It is incumbent on African governments to take a strong stance so that Israel ceases its practice of using Africans to kill and die in Gaza.
Not only is Israel now assuming the role of the mass killer but the rest of the Western world continues to play the role assigned to them in this historical tragedia.
The political discourse emanating from West Africa, although largely inaccessible, speaks of a collective desire for a paradigm shift.
Ultimately, it took only six years for Africa to prove Netanyahu wrong, that Israel “did not return to Africa”. It is true, however, that Africa itself is returning to its anti-colonial roots.
France’s military and foreign policy shift in Africa, however, was not compelled by strategy or vision, but by changing realities over which France has little control.
However, for a reformed UN to serve a noble mission and to live up to its lofty promises, the new power distribution should allocate places for all, regardless of military power or economic might.
While it is important that we acknowledge the vast changes to the world’s geopolitical map, let us not forget that millions of people are going hungry, paying the price for a global conflict of which they are not part.
The solid support that Palestine enjoys among an influential block at the AU, in addition to the popular support the Palestinian cause continues to receive throughout Africa, indicates that, despite the mistakes of the past, Palestine remains a central issue on the continent.
The fact that we continue to struggle against the virus and its variants indicates that the traditional thinking has completely failed. For the pandemic to be finally defeated, we need to abandon the mindset of rich vs. poor and north vs. south. For the world to be saved, all of us have to be saved collectively.
While the Justice and Development Party, Ennahda and other Islamic parties have much reflection to do, we ought to remember that the future is not shaped by deterministic notions, but by dynamic processes which constantly produce new variables, thus results. This is as true in North Africa as will always prove to be true in the rest of the world.
It is not the awards that matter but what has been researched and written, and its impact on making the world a more equitable place.
Africa is also the heart of the most powerful anti-colonial trends the world has ever known. A continent of this size, complexity, and proud history cannot be written off as if a mere ‘prize’ to be won or lost by Israel and its neocolonial friends.
The story is meant to end here, but it will not – as long as Mali is exploited by outsiders, as long as poverty and inequality will continue to exist, leading to insurrections, rebellions and military coups.
By Ramzy Baroud Arab normalization with Israel is expected to have serious consequences that go well beyond the limited and self-serving agendas of a few Arab countries. Thanks to the Arab normalizers, the doors are now flung wide open for new political actors to extend or cement ties with Israel at the expense of Palestine, […]
Lebanon should be aware that its current tragedy is the perfect opportunity for its former colonial masters to stage a comeback, which would hardly save Lebanon and her people from their persisting calamity
By Ramzy Baroud It was a scandal of the highest caliber. On November 23, the senate of the University of Cape Town (UCT) in South Africa was practically bullied into reversing an earlier decision calling for the academic boycott of Israel. While the story may seem relevant in South Africa’s political and academic contexts, in […]
By Ramzy Baroud Europe’s “Scramble for Africa” began in earnest in 1881, but never ended. The attempt at dominating the continent using old and new strategies continues to define the western relationship with this rich continent. This reality was further validated when I arrived in Nairobi, Kenya on 23 June. Although my objective was to address various […]
Dear readers, I am embarking on the third leg of my world tour, which this time will take me to Kenya and, again, to the UK. I will be in Nairobi from June 25 to July 3 on a ground-breaking tour to discuss my latest book, The Last Earth (Pluto, 2018). I will be speaking […]
“Until the lion learns how to write, every story will glorify the hunter” is a popular adage within the African decolonial literary movement, and according to Palestinian author, Ramzy Baroud, it accurately describes how the Israeli narrative has dominated the story of the occupation of Palestine. Baroud will be in Nairobi from June 25 to […]
By Ramzy Baroud On January 15, millions of Americans commemorated Martin Luther King’s Day. His famous speech, ‘I Have a Dream’ was repeated numerous times in media outlets as a reminder of the evil of racism, which is being resurrected in a most pronounced way in American society. But that is only one version of […]
By Ramzy Baroud There is a real – but largely concealed – war which is taking place throughout the African continent. It involves the United States, an invigorated Russia and a rising China. The outcome of the war is likely to define the future of the continent and its global outlook. It is easy to […]