Ayanna Nahmias, Editor-in-ChiefLast Modified: 02:12 AM EDT, 19 May 2011
AFRICA - When I lived in Africa as a child we resided in countries previously colonized by the British and Germans. In these post-colonialist nations the vacuum left by the departing imperialist was painfully evident in 
the areas of energy, water, sanitation, manufacturing and the transportation trade vectors implemented to facilitate the transport and shipment of wealth from Africa to their respective countries.
The departing colonialist were particularly vindictive when they deliberately sabotaged manufacturing plants which supported these supply chain vectors.
In both Nigeria and Tanzania we experienced the deleterious effects of post-colonialism. Daily we were confronted with the challenges of securing clean drinking water, because if it was running it had boiled; the electricity was intermittent and grocery store shelves were often empty.
These pressures coupled with the indoctrination of the populace forced to abdicate their cultural values to those of the imperialist resulted in the dissolution of family structures. The century old traditions and mores soon dissipated and without these societal controls high crime rates ensued.
Crimes previously held in check by swift communal judgment and justice, crimes like murder, rape and organized crime. These social ills in conjunction with the ongoing external pressures to keep many former colonial countries destabilized through war are a modern manifestation of the heinous legacy of colonialism.
By this definition, Ethiopia escaped colonialism irrespective of the brief Italian occupation. Therefore, it is noteworthy that the country seems to have fallen prey to allure of foreign investment which is the advent of a new wave of colonialism. Companies from Asia, the Middle-East and elsewhere have secured 50 year land leases for pennies on the dollar from the ruling government. A hectare of fertile land in Ethiopia’s Oromia region costs $10 and in a bitter twist of fate is subsequently farmed by the locals who once owned the land.
Some people argue that this type of investment is good for the country because the people who owned the land were “lazy” and did not do anything with it. This type of thinking is similar to the faulty “logic” employed by the European settlers who arrived in North America and claimed that the land was not being properly “utilized” by the Native Americans. Under this premise they forcibly took the land and physically removed the indigenous population to less arable parts of the country.
What large aggro-farming corporations and the early American settlers fail to comprehend is the fact that local, indigenous people have a relationship with the land and understand the rhythm of the earth and its cycles of yields. My paternal grandparents owned a 500 acre working farm which is still in our family. We often spent summers with them and through this exposure I learned about the importance of allowing the ground to lay fallow to enable vital nutrients to be replenished.
In an effort to make more money, these large aggro concerns over farm the land year after year; and in order to increase yield, chemicals, pesticides and bioengineering is employed to decrease growing time and increase yield. These practices results in increased yield with decreased nutritional value. A better use of the resources would be to subsidize small, local farmers with the necessary funding and equipment to properly use the land they own. Instead of selling the majority of arable land to large, foreign conglomerates, investment should be made in local communities to encourage the formation and growth of farming cooperatives.
To sell some of the land to outside concerns to grow flowers or coffee is by no means a bad thing. It increases the Gross National Product (GNP), which is the value of all the goods and services produced in an economy, plus the value of the goods and services imported, less the goods and services exported, which ultimately helps these countries economies to mature. However, the current land leases referenced in this post and the links below offer short-term gains in exchange for long-term losses.
This type of exchange also occurs in Nigeria where the government unilaterally leases oil/gas rights to foreign companies who reap billions of dollars at the expense of the health and welfare of the local people and the environment. The costs of these 100 years leases is a mere pittance by comparison to what they earn in profits.
In addition to these profits the companies operate with relative impunity because of graft, which in Nigeria is otherwise known as a "dash." For these foreign companies there is no accountability required nor punitive action enforced when they perpetrate heinous human rights violations or flagrant environmental abuses.
The African colonialism period (1818 – 1914) as well as the last 20 years of the nineteenth century saw the transition to ‘informal imperialism.' This form of imperialism was instigated by the same nationals who originally carved up then colonized Africa. Thus, the continued destabilization of these countries is to their benefit.
This outside interference leveraged by the sale of arms to various factions amounts to direct military influence. The previous economic dominance of direct colonial rule has been replaced by pervasive but less visible form of conquest which still enables the imperialist to rape these countries of precious natural resources.
The sacrifice of people and the utter disregard of the needs of the masses for the profit of a few persist in every society. However, in Africa this disparity results in massive human suffering and is portrayed as the fault of the populace who is unable through intellect or desire to manage their countries as well as the colonialist.
This form of patriarchal disdain is continued at the hands of large corporations that generate billions of dollars despite the ability and right of the government to demand remuneration or compensation for the local people who are most adversely impacted by the negotiations and contractual obligations entered into by their governments.
Land sold for the express purpose of growing food stock or produce that doesn't directly benefit the local populace either nutritionally or economically is another form of colonialism and is a practice that must be publicized, countered and vociferously condemned.
Visit the links below to learn more about Colonialism in Africa::
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Editor: @ayannanahmias
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