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How China has created a new slave empire in Africa
dailymail.co.uk — I think I am probably going to die any minute now. An inflamed, deceived mob of about 50 desperate men are crowding round the car, some trying to turn it over, others beating at it with large rocks, all yelling insults and curses. They have just started to smash the windows. Next, they will pull us out and, well, let's not think about that ...
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- SnarleyJoe, on 09/28/2008, -0/+10Another excellent article from Peter Hitchens. This man has written from inside some of the worst places in the world, and some of the most vilified (read his piece in Iran for a true insight of this spectacular place, and show the Iranians in a sane, human light.)
Having been to Zambia (30-odd years ago, at the beginning of it's latest economic decline), it really saddens me to hear how this place has been taken advantage of so shamelessly again. We British did it before, mainly for the copper, and now the Chinese are following in our footsteps.
Right now, Africa is going through a period of major upheaval, and China and Russia are at the forefront. They have both moved in en mass, and are right now carving themselves nice big chunks of resource-rich land.
We (the West) have repeatedly failed in our attempts to hand back self-governance to these places, we have repeatedly failed in our attempts to make up for the harm we caused, and we have repeatedly failed in our attempts to lift the average African out of poverty. We have basically handed Africa on a plate to China and Russia, and are standing back and watching to see if they can make as big a mess of the place as we did.
And you know what?
They can.
And will.
And the Africans will lose out on the natural wealth they should, by rights, own... again.- DCMacHead, on 09/28/2008, -0/+3I agree with you that Africa continually gets shat upon, but it seems to me that these people let it happen to them by tolerating ***** leaders and not doing anything about it.
The U.S. was once a colony that got shat upon by its leaders and the Colonists did something about it. The Colonists worked together to make the Colonies better place. Africa is a place where it's every man for himself and it doesn't appear that these people want a better way of life for themselves.
The U.S. has poured billions of dollars into it without a lot to show for it--they still hate us. You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink.- SnarleyJoe, on 09/28/2008, -1/+2I agree to a degree that they let it happen. They certainly don't do enough to stop it. However, your comparison to the colonies is way off. You forget that the colonies were made up of people from Europe. People who knew the world they wanted to be free from. People who understood the realities of where they came from. A better comparison would have been to the Native Americans at that time, or the Incas.
When the Europeans arrived in Africa, they brought with them wealth beyond the imaginings of most Africans. They brought steel and gunpowder and engines and industry. They built roads and railways and commerce and governments. They were a world apart from the natives, and took advantage of this to entrench themselves. The Africans had the advantage of numbers, but that was their only advantage. They had no means of banding together beyond a few tribes at a time, and they had no means of matching the weapons of the Europeans. Besides, there is no denying the standards of living for the people who cooperated was greatly improved. They didn't always want to fight, and this gave the 'invaders' all the time they needed.
As for your comment about the US pouring billions into Africa without a lot to show for it, I totally agree, you have, but most Africans are also without a lot to show for it. They see no change, because they got no change. Most of the funds have been, and continue to be, siphoned off by corruption and bureaucracy. The rich lining their own pockets at the expense of the poor. The elite of Africa, Europe, the US, and now China and Russia, exploiting the poorest, the most vulnerable, for monetary gain.
Human nature at it's finest. Ain't we just great?
- SnarleyJoe, on 09/28/2008, -1/+2I agree to a degree that they let it happen. They certainly don't do enough to stop it. However, your comparison to the colonies is way off. You forget that the colonies were made up of people from Europe. People who knew the world they wanted to be free from. People who understood the realities of where they came from. A better comparison would have been to the Native Americans at that time, or the Incas.
- Rich711, on 09/29/2008, -0/+2Or maybe the West is standing back and letting Africa see what a real "evil empire" looks like so when/if the west shows an interest in Africa they wont make such a mess of it again.
- DCMacHead, on 09/28/2008, -0/+3I agree with you that Africa continually gets shat upon, but it seems to me that these people let it happen to them by tolerating ***** leaders and not doing anything about it.
