A new book on the future of the Black Continent foresees a dismal time for Africa under global policies CAIRO: The conflict that marked the struggle for self-rule in South Sudan, the current ups and downs in the Darfur crisis, the Somalia file and the civil wars that continue to plague many African nations have brought the Black Continent to the forefront for the second time in history. And with the involvement of the West, especially the US and France, the plight of these nations now has a different dimension. The Western policy makers are urging Egypt, as the biggest African country, to play a role in defusing the crisis in Darfur after successfully mediating to bring about a positive change in South Sudan. Last week a US congress delegation met with President Hosni Mubarak to discuss further Egyptian involvement in efforts to solve the problems of that crisis-ridden province. But Darfur is only one file of many that show the superpower's interest in the Black Continent. Even before the battles in Iraq and Afghanistan are concluded, the US has intensified the cycle of its policies in Africa as never before. Why? "Africa and the Globalization-induced Challenges, What Future? a new title by Dr. Hamdy Abdel Rahman, recently released by Madbuli, has detailed the issue. Abdel Rahman regrets the fact that Africa will be the victim of global policies as much as it was the colonial powers' object of exploitation, slavery and injustices in the past. The book is divided into three main parts: The first offers an analysis of the African crisis and raises questions with regard to why stereotypes about the continent have prevailed and why solutions have floundered. The second focuses on the link between Africa and the new global powers that are again vying to get control over its resources. The third deals with the continent's deep-rooted development problems and the related challenges it faces. But the second part is the most relevant to the current political scene. Today attention is focused on Africa, owing to the discovery of oil in its territories as well as other major security considerations. In spite of the fact that the Black Continent kept a low profile during the Cold War, it is now considered an essential cornerstone in international security strategies, especially after Sept. 11, 2001. American defense officials revealed that 40 sub-Saharan nations have no tight control over their borders and could, therefore, be used as a shelter for terrorists. According to statistics, the US is currently trading more with African countries than with the former Soviet Union and Eastern European countries all put together. In 2002, the American official in charge of the African file announced that the US will be obliged to support the African governments to use their rich oil and gas resources to rebuild their economies. The Black Continent is home to three percent of the world's oil, five percent of the world's gas, one third of the world's reserves of uranium, 70 percent of phosphorus, 55 percent of gold, 87 of chrome, 57 of manganese, 42 of cobalt in addition to huge water and agricultural resources. Analysts view oil, especially in West Africa, to have an advantage over that sourced from the Arabian Gulf: While it takes six weeks to ship oil from the Gulf to the American coast, it takes only two weeks to channel it from West Africa across the Atlantic. The author says: "So if we take into consideration the instability in the Middle East, we will realize why the US is turning to central and western Africa's oil that [currently] accounts for 17 percent of its oil imports. "American investments in countries like Nigeria, Angola, Satomi and Equatorial Guinea are, therefore, surging to figures that should be reckoned with. There are direct flights between Texas and GuineaBissau, a small state of a meager population of half a million! he added. At a time when the American military machinery is facing a hard time in the Middle East, the US is intensifying its military presence in Djibouti, Satomi and Liberia. Bush's administration has launched a military program to train Chadian, Malian and Mauritian forces with the aim of countering anti-terrorist operations across the Sahara. That program will give the US the right to set up bases between the oil-rich countries in the west and the terrorism-endangered zones in the east. But in the midst of the new changes can Africa, still suffering from its colonial heritage, move forward? What is the future? The author is of the opinion that for a continent hit by civil wars, starvation and poverty, human tragedies that the best of reformers have failed to overcome, the way out is definitely linked with lending support to civil societies, boosting democratic practices and ensuring the fair distribution of wealth and most importantly increasing awareness of the dangers of the impending neo-liberal strategy that remains connected with the West. "We are in a dire need for a national strategy based on the unification of all African ethnic and tribal groups which have successfully struggled to free their countries from colonial rule, says the author. He adds: "This kind of struggle, along with the unified regional effort based on the reallocation of duties, is required to defuse the African crisis that is getting worse under the new global umbrella.
