Why Africa is poor and backward?
Why Africa is poor and backward?
Africa the commonly called dark continent is in fact prey to the wealth hungry nations. It consists of more than one billion people. It covers the Area of 30,221,532 km2 or 11,668,598.7 sq mi of the earth. The most coups and presidential assassinations are recorded in Africa. There were almost 70 coups and 13 assassinations from 1960 to 1989. The situation in Africa is volatile due to the colonial policies and the people who became leaders under that system with the help of the imperialists.
The racial groups were pushed to the walls for political gains. The local leaders bluster ethnic conflicts that were aggravated, or created by colonial rule. The so called civilized world firstly made the people slave and when it stopped it run on them to enslave the whole nations by colonialism. Belgium, Germany, Spain, France, Great Britain, Italy and Portugal were the colonial powers who occupied the African states. Only two states were there in Africa which were independent, they were Ethiopia and Liberia. Libya got its independence from Italy in 1951 and afterwards most of the states became independent due to freedom struggle and weakness of the occupiers. Zimbabwe was the last who got independence from white man in 1980. South Africa was independent but ruled by the racial segregation system named apartheid and got rid of this system in 1994 under the leadership of Nelson Mandela. Cold War and wrong policies of (IMF) International Monetary Fund played a major role in this volatility. Hunger is due to perennial war like situation. Many African countries have devastated their own public in the name of racial hegemony. The cruellest example of the times is the Congo war of 1980 which killed 5.4 million people. The recent human tragedy in Africa is being observed in Darfur. Along with hunger AIDS have also become a major threat to the people of the region.
The background
The name Africa is derived from the Banu Ifran a tribe residing in Algeria. It also means the people of the cave or dust. It also means birthplace and without cold. It is the oldest inhabited continent. More than thirty million African have been enslaved from 7th to 20th century via Indian and Atlantic oceans.
There are 54 Countries in this continent including Madagascar, some island groups, and the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, a disputed territory by Morocco. It is the second largest in area and second most populated continent after Asia. It covers the 6% of earth surface and 20.4% of land area. 15 % of the world population resides in the continent in 61 territories. Mediterranean Sea surrounds it in the north. Suez Canal and red sea are in the north East Indian Ocean to the south east of the continent and Atlantic Ocean lies in the west. It is considered the birth place of human beings. The earliest human reside in Ethiopia which are said to found 200000 years ago. It is rich in climate varieties as equator also passes through it. In the north is Tunisia and in the south is Cape Agulhas in South Africa. In the West Africa begins from Cape Verde and ends at Ras Hafun in Somalia. It has 26000km long coastline. Sudan is the largest country of Africa and the Seychelles, which is an archipelago, is the smallest state. The Gambia has the smallest population in Africa. According to the United Nations' Human Development Reports the bottom 25 ranked nations from 151 to 175 are all African. People are prey to Poverty, illiteracy, malnutrition and shortage of water. There are not facilities that can be called as sanitation. Universal poor health is few steps away from Africans and that is due to some Arab countries.
More than 80 percent population is living below poverty line. The poverty has increased in the region instead of decreasing. The average poor person in sub-Saharan Africa is to live on only 70 cents per day.
Causes of the Poverty and awkwardness
There are many reasons of this unlimited poverty. the spread of fatal diseases and viruses as those of HIV/AIDS and malaria, corrupt governments that have often committed serious human rights violations, lack of planning , illiteracy, dearth of foreign capital, and recurrent tribal and military conflict extending to genocides. Not only the Foreign governments and foreign companies are responsible for this state of affairs but also the Africans themselves. The domestic governments are the third partner in this regard. Africa could feed even export food if there are peaceful governments and the foreign hands are not letting this to be happening.
Prime cause behind the exploitative policies of foreign stake holders is the religion of the continent. According to the World Book Encyclopaedia, Islam is the largest religion in Africa. Almost 50% of the African population is Muslim followed by Christianity almost 35%. The Muslim majority is the thorn in the flesh of the west and such policies are being followed in the continent as could minimise thee Muslim population. The situation of Sudan reveals the truth. There the non Muslims are being supported by the west. The situation has reached to the point where the state is going to be divided on religious and ethnic lines.
If you cast a cursory glance at the conflicts and genocides in Africa you would wonder to know that it were Muslims who are being beheaded every where in the continent. From Somalia to Tunisia who is being incited to fight with each other? These are Muslims who are in the line of fire every where in the continent. Somalia is defamed as the pirate nation. The Sudanese are extremist and terrorists. Libyans are autocratic and Tunisians are corrupt. Egypt is under siege of rebels due to Muslim brother hood's presence. The situation in the African states which are dominantly Muslims would go worse in the near future.
It is only the Muslims and Muslims themselves who can revive this continent. They should employ their embassies to work for the normalisation of the affairs and should make the Africans to understand the urgency of the situation. Although a leader of high profile is the need of the hour but the west would not let it happen. The common people should become wise and think on the angle of religious lines. They would easily understand the matter. The example of Arabs is quite clear before them. The western democracies exploited the Arabs for their benefits and now the same western countries are against the Arabs. The western nations are not solely responsible for this situation. The Arabs depended upon the white men and their over confidence if ripening in the form of rebels and upheavals. It is the most critical time in the history of Africa. If they do not rise to the occasion they would never be able to rise again. The earlier, the better.
Africa has plentiful natural resources but did not have plentiful breads to eat. Think if the same resources were the possession of America, would it remain the poorest country on the face of earth? In spite of abundant natural resources Africa is the world's feeble and poorest continent. Golden Triangle Tour - Most Attractive Place in India The Traditional Christmas Hampers Travel Comfortably at Cheaper Prices Goa Tour Packages – Holiday Goa Packages for You Roses - Tourist Attractions Villas for rent in Cyprus await you Golden Triangle Tour - Visit Memorable Place in India India - Golden Triangle Tour Golf Swing Trainer – Improve Your Golf Swing with the Tour Striker Swing Trainer for Duffers Gucci Handbags for Spring/Summer 2010 Travel Guide to Nagala Schedule On The Beach Holidays Luxurious Merimbula Accommodation On The Beach