, interactions and the consequences of our actions are incredibly complex. For example, who among us does not have a cell phone? A key component of every cell phone is coltan. Every ounce of coltan, that we use every day, has been smuggled out of the Congo. And every dollar, spent on behalf of our cell phone usage has gone to a variety of terrorists, kidnappers, murderers and rapists. (according to Wikipedia, about 5.5 million people have died in the wars in the Congo since 1998).
So I circle back to the nearly eternal question “What would Jesus do?
Would Jesus use – or not use – a cell phone? Would Jesus refuse to wear clothing made in Asian or African sweatshops?
And of course, what would Jesus expect each of us to do?
I firmly do not believe that Jesus would want us to live under a cloud of guilt. In fact, quite the opposite, Jesus calls us to be agents of fully orbed liberation.
Some of us will do that as individuals, some will work with large scale organizations. And I am convinced that it is not the celebrities or the petitions that will manifest the kingdom of God on earth; it will be each transformed life. And yes, it begins with each one of us.
And yes, the harvest, and the need is great; beyond measure in fact, but the New Testament is the blueprint for how a small group with a vision can transform the world.
Consider those few individuals who have refused to leave the world as it was – from St. Francis, to Mother Teresa to M. Ghandi. There is nothing stopping us from initiating our own faith in action – except our own inertia.
The ultimate deception is that we can’t do anything.
Our small individual steps are the best we can do – and they truly are the best we can do.
Excellent article.
In thinking about the debate over whether to encourage taking out Joseph Kony by any means necessary, or to advocate for the non-violent solution of peace talks, it occurs to me that there is a third option: praying that Jesus would personally visit Joseph Kony.
It’s completely impractical and maybe even impossible, but it’s happened before. A man named Saul used to murder Christians. Until he met Jesus.
Penny,
I really appreciated this article. IC played a big role in motivating me to spend a semester in Uganda last year. I did so through my school and ended up at Uganda Christian University in Mukono. It did a lot to challenge my western savior complex. Your article deftly navigates a sticky issue. I’ve been invited to work with the IC chapter on campus and I’ve struggled to respond in a nuanced way (that is, balancing my inner Sachs and Easterly).
All this is to say – it is good to know that there are people like you working to elevate the conversation and push past the damaging stereotypes of all things African. There is so much more to East Africa than the war and poverty – or smiling children and grateful recipients of aid.
I also have to point out your comments on trade in the beginning of your article to say that it is SO REFRESHING to hear someone (outside of academia) portray free trade as part of the solution to poverty, rather than the source of all evil. Clearly the issue is more complicated, but I’d love to see an article or two on farm subsidies for readers without an economics background.
Keep up the good work! I look forward to reading your next piece and
Cheers,
Jonathan