Every 3.6 seconds a person dies of starvation. Starvation in Africa is known as one of the most frequent means of suffering. It causes death and terrible, crippling malnutrition. This is one of the problems that are recognized internationally, as it is now becoming "most serious humanitarian crisis taking place in the world today." In the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) the starvation catastrophe after independence was just beginning, and continues till present-day. One-third of the DRC’s 50 million population is said to be vulnerable to starvation. Most of this crisis is due to the disastrous wars between the government and rebellious political parties. It is possible that the roots of this hostility could be related to the colonization of the DRC (back then, Zaire) as their colonist, Belgium, treated them with brutal force and led them with direct rule. In Ghana, starvation is also quite a large problem, although not as large. Some areas of Ghana obtain food freely, while others are starving greatly. Most of Ghana’s young population usually attends school without breakfast, and many never receive meals throughout the entire day. The lacks of supplies in Ghana are because of the many droughts, which do not seem to connect with Ghana’s previous British, somewhat lenient indirect rule.
In Africa, time is said to be slower than in other parts of the world. This is referring to the slow development stages in the continent. A large aspect that “slows time” in Africa is its lack of communication services and infrastructure. In the Democratic Republic of Congo, there are only seven phones per one thousand people, most of which are used for governmental purposes. Things are, however, improving for the DRC, as they are modernizing their telecommunication infrastructure. The country is upgrading from local digital telephone centers to international and urban communication means, and many cellular companies are being established in urban areas. There is actually no internet connection in Congo, but businesses and corporations tend to have their own private networks for their own advantage. Postal services in the country are inefficient and most of the DRC’s population cannot afford it, while resources such as water and electricity are of shortage. Even though radio and television programs are distributed throughout the country, they are mostly owned by Europeans or Americans. The infrastructural aspect of Congo is no better. The northern access route to the city has been barricaded by lava, and only 1,242 of the 12,800 roads in the DRC are paved. Ghana’s communication and infrastructure is marginally better than Congo’s. There are currently six mobile phone companies in Ghana, each doing rather well, and telephone lines are constantly being upgraded. However, like all African countries Ghana usually focuses on urban areas, which statistically results in only 2.9 telephone lines per 100 persons. Internet is accessible in Ghana, but once again, rural areas are neglected. Roads in Ghana are fairly decent. Of 39,409km of roads, at least 11,653km are paved, which are very high statistics in comparison to the DRC. This aspect, Communication and Infrastructural means in Africa’s countries may somewhat be related to their colonization. In these terms, though, colonization would have benefited these countries rather than caused them problems, as the colonists are the ones who actually began to build communication and infrastructure in the nations. Would one truly blame the colonists for the lack of communication or infrastructure in these countries?
STDs (Sexually Transmitted Diseases) are one of the world’s worst problems, affecting billions all over the earth. The most threatening and most common (unfortunately) disease of these, is HIV, otherwise known as AIDS. Africa is one of humanity’s worst continents that are involved with this epidemic. In Congo, it is no different. Life expectancy has dropped 9 percent during the 1990s due to AIDS, and nearly 1 million Congolese are living with the disease. The circumstances are so awful, that approximately 410,000 children have become orphans because of AIDS. Because the knowledge and education level in Congo is so low (literacy rate: only 51%), children and adults are unaware of the disease and its effects and thus do not take precautions. Ghana’s statistics are an improvement. 340,000 Ghanaians are living with HIV, and about 170, 000 children have become orphans since the epidemic. The literacy rate in Ghana is 75%, which shows that the higher the level of education, the lesser the transmitting of the diseases. Organizations in Ghana are making tremendous effort to try and educate pupils and children about HIV in hope that Ghana’s HIV rate would decrease considerably. If this problem did not exist in the first place, life expectancy would soar; how did HIV ever crawl its way into the ‘Third World’ continent of Africa?