- rjey, on 09/28/2008, -1/+12Why no diggs on this article? Does human rights not interest diggers or are they too busy digging up dirt on McCain to care about such things?
- dicalva, on 09/28/2008, -1/+2jjey you got it! Those kind of articles are not welcome to all the mass consumerism going on in the world ... copper is needed for cellular phones which are exchanged on a rate of every 3 months ... a hell lot of people concerned ... almost everyone ...
- mattalice, on 09/28/2008, -2/+5Yea. Where are all the lefties? Since McCain or America didn't do it, it isn't news to them. They really don't care about human rights unless they can use it against their enemies........ which isn't China to them. China is what they want to be. A government that owns it's people. They admire China and wish we could do the same thing.
- brightlight4, on 09/30/2008, -1/+3Don't talk a lot of crap!!! People who vote Obama or any other left wing party does not aspire to anything like the Chinese system!!! We have a Socialist Government in Spain and live free and are even freer than the US in some respects, such as freedom of speech, press etc. so think before you open your mouth please!!! China is not a left wing country, it is a DICTATORSHIP!! Same as you in the US will have soon if you are not careful.
- USNavyBlue, on 10/01/2008, -1/+1Thank you Brighlight4 - I agree
- yellowcakewalk, on 10/24/2008, -1/+1Check my history and my website. I'm on human rights issues like white on rice.
- brightlight4, on 09/30/2008, -1/+3Don't talk a lot of crap!!! People who vote Obama or any other left wing party does not aspire to anything like the Chinese system!!! We have a Socialist Government in Spain and live free and are even freer than the US in some respects, such as freedom of speech, press etc. so think before you open your mouth please!!! China is not a left wing country, it is a DICTATORSHIP!! Same as you in the US will have soon if you are not careful.
- MrWWW, on 09/28/2008, -0/+5They are treating the Africans the same way they treat their own.
China is the only country with modern slavery still very much in effect as an important part of their economy. - anika5057, on 09/29/2008, -0/+4I pray to God this is exaggerated! But, while watching the Olympics and realizing that China was now doing business in Africa, a chilling revelation came over me: If the Chinese will practically enslave their own people to bring us cheap products, what do you think they will do to the Africans? Darfur, anyone? And, now America owes them about $500 billion!
This world is in a ***** load of trouble! Human rights seems to be on the DECLINE!- kazz67, on 09/30/2008, -0/+3And yet we continue to purchase those cheap products year in and year out. So what does that say about us? - "Culpable"? I think so.
We have a significant role to play in changing the direction that this world is taking and creating something altogether more human/humane.
Revealing the crimes against humanity committed by those in positions of power is one part of that.
Standing up against them is another.
But actually changing the way we live is probably the hardest, the boldest and the most necessary thing we can do.
- kazz67, on 09/30/2008, -0/+3And yet we continue to purchase those cheap products year in and year out. So what does that say about us? - "Culpable"? I think so.
- LoneRanger85, on 09/29/2008, -5/+8Communism is evil. When are people going to catch on to that?
- SnarleyJoe, on 09/29/2008, -2/+6*****.
That's like calling guns 'evil'.
Communism is just a tool, a concept, a conduit for humans to do what humans do best, which is ***** each other over for money/power/fame/sex/*insert vice of choice here*.
The worst you can say is that, as a system, Communism has yet to develop a working set of safeguards against basic human greed, but then, which form of government has? Democracy? Look at the US in over the last 8 years to answer that one.
Don't you think the Europeans of 200 years ago did ***** like this when they went into Africa?
How is it any worse than how the Native Americans were treated? Or the Incas? Or the Australian Aborigines? Can you blame Communism for these attrocities too?
I'm sick to the back teeth of people passing this kind of ***** off as the fault of 'Communism', or 'Islam', or any other form of *man-made* system.
This evil is the fault of Man, and Man alone, and don't you dare forget that. Don't you ***** DARE.- brightlight4, on 09/30/2008, -1/+3Good on ya Snarley, couldn't have said it better myself if I had tried!! But don't get your nickers in a twist eh!! hahahaha
- joshstone100, on 10/01/2008, -2/+1It's ok when we do it to other people who aren't our same race, religious belief or skin color.
- SnarleyJoe, on 09/29/2008, -2/+6*****.
- mediabias, on 09/29/2008, -2/+4And 0bama asks, "Why can't we be more like China?"
What a fool. - Striker101, on 09/30/2008, -1/+2This is horrid but extrania. We have more than enough to worry about right here at home in America, and if we don't tend to that by insisting on our rights, ....
- ratcatcher2, on 09/30/2008, -3/+1"Let him that is without sin, cast the first stone"
No invasions, no coups, no assassinations, no regime changes, no judgements of good or bad, no military bases, no bombing, no mass imprisonments, no rendition, no excessive deaths, no....
Yet we complain that they will not force change of regimes we rightly believe should be better. Another world policeman??? Do we learn?
So there should be more Iraqs in Africa and Asia??? Repetition of what Latin America endured? - bernk1, on 09/30/2008, -2/+3"Let him that is without sin, cast the first stone" is dusted off so as to cut off discussion of the economic colonization of Africa by the People's Republic of China. In the words of Colonel Kurtz ("Heart of Darkness" - by Joseph Conrad), "The horror. The horror."
- ratcatcher2, on 09/30/2008, -3/+3
... or may be to deflect attention away from the many many articles lately on Israel and the terrorist settlers. Do you need directions?? Surprise us and let us see if you have anything meaningful to contribute!- bernk1, on 10/01/2008, -2/+4ratcatcher2 - please explain this comment of yours. You say, "Let him that is without sin, cast the first stone" and I respond 100% on point.
Then you come back with an incomprehsible comment,"... or may be to deflect attention away from the many many articles lately on Israel and the terrorist settlers."
What in the world are you talking "... or may be to deflect attention away from the many many articles lately on Israel and the terrorist settlers." about. What is this "deflect attention" business about? I think you are flattering yourself.- factattack, on 10/01/2008, -1/+1I like the way you think. I think. : )
- bernk1, on 10/01/2008, -2/+4ratcatcher2 - please explain this comment of yours. You say, "Let him that is without sin, cast the first stone" and I respond 100% on point.
- USNavyBlue, on 10/01/2008, -0/+1This is a shame. The USA HAS to end NAFTA - it causes serious hardship for Americans through massive of unemployment and further exploits nations cheap labor such as China. In addition to de-industrializes this nation and NOW America is a nation of dependency because it. Furthermore, the industry that WAS moved to Mexico has NOW moved to China in search of even cheaper labor, on top of driving small farmers in Mexico and the USA rate out of business. And people wonder why Mexicans are desperately hopping the border? (not all of them are doing that for this reason, however it is a lot of them) Mexicans themselves will tell you: "NAFTA be the death of us all!" See the vicious cycle here? And it don't get no better.
The ill effects of NAFTA will only grow worse. Why in the heck you think Central America citizens violently protested the new free trade agreement - CAFTA because they no what's in store for them - further grinding poverty. Educate yourself and DEMAND an end to free trade agreements because they is NOTHING free about them and every nations citizens suffer, not just ours.
The only people that benefit are the same jerks that put this country into an economic bind in the first place. FYI - this is not a Republican issue or a Democrat issue either, its an American issue! BTW: Billy Clinton signed NAFTA into law - Bush, Obama, and McCain support NAFTA all the way - their agenda is the same.
As far as Africa goes, Africa will always be exploited because there African leadership is CORRUPT! Until Africans demand proper leadership this will only continue to occur. I wish them much luck in that endeavor. - CoolHandLuke70, on 10/14/2008, -0/+1Nothing new in the history of Africa. From slavery to Cecil Rhodes to more slavery, Africans have seen it all again and again. Africa is a continent with vast amounts of resources and thus the target of eugenics, genocidal wars and colonial subjugation continually. Africa needs some real leaders that will not sell their people for a rolls royce.
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