A very well known theory about African Governments and forces in general is that they are corrupt. This is one of the reasons that African development seems to be so slow. Although this problem is improving, the scars and wounds will take long to merely fade away. The DRC suffers from theft, where administrators themselves purloin country resources such as gold, diamonds, and timber and sell them internationally for their own personal purposes. The UN, who has been on this case for quite some time now, is close to unraveling the means of exploitation by the DRC’s government officials. Because the bureaucrats themselves are well-off, development measures for the country are being disregarded. Corruption is not so much an issue in Ghana at present, as successive Ghanaian governments have been endeavoring to fight it. However, shortly after its independence, the political party that ruled the country (led by Kwame Nkrumah) strived through corruption. Although this was not clear at first because Nkrumah was portrayed as heroic, it soon became apparent, and was combated successfully. Ghana is now seen as being one of the top 100 countries of the world that are least corrupt. Corruption in general may be influenced by the level of thinking at which their previous colonists’ did. However, breaking free of the situation is harder than getting into it and that also plays a part with how they were “raised” as a country.
Africa’s never ending problems once again arises the question of the continents wisdom. However, there are many analyzing aspects that must be taken into consideration when wondering and answering this complicated question. Ghana and Congo were clearly colonized by different countries, each with their own method of rule. After their independence, they suffered the same problems, but to different extents. Thus, the thesis is returned: How much of these problems can be blamed on colonists, and has the method of rule affected the level of these problems in any way? Congo obviously had a rough colonization, with direct rule and cruel force. The starvation of its people is due to the many civil wars within the country, which can most definitely be blamed on Belgium, its colonist because they inclined the DRC’s people to resort to utmost violence in difficult situations. Its infrastructure and communication level is low, but it does not relate to the colonist, as Belgium actually developed such positive features in the country. The DRC’s HIV quantity is soaring (alongside having a low literacy rate). This can most definitely be linked to colonism since Belgian settlers took advantage of the Congolese and transmitted these diseases (while the literacy rate depends on how much education Belgians gave the Congolese). Last but not least, the corruption of the country is horribly wrong; this is also influenced by the colonists because the Belgians (judging by their harshness) lacked morals and ethics.
With Ghana, things were slightly different. They were colonized by the British, who ruled them indirectly with not as much force. In Ghana the starvation is due to drought which cannot be blamed on the colonists and the infrastructure and communication level is higher but still problematic. The HIV measures are not as much (though still appalling) and are being acted upon (while the literacy is higher as well). This can obviously be blamed on the British as they were the ones to introduce diseases into the country. Finally, corruption rate is much less and is being wiped out much more actively, which may have been influenced by the British force as well. Although things were and are very different in the two countries, one can see that their problems were at different levels. The DRC, ruled one way, has had more challenging problems than Ghana, which was ruled another way. Which was the better form of rule? Did the government of colonists affect the extent of how much these problems can be attributed to colonization?
When the colonies had taken over Africa, the countries were just like new-born babies: unaware, uneducated, and helpless. As the several decades of colonization passed, the countries were molded into the way the colonies had raised them. When Africa’s countries were at that stage where they needed nationalization, they were like rebellious teenagers trying to gain independence. Now, with struggles and constant improvements, they are experiencing adulthood. The countries together, with all their aid and growth, are developing wisdom. Wisdom that may seem nonexistent sometimes, but nonetheless still there. Africa is still young, and has much progress to undergo for it to reach the stage of other continents, for it was “born late”.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
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Mpassy, Armanda. Communications, Networks, Opportunities for the Congo. [Online] Available , 2/02/04
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the Congo: Past and Present. [Online] Available: , 5/02/04
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Chang, Andrew. The Open Palm. [Online] Available , 2 /01/04.
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Education and Nutrition in Ghana [Online] Available , 4/01/04.
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Reynolds, Edward. Focus on Africa. Book Production Systems, Inc. Canada, 1994.
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BBC News. World:Africa Kinshana ‘Four Days from Starvation’. [Online] Available , 3/01/04